Quote:
Originally Posted by Joborule
Aside from Toronto and Montreal, which have money up the ying yang, established history, and any threat of moving elsewhere was completely non-existent, I'm oblivious to those that got it covered 100%.
Even so, there are many, many more examples of teams in all leagues that have had their facilities built with the assistance of their jurisdiction providing funds.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MattyC
These all exist in Calgary as well.
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1. Money
Calgary's done well recently, certainly, but not at the same level as Toronto or Montreal. If Forbes' data is accurate, they have their income levels at $70.6M and $59.8M, respectively, with the Flames at $22.3M, putting those teams at about 3x the profit of the Flames.
2. History
Not as significant a factor, but it's certainly true that the Leafs and the Canadiens have a much longer and more storied history than the Flames, with the corresponding fanbases to go with it.
3. Threat of Moving
Given that this was a very real threat the last time oil prices and the dollar were as low as they are now, I think it's foolish to downplay this factor. Corporate Calgary won't be able to sustain ticket purchases at the level they're currently at without things improving, and that's not even taking into account diminishing revenues vs. expenses with revenues being in CAD and expenses in USD, even without the numbers changing.
The situation is very different for Calgary now than Montreal or Toronto when they built their rinks.