Montreal closer to landing MLS team: Saputo

[denime]

Montreal closer to landing MLS team: Saputo

Canada's presence in Major League Soccer could triple by 2011.
Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo said Friday he is closer than ever to moving his team from the United Soccer Leagues to the MLS after a May 7 meeting with league commissioner Don Garber and president Mark Abbott in New York.

"Whatever happened in the past, it's time to turn the page on it and move forward," Saputo said.

"They see Montreal as a great market, we see Montreal as a great potential franchise in the MLS and it's time for us to look at that."


Read More

[Roogsy]

MLS is struggling to pull in 10k in many of their markets.

My guess is this is a sort of capitulation to the stand Montreal took. MLS wants Montreal in the league. If Canadian sports teams have shown anything, it's an ability to support their teams in large markets.

Except the Grizzlies of course...

[DOMIN8R]

and the Nordiques and the Jets and the Expos and ................

[Roogsy]

^ Funny enough...those teams didn't leave because the fans weren't supporting them. Those teams left for financial reasons and disagreements with local governments over funding of stadiums, etc. I don't believe any of those teams suffered from low attendance at games, not even the Expos who never had stellar attendance but they were never close to the bottom of the league.

[ensco]

^"Capitulation"? You must be joking.

Saputo has a huge problem with the Montreal soccer community.

Dropping out over price was one thing, perhaps even the right thing, but publicly attacking the MLS league office was insane and probably made certain that Saputo will never get an MLS team. Not that any journalist would write this - au contraire, several were falling over themselves to congratulate Saputo on his "stand" at the time, but that's another story...

Vancouver getting in to MLS was a huge slap in the face to Impact fans. Who are showing their feelings by staying home. So guess what? Saputo's in PR overdrive. But I fear the damage is done.

I mean, come on. The party that needs to say Saputo is back in the game is MLS, not Saputo.

[DOMIN8R]

From Don Garber in The Commissioner Speaks

"Expansion continues to be of interest to most readers and there were many posts regarding the status of Montreal as a potential MLS market. We continue to be impressed by the Saputo family's commitment to the sport in Montreal. The Impact is a very popular team (they attracted 55,000 fans to their Champions League match vs. Santos) and play in a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Montreal. Joey Saputo is working with a variety of local government entities on a plan to expand the capacity of Stade Saputo. I believe Montreal is a very viable MLS market and I plan to keep in regular contact with the Saputos as we continue to develop our future expansion plans."

http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news...._mls&fext=.jsp

[ensco]

OK that does mean something. But it's a reiteration of what Garber might have said two years ago. It would be more interesting if they were actually talking about the what happened in the last bid process.

But I take back what I said above. It's not just Saputo bloviating. It is a start.

[T_Mizz]

They seem on friendly terms now an I'm hoping for the best because this will really help grow canadian soccer, the only downside is the possible inaccuracy of that "USL 4 EVER" licence plate banner

[Roogsy]

^ LOL! For now...the banner is good! For all we know they will stay there for the foreseeable future.

[boban]

OK that does mean something. But it's a reiteration of what Garber might have said two years ago. It would be more interesting if they were actually talking about the what happened in the last bid process.

But I take back what I said above. It's not just Saputo bloviating. It is a start.

Ensco, it was a statement Garber said merely (at most) 2 weeks ago.
Seeing 55,000 caused Garber to revisit this city as a new MLS addition.

[Beach_Red]

^ Funny enough...those teams didn't leave because the fans weren't supporting them. Those teams left for financial reasons and disagreements with local governments over funding of stadiums, etc. I don't believe any of those teams suffered from low attendance at games, not even the Expos who never had stellar attendance but they were never close to the bottom of the league.

Unfortunately the Expos did suffer from low attendance, but the real reason for it was foreign ownership that kept threatening to move the team. Once that kind of talk starts, people stay away. The Expos always had good attendance when they were locally owned (even in Olympic Stadium, a terrible place to play basball).

The design for the Expos downtown stadium was fantatstic (and four blocks from my house when I lived there) but the owner was never serious about putting in any money and so the governments were right not to spend anything.

Saputo has spent some of his money, he is local and so the government will help him out. Fair enough, I hope it works out.

Montreal is a bit of a sign of the future - the city is far more interested in soccer than in baseball. When I was a kid in Montreal every town had a baseball team and soccer was hardly played and not taken very seriously. That has pretty much completely flipped now.

