MLS commissioner Don Garber was in town yesterday, and apparently had a very productive meeting with Joey Saputo, Quebec finance minister Raymond Bachand and goofy-looking Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay.
Ironically, it was also the first major snowfall of the winter season in Montreal, so assuming the Impact will be announced as the 19th team at 2010 MLS First kick, as reported here by Ben Rycroft, I'm pretty sure Garber is aware that playing some kind of an August-May type schedule is for the most part impossible and stupid.
To me, this news was as refreshing as taking the "Nestea Plunge"... All the endless speculation/hearsay and tales of impending doom about 2nd division soccer on the footy blogosphere, have left me worn out and annoyed ( ya..I know, I should stop being an obsessed geek) .
So...getting back to the "Montreal MLS expansion summit" (excuse the hyperbole), apparently the meeting with the finance minister lasted 2 hours. So we can be pretty sure that this deal is done and they are just ironing out the final details, as ministers usually have better things to do then participate in preliminary discussions. Also, for the first time I believe, the Impact has officially spoken of and posted the MLS logo on their website.
One of the "little things" left to be negociated is the provincial government apparently only wanting to pony-up 20$ million, leaving Joey to foot the bill for the remaing 5$ million. This was discussed on yesterday's edition of It's Called Football, here...
This supposed government "cheapness", is all the more frustrating when you consider that Quebec premier Jean Charest was recently quoted as being all gung ho about forking over 100-150$ million for a new arena in Quebec City, for a hockey team that doesn't even exist..Oh, yes..Pardon me its hockey, so that is REALLY important..
Anyways, I'm just thankful for that small breather from all the negative drama surrounding TOA/NASL/USL/USSF/CSA/ABCDEFG ect. ect.
And I guess, seeing as its the holiday season we should be grateful for what we have, right? We could be in FCNY's situation!?
I know I should not take joy in the misery of others, but I gotta admit I kinda feel a little better now..Thanks for listening (reading??)..
20 million makes sense. Saputo, the multi-billion dollar guy is asking for the government to fund EVERYTHING. He needs to front some cash, or else it will not go well with the public. Every stadium project has private money in it except ours (sure the current stadium has been paid by Saputo, but still...).
ReplyDeleteYa..I see your point..WE know that he already put in 15$ million for the "1st phase", but the general public will I guess (sighs) be oblivious to that and public perception is everything, especially when Madame Tremblay sees the headlines and thinks "Ah ben tabernac 25$ millions pour le soccer, osti de Charest!"
ReplyDeleteBut it still sucks considering all the cash invested in F-1 and potentially in a new Quebec city arena, they could have still put up the 25 mill and Joey could have added another few on the pile for appearances..
allez mon penz passe le chapeau afin que notre stade soit aussi beau que celui de Toronto , sans parler de celui de New York
ReplyDeleteAh, Anonymous, always the same no matter what board we're on.
ReplyDeleteThe visit is good news and the deal will get done. Now let's get a date to start. 2011 anyone?
Seriously, I really hope Joey pays part of the bill. Even though the government cash is just a loan, it still looks bad. He should also remind people that he's paying the 35M$ MLS entry fee.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'.
Saputo should pay a part of the deal but for a few millions I totally understand what Steve is saying. The government is funding other stuff sports related in an even bigger way and they'd be gun shy about a few millions?
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's not as if 5M$ should be a bother to Joey. All in all, things are looking up for IMFC and the MLS. If only we could get an announcement soon, I'm not really a patient kind of guy.
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ReplyDelete