New Feasibility Study says MLB is Viable in Montreal

[anon_vlad]

There have been myriad studies which have debunked the notion that subsidizing sports teams is beneficial economically. As one example:

http://news.illinois.edu/news/04/1117stadiums.html Here is an excerpt from its conclusion:

“As sport- and stadium-related activities increase, other spending declines because people substitute spending on sports for other spending,” Humphreys said. “If the stadium simply displaces dollar-for-dollar spending that would have occurred otherwise, there are no net benefits generated.”

 

[Techman]

If you have a team in the American League, with the built in rivalries it will bring, the fans from New York and Boston alone will bring enough money to the city to make it a profitable enterprise. I think that a team in Montreal will bring in a lot of fans from the New England area where it's next to impossible to get tickets to Fenway and where Montreal is closer than Boston to go see a game. So while having a team in Montreal may indeed displace some local spending, it will bring in a lot of tourist dollars.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

“As sport- and stadium-related activities increase, other spending declines because people substitute spending on sports for other spending,” Humphreys said. “If the stadium simply displaces dollar-for-dollar spending that would have occurred otherwise, there are no net benefits generated.”

Yes, but that would not be the case. The stadium would bring out-of-towners to Montreal by the hotel-full. The ball club is projected to create some 1500 jobs. And the players income tax would net a projected $10M per year.

 

[Merlot]

...where Montreal is closer than Boston to go see a game. So while having a team in Montreal may indeed displace some local spending, it will bring in a lot of tourist dollars.

Hello Techman,

What population centers are you referring to. Burlington, Montpelier? I've driven from near the south coast of Massachusetts to Montreal at least 35 times. I know the distances and the time it takes to get to and from Montreal at any point along route 89 like the back of my hand. Vermont and New Hampshire together have only a hair more than 2 million people, compared to 4.5 million just for metro Boston, and the largest population centers north of Boston are Nashua and Concord a minimum 245 miles/4 hours from Montreal, 1 hour from Boston. I doubt there will be any significant regular flow at that distance to see a game in Montreal, though overall it could add up.

And from Maine...OMG...yikes.

I'm just saying unless you get great loyalty and commitment from smaller population centers in northern Vermont and New Hampshire, and more from northern New York, I don't think there will be any steady significant flow of Americans.

Still, I think there's every chance of a great success for a team in Montreal.

BTW: I'd hate to see what would happen to already rising summer hotel rates.

Good luck,

Merlot

 

[Doc Holliday]

I totally agree with most of you. A MLB in Montreal would be great and even better if it'd be in the AL East, where all the fun is.

Also imagine what a boost it would be to the local economy. Not just the businesses & the job market, but for the escorts, pimps and strippers. It'd be a return to the good ol' days & might even cause Barry Bonds to make a comeback!

 

[simonpaul]

May be the dream of a team in Mlt will come one day but we will have to wait many years before the first regular season MLB arrive.We will have at the Olympic stadium next spring a pre season match,at that time we will see the interest of Mlt baseball fan ,it will be the perfect time to see if it is possible to regain the interest for the game.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

May be the dream of a team in Mlt will come one day but we will have to wait many years before the first regular season MLB arrive.We will have at the Olympic stadium next spring a pre season match,at that time we will see the interest of Mlt baseball fan ,it will be the perfect time to see if it is possible to regain the interest for the game.

Actually, two pre-season games, simonpaul. And as of a couple of months ago, they had already sold 45,000 of the 90,000 available tickets. And this is for Spring Training games.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

This from Nick Cafardo in today's Boston Globe:

"The feasibility study done by Leger Marketing regarding the profitability of bringing baseball back to Montreal had positive results. “Based on the information collected and a conservative analysis, the return of Major League Baseball to Montreal would be financially viable under a set of realistic assumptions, including a modest but competitive payroll, average ticket prices in line with league averages, a local broadcasting rights deal in line with other similar MLB markets, other innovative sponsorships and partnerships, and the revenue distributed to all teams through the multiple facets of the MLB revenue sharing model,” the study concluded. It would include a $467 million downtown stadium that is partially public funded and seats 36,000, with a realistic expectation of 28,500 for average attendance. The Rays and A’s are sure to be paying close attention given all of their stadium issues."

 

[oobe]

the return of Major League Baseball to Montreal would be financially viable [...] a $467 million downtown stadium that is partially public funded

So it's viable... but it's not!
Viable under condition of public funding.

Who would profit from this public money? And who could profit if those couple hundred millions were used on other things?
That's what a responsible public official should balance before prioritizing the spending.
Unfortunately, I don't have much trust in a populist opportunist like Coderre who, former federal secretary of sport, must remember a thing or two of good old panem & circenses.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Who would profit from this public money?

Actually, we'd all profit from it. With the sales taxes created by the new ball club, the 1500 new jobs created by the ball club, and the $10 M in income tax paid by ballplayers every year, the investment would be paid back in 8 years.

This would not be an expense, but an investment, and a very good one at that.

 

[oobe]

the investment would be paid back in 8 years.

I can't help but wonder if other investments would not pay back as much or more, with more non-monetary benefits, like reducing illiteracy for instance, where a roi can be calculated. But people working on those issues usually can't hire Ernst & Young to lobby for them.

 

[doctrippin]

As long as the PQ threaten another referendum, nobody's going to put money into this.

 

[kirkjonas]

I don't get how the study cost so much, I believe it was 400k$, how do these people spend our money.

 

[doctrippin]

Same people that blew 50 million on that city bike venture. Same people that now say they want a tax hike. Montreal really is shocking in it's blatant corruption. I've never seen a more unaccountable government in all of Canada.

 

[kirkjonas]

Same people that blew 50 million on that city bike venture. Same people that now say they want a tax hike. Montreal really is shocking in it's blatant corruption. I've never seen a more unaccountable government in all of Canada.

Occupy Montreal, enough or better yet occupy Quebec, Enough is enough. Their all crooks and the same, starting to see the merits of a Rob Ford least he lies about things that don't matter and destroy the city.