[T_Mizz]

i agree that this city is urning for soccer i mean who sings "ole" at a hockey game FFS

[TFC247]

Ensco, it was a statement Garber said merely (at most) 2 weeks ago.
Seeing 55,000 caused Garber to revisit this city as a new MLS addition.

Really? So you think one game of 55,000 will grant them the expansion? Vancouver never came anywhere close to that number, and they struggle to draw 5,000 in their games, how come they never had problem getting into MLS? I would even say Vancouver's bid was actually one of the most headache-free process (even with their stadium uncertainty) in MLS expansion history.

You know why? It all comes down to $$$.

I never understood why people were taking sides and argue over things that really had nothing to do with Impact's previous bid in the first place. All these he said she said between MLS and Impact really don't mean nothing in the end. Bottom line is, Impact didn't have the money, and now they do. It's a simple business, let's not make it harder than it really is.

[Redcoe15]

With this bit of news, here's hoping Bill Archer's head does this:

[TFC07]

i agree that this city is urning for soccer i mean who sings "ole" at a hockey game FFS

Agreed. Montreal is a great soccer market and their rivalry with TFC is going to be something this league never seen before.

With this bit of news, here's hoping Bill Archer's head does this:

LMAO!

[boban]

Really? So you think one game of 55,000 will grant them the expansion? Vancouver never came anywhere close to that number, and they struggle to draw 5,000 in their games, how come they never had problem getting into MLS? I would even say Vancouver's bid was actually one of the most headache-free process (even with their stadium uncertainty) in MLS expansion history.

You know why? It all comes down to $$$.

I never understood why people were taking sides and argue over things that really had nothing to do with Impact's previous bid in the first place. All these he said she said between MLS and Impact really don't mean nothing in the end. Bottom line is, Impact didn't have the money, and now they do. It's a simple business, let's not make it harder than it really is.

Yes of course it came to money. Garber wanted the full $40 mil pop which Saputo was not going to cough up. Guess what .. neither did Vancouver pony up the full amount. Teams were dropping and Garber took what he could with already having told Montreal to stick it. Enter a game in Montreal in the Big O and Garber has to look at the picture again. Eat some money off the front end (franshise fee) with the possiblity of having great crowds and a stable franshise.

[ensco]

Bottom line is, Impact didn't have the money, and now they do. It's a simple business, let's not make it harder than it really is.

Based on what exactly are you saying this?

I'd like to meet someone, anyone, who has more dough in 2009 than they did in 2008.

[DOMIN8R]

^^^ Good Point.

Perhaps, Saputo is simply willing to pay the full amount now. He didn't appear to be so willing last year. Alternativelly, the Don may be willing to give Montreal a marginal price break or better payment terms like the one that seems to have been given to Vancouver.

You can appreciate that Ensco. After all, you're in the financing business.

[Roogsy]

Based on what exactly are you saying this?

I'd like to meet someone, anyone, who has more dough in 2009 than they did in 2008.

Me! LOL!

[DOMIN8R]

^^^

Short selling scum


.......how many other smilies can I use. Ensco & Roogsy go get wet.

at the game

[ensco]

Yes that may be true domin8r. Off to find a TV set on the lake (I'm up north). I'll be getting wet bigtime (it's pouring).

[TFC247]

Enter a game in Montreal in the Big O and Garber has to look at the picture again. Eat some money off the front end (franshise fee) with the possiblity of having great crowds and a stable franshise.

Yeah, but what does that 55,000 mean? Does it mean Impact will draw that same number in regular season once in MLS? Or are you just trying to use it as a case to build Montreal as a soccer market? If it's the latter, you're acting as if this is new. There never was a doubt Montreal was a bad market for soccer, even before that CCL game. Tell you the truth, Garber should toss out that number when trying to gauge a maket size, because it's the same 'bait and switch' tactic that he has historically used to draw up investors to MLS. Fact is, these single high spiked games rarely translate into the regular season attendance, we've seen plenty of it in MLS.

