The Montreal Ex-Rays. Is the day approaching?

[rumpleforeskiin]

Stuart Sternberg, owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, has reached an agreement with Rick Kriseman, Mayor of St. Petersburg, that will allow the team to break its lease on Tropicana Field with annual payments to the city. This agreement which will allow Sternberg to seek a new ballpark in two adjacent counties goes before the St. Pete City Council tomorrow. If the council rejects the agreement, Sternberg will move to sell the team to new owners, who will undoubtedly move the club elsewhere.

If the council agrees, then Sternberg has to find a new location. And then he has to get public financing. Floridians HATE taxes and have already been burned once, by none other than Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, yes, the same scumbag who drove the last nail in the Expos coffin. If Sternberg doesn't get the location and doesn't get the financing, then he will sell the team.

The investors in Montreal are lining up.

http://tbo.com/news/breaking-news/sternberg-rays-doomed-to-leave-without-new-stadium-soon-20141209/

 

[TheDon]

No team in Montreal. The city cannot support the 80 so home dates, the dollar is free falling again, the quebec economy is not stable, taxes in quebec kill everything.

 

[lgna69xxx]

I sooooooooooooooooo hope you are wrong but sadly you are probably right. I believe anything can happen so until they try and fail the dream is still alive.

No team in Montreal. The city cannot support the 80 so home dates, the dollar is free falling again, the quebec economy is not stable, taxes in quebec kill everything.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

It has nothing to do with the loonie, and everything to do with a team becoming available, be it the As or the Rays. Montreal is the largest, most viable, most proven open market in North America.

Won't support 81 home dates? That's already been disproven. In a horrendous ballpark, away from the city center, with poor traffic access, no place to go before or after the game, the Expos were one of the top drawing teams in the National League up until the time the Bronfman family sold them to the Brochu consortium, who immediately proceeded to run them into the ground.

With 27 home dates against the Yanks, Red Sox, and Jays, in a well situated outdoor stadium, Montreal is a 2,500,000 city.

 

[mauricevachon]

It has nothing to do with the loonie, and everything to do with a team becoming available, be it the As or the Rays. Montreal is the largest, most viable, most proven open market in North America..

It has everything to do with the loonie. Teams collect revenues in CDN and pay expenses (including the cost to acquire the team and players salaries) in USD.

At parity the numbers look good. But with the loonie at $0.80US the economics don't work.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

It has everything to do with the loonie. Teams collect revenues in CDN and pay expenses (including the cost to acquire the team and players salaries) in USD.

You are quite correct in most of this, however, the entire MLB machine is absolutely drowning in money. Even at $.80, the Montreal market is more than strong and large enough to support a team.Yes, tickets and local TV/Radio money is received in CDN, but a large part of a team's income, national licensing and TV money, is collected in USD. The only place I'd disagree with you is expenses. Other than player salaries, which of course is any team's greatest expense, expenses would be paid in CDN.

The Toronto Blue Jays total income last year was $210 Million. $125 Million of that was in USD. $110 from media rights, $15 in revenue sharing. Gate receipts were $44M.

Montreal is also in the top half (population-wise) of all MLB markets. Yes, the value of the loonie hurts, but would not cripple baseball in Montreal.

By the way, if you believe in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity), the loonie is now within a couple of cents of its true valuation.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Although you seem to have misread Ayn Rand it does sound like you know a little bit about economics....

Not my quote of the misanthropic Ms. Rand. And, I should note, there is no "reading" of Rand in Cavett's quote, just a comment about her overall wretchedness as a human being.

With the loonie at USD $0.80 it would cost them CAD $625 million to buy a USD $500 million team.

Pocket change for Bell, who having lost all hockey to Rogers, is in serious need of something to fill the TSN airtime.

 

[daydreamer41]

Not my quote of the misanthropic Ms. Rand. And, I should note, there is no "reading" of Rand in Cavett's quote, just a comment about her overall wretchedness as a human being.

Ayn Rand, a wretched human being?

ROFL, you 1 %er, you, rumps. :lol: :nod:

 

[dude79]

The loonie price is conjuncture for now... yes oil drive the loonie, but that oil price will hedge higher in mid to long term,... maybe never as high as before (production world wide has exploded).

The loonie will come back, it's not an issue for the return of the expos.

The main issue for Montreal is a viable stadium and citizens with enough discretionary purchasing power to go to many games...

If the expos coming back to montreal was good business, it would already been done... but its not for now.

P.S. Montreal and its immediate suburbs is over 4 millions now, and I'm not talking about Ottawa, Quebec and upper NY.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

If the expos coming back to montreal was good business, it would already been done...

Actually, the biggest factor is the availability of a franchise. Baseball has no intention of expanding in the near future. Either the As or Rays would have to be sold and moved. Neither is having much success in getting a new ballpark. I've been to the Oakland Coliseum and it's a dump. I haven't been to Tropicana Field as access to it from Tampa is quite difficult without a car.

P.S. Montreal and its immediate suburbs is over 4 millions now, and I'm not talking about Ottawa, Quebec and upper NY.

Yep, making Montreal what is called a "big market" area.

 

[wasisname]

Ayn Rand, a wretched human being?

ROFL, you 1 %er, you, rumps. :lol: :nod:

Regardless of where you stand on her political and other views, if you read up on her as a person she is a wretched human being. Although an economic agnostic I do have strong free enterpise leanings, even read a non fiction book by her. However she is what she is... wretched.

 

[dude79]

Actually, the biggest factor is the availability of a franchise. Baseball has no intention of expanding in the near future. Either the As or Rays would have to be sold and moved. Neither is having much success in getting a new ballpark. I've been to the Oakland Coliseum and it's a dump. I haven't been to Tropicana Field as access to it from Tampa is quite difficult without a car.

I want the Expos badly too!!! But it's a business first!

Think about it... if it was good business, new ownership would give an offer to the actual ownership of the As or Rays to sell that they couldn't refuse!

Heck either of these franchise would've moved here...

Like another poster said, taxes in Quebec are steep, and the middle class have little left in its pocket.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Montreal Expos are still my #1 team of all time. However, reality is that we won't be seeing MLB returning to Montreal in most of our lifetimes. Iggy and SK may be still be alive when MLB does return to Mtl for good, but for the likes of me, Rumples, Cloudsurf, Joe.t and Eagerbeaver, forget it. We'll all be dead and burried. Or we'll be too old & senile to even know about it.

The Quebec economy is way too weak to support the building of a new baseball stadium, which is a must if a team is to move to Mtl. Quebec has one of the worse economies in Canada. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that it's the most corrupt Canadian province. And the Canadian dollar has been at its weakest in years, mostly because of the low cost of oil around the world. It would be the same story all over again: once players have been developped by the Expos, it would be the usual fire-sale on an annual basis once again once their contracts are up. This was very depressing for Expos fans back in the 90's when the team was oh-so-close to a championship.

MLB will have franchises in Cuba & possibly Mexico City before they ever return to Montreal.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I want the Expos badly too!!! But it's a business first!

Think about it... if it was good business, new ownership would give an offer to the actual ownership of the As or Rays to sell that they couldn't refuse!

Heck either of these franchise would've moved here...

Like another poster said, taxes in Quebec are steep, and the middle class have little left in its pocket.

I agree. If the province of Quebec was such a good market for a professional sports team, it would have more than only 1 hockey team. The arena in Quebec should be ready in less than a year and it still doesn't have an NHL hockey team. And the way it looks, the next franchises will out west, possibly in Las Vegas or Seattle. I just hope that the new Colisee doesn't become the next Copps Centre. A white elephant.

The province of Quebec & the city of Montreal are very weak economically. If i'm a millionaire investor, the last place i'd want to invest my money is in a professional baseball team, which has already failed in the past. It simply wouldn't make any sense & the risks would be too high. I hope i'm wrong.