Braley Wants to Sell Lions

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David
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If I can be brutally honest, I believe the "stronger interest outside Vancouver" group is either being concocted or embellished to get the "within Vancouver" group(s) to strengthen their offer. It's a negotiating ploy.



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This thread shows a significant decline in league-wide attendance:
https://www.riderfans.com/forum/forum/m ... 019-season

This thread suggests that TSN viewership is down:
http://forums.cfl.ca/cfl-talk/1/cfl-tv- ... 19/108880/

Bad news for the CFL, but not unexpected. Why pay for cable when you can watch a stream for free? The best thing CFL has going for it is the nostalgia factor (CFL 2.0 notwithstanding), but is it enough?
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maxlion wrote:
Fri Aug 30, 2019 11:07 am
This thread shows a significant decline in league-wide attendance:
https://www.riderfans.com/forum/forum/m ... 019-season

This thread suggests that TSN viewership is down:
http://forums.cfl.ca/cfl-talk/1/cfl-tv- ... 19/108880/

Bad news for the CFL, but not unexpected. Why pay for cable when you can watch a stream for free? The best thing CFL has going for it is the nostalgia factor (CFL 2.0 notwithstanding), but is it enough?
AFAIK, to use TSN streaming for games (not just clips) you have to login with your cable provider's credentials or be a TSN Direct subscriber. (Unless you can find a pirated stream). The numbers will need to include streaming by the time the CFL renegotiates their next "TV" agreement, as that media is much more important now than it was 10 years ago. (I only watched part of a game on my phone once a few years back, since I pvr every game to watch at home anyway.)
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The viewership numbers referenced in the thread above apparently include authorized streaming. Unauthorized streams are easy to find. It’s a big problem for league sustainability.
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B.C.FAN
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Plans to sell the Lions have taken a promising turn. According to Farhan Lalji, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie will be in Vancouver Friday to meet with a number of groups of potential buyers. They hope to finalize a sale by the end of the year.

Ambrosie to meet with potential buyers for Lions on Friday
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DanoT
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The article above quote Braley as saying that he is ready to sell the team. But is he ready to take a realistic price which will likely be less than what he has previously turned down?
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SammyGreene
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:18 pm
Plans to sell the Lions have taken a promising turn. According to Farhan Lalji, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie will be in Vancouver Friday to meet with a number of groups of potential buyers. They hope to finalize a sale by the end of the year.

Ambrosie to meet with potential buyers for Lions on Friday
This is definitely an encouraging sign with the process reaching a stage we have yet to see over the many years of the club is for sale rumours.

A change in ownership is certainly welcome, especially if the end result is sweeping changes in the organization which it should be.
Braley has never been one to throw a ton of money into the club — above and beyond their annual operating budget — but never have I heard a lack of money holding the club back from doing anything — from signing Dave Dickenson in 2003, to Mike Reilly in 2019 or new contracts to key players.

As an out-of-town owner, he has always put a lot of trust in his upper management and he has been let down in about the past decade so — from Dennis Skulsky on the business side, to Wally and now Hervey on the product they are putting on the field. No one was calling for a new owner when Bob Ackles was running the show.
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DanoT wrote:
Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