However, Impact do have a history of solid regular season attendance, around 10,000-13,000, especially for USL. So, if anything, that should be the number thrown around when trying to build their case. And the fact is, everyone knew this already. Even before Toronto was granted a franchise, if there ever was a canadian expansion, common sense was Montreal. And the reason why they weren't in is not because MLS for some reason overlooked them. Truth is, Saputo could've joined in for a fraction of what TFC paid. Do a search on google, there's history between Saputo and MLS and his condescending attitude towards the league. And he's now all of a sudden willing to pay upwards of $40 Million. What happened? Did that 55,000 game inflate the price tag? It just doesn't make sense does it? Whatever small discount on MLS's part, it's likely because of current economical time if anything else.

[boban]

Yeah, but what does that 55,000 mean? Does it mean Impact will draw that same number in regular season once in MLS? Or are you just trying to use it as a case to build Montreal as a soccer market? If it's the latter, you're acting as if this is new. There never was a doubt Montreal was a bad market for soccer, even before that CCL game. Tell you the truth, Garber should toss out that number when trying to gauge a maket size, because it's the same 'bait and switch' tactic that he has historically used to draw up investors to MLS. Fact is, these single high spiked games rarely translate into the regular season attendance, we've seen plenty of it in MLS.

However, Impact do have a history of solid regular season attendance, around 10,000-13,000, especially for USL. So, if anything, that should be the number thrown around when trying to build their case. And the fact is, everyone knew this already. Even before Toronto was granted a franchise, if there ever was a canadian expansion, common sense was Montreal. And the reason why they weren't in is not because MLS for some reason overlooked them. Truth is, Saputo could've joined in for a fraction of what TFC paid. Do a search on google, there's history between Saputo and MLS and his condescending attitude towards the league. And he's now all of a sudden willing to pay upwards of $40 Million. What happened? Did that 55,000 game inflate the price tag? It just doesn't make sense does it? Whatever small discount on MLS's part, it's likely because of current economical time if anything else.

Who said they were overlooked. It was always about money. The 55,000 just gives him more power in the negotiation process. He won't be paying $40 mil. Van and Portland didn't.

[TFC247]

Based on what exactly are you saying this?

I'd like♠ to meet someone, anyone, who has more dough in 2009 than they did in 2008.

I hope you're being sarcastic.

If you're not, you'll likely find that someone in a city hall near future waiting to receive a seriously huge government cheese.

[TFC247]

Who said they were overlooked. It was always about money. The 55,000 just gives him more power in the negotiation process. He won't be paying $40 mil. Van and Portland didn't.

What power? How much is he paying?

[boban]

What power? How much is he paying?

The fact that he is even on the table and Garber meeting is evidence of some of that power. The fee is not known - its being negotiated.

[Cashcleaner]

I never understood why people were taking sides and argue over things that really had nothing to do with Impact's previous bid in the first place. All these he said she said between MLS and Impact really don't mean nothing in the end. Bottom line is, Impact didn't have the money, and now they do. It's a simple business, let's not make it harder than it really is.

Occam's Razor strikes again! You're probably right, of course. You could go one step further and reiterate the fact that not only does Montreal have the money, but also perhaps that MLS needs the money.

Based on what exactly are you saying this?

I'd like to meet someone, anyone, who has more dough in 2009 than they did in 2008.

If you read the article, it mentions that:

"Since then (Montreal's first offer to MLS), Saputo says the Quebec government is warm to the idea of investing the $25 million necessary for the stadium expansion, which would allow Saputo to put that money towards the $35 million fee that was paid by Portland and Vancouver when they were awarded franchises."

So yeah, technically this would mean Saputo does have more money in which to secure a franchise.

[TFC247]

The fact that he is even on the table and Garber meeting is evidence of some of that power. The fee is not known - its being negotiated.

Was he ever off the table? Yes, there was some comments exchanged between the two, but what's new? As long as there's money, door will always be open.

[SmokedPanda]

i agree that this city is urning for soccer i mean who sings "ole" at a hockey game FFS

people sing ole at habs games because "it's the cool thing to do!" A bunch of Italian Canadiens started that chant and it's caught on.
Montreal sports fans are all bandwagon hoppers, half of those people don't understand hockey and are brain dead when it comes to soccer.

[Shway]

[quote=TFC07;522105]Agreed. Montreal is a great soccer market and their rivalry with TFC is going to be something this league never seen before.quote]

YOU better believe it, by time they come into the league

BMO MUST BE EXPANED BY THEN, and with that they would probally realease more tickets to Limpact supporters to create a better atmosphere.

It would just make TFC, and Montreal the teams that would increase the away support ALL AROUND the league.

that is IMO