<font size="2">Hey all, I </font><font face="Verdana"><font size="2">was reading the paper the other day and thought this was of interest. As most of you know Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment owns the Raptors. Now, they are gonna bring in Major League Soccer Toronto.Soccer? Toronto? Does it work? Here's the Article..some Highlights atleast: </font></font><div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><font color="#000000">The many fans of the great game out there clearly have a link to teams of their ancestry. A certain group will pack a stadium for games involving, say, Italy or Portugal or whatever. But a team representing Toronto merely has yet to earn significant long-term rooting interest.The Maple Leafs claim to be aware of all this and still think they can make it work. Maybe they can. Good luck to them. Fans out there should hope they find time to do it properly, what with running four teams (Leafs, Raptors, Marlies and soccer whatzits) and three buildings (Air Canada Centre, Ricoh Coliseum and this latest waste of public money), plus a condo development and public square and God only knows what else on the drawing board. Richard Peddie pointed out recently that MLSE had entertained, then discarded, the idea of an MLSE golf club.... ...There are suggestions that MLSE is taking its eye off the ball, which should be, first and foremost and forever, winning the Stanley Cup for its hockey team. It's a quaint idea, but it's simply in completely the wrong ballpark now. This organization clearly is about profit through growing the brand in whatever way will work.Recently, when the hockey lockout ended and hockey fans still were making noise about being angry with the game, .... .... That's all. It's a very small peanut in the $55 billion arsenal of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, worth no more to the bottom line than a recently purchased dog food company, or a washing-machine firm. It's simply a sexier enterprise, one that allows the high sheriffs to get their names in the papers and their wives into the players' family lounge.As money- and deal-makers, hats off to MLSE. They know what they're doing, milking the logo for all its worth in a variety of ways, including squeezing taxpayers when the urge strikes. </font></font></font></div> The Article is Located Here at the Toronto Star (Free membership required) I think Dave Perkins points out a very valid point, and I think the impact has clearly been felt in both primary sports focuses - hockey and basketball - for the company. While the focus on hockey has already hur tht eraptors, I think compounds it a little bit more. While we aren't some abysmal team that has been tossed aside just to make money, I certianly think Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainemtn s houdl be a bit more focused on helping out their teams. Hearing that they were entertaining the idea of a golf club makes me a bit....uncomforted(not word I was looking for), but who can fault them - they're just tyring to make money.
From what I've seen, not many people care about soccer here with the exception of when the World Cup is being played. The MLS isn't even doing that well in the States, so what makes them think that it will be any better here? MLSE should focus on the Leafs/Raptors right now. One team is only average and isn't even close to winning a cup and the other is one of the worst teams in the league. Not the best situation right now.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Eclipse:</div><div class="quote_post"> MLSE should focus on the Leafs/Raptors right now. One team is only average and isn't even close to winning a cup and the other is one of the worst teams in the league. Not the best situation right now.</div> So true.... the way MLSE is looking at it probably is: how do i make as much money off people as possible... They are owned by a pension fund after all... I really think their goal with any sports franchise is to get it to the point where they look like they could have a chance of winning every year but never go the distance... This way people can be exited about the possibility of winning every year but never quite get what they want so they keep coming back ... Whether soccer can be profitable or not ... well that's another issue i guess.
Well, Toronto does have a large European society who are diehard soccer fans, as well as immigrants who come from areas like Asia and Africa where soccer is pretty popular. However, it's doubtful that they can afford to go to these games. The Toronto MLS team won't average just 5000 fans per game, but they won't likely take any business away from the Raptors.
It's really not a money problem, it's more of an interest thing. Europeans who live in Toronto support their own teams and have no interest in MLS. When Roma played Celtic at Skydome last year 50,000 people showed up and tickets were not cheap. MLS on an international level isn't really serious soccer, it's a level below the major euro leagues. Could still be successful, but I don't think it's the Europeans who are going to have anything to do with it.
I don't understand how the ownership narrowing their business interests will help the Leafs or the Raps. The ownership has already shown dedication to building a contender out of both teams. However, MLSE doesn't trade, draft, and sign players: that's the job of the management. In the end, ownership is responsible for signing the checks, and we haven't had any problems with that so far. If anything, we should support this venture, because if the new team succeeds it could provide a stronger, more stable ownership. This whole proposal is a good idea for the soccer community in Toronto. Toronto is an incredibly diverse city, and European soccer has a strong following here. Of course soccer teams in Toronto haven't turned out well in the past, but then again we haven't had a team in a league of this calibre before. MLS is still young, but has some some solid franchises in the States, yet Toronto arguably has a bigger soccer community than any of them. There's a reason the league has been hoping for years that they could establish a team in Toronto, and MLSE is smart for trying to take advantage of it.
Very true, the MLSE is a business in the end, but it was built upon the Maple Leafs, and the Raptors, and now the MLS. I guess what gets me is all their other ventures, and how it seemslike they are going to be putting alot into things other than sports. I am not concerned about attendnace, but the focus of the organization. I mean, when we were looking for a Grunwald replacement, the way the MLSE handled it didn't impress me.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting nkwu:</div><div class="quote_post">I am not concerned about attendnace, but the focus of the organization. I mean, when we were looking for a Grunwald replacement, the way the MLSE handled it didn't impress me.</div> I agree with you about Grunwald's replacement. I thought it was handled very unprofessionally, but then again they were searching for a GM for both teams. I don't think its a lack of focus, but of basketball knowledge. I wasn't impressed with Peddie's results for a GM but the fact that they balanced it out with a pretty solid supporting staff shows that they were conscious of their own mistakes. However, now that we have our staff set, the only way they should be involved with the team is by signing the checks. And so far they have shown that they are willing to spend on their current teams (allowing Babcock to spend extra to retain Mo-Pete and allowing the Leafs to bring in all those contracts two years ago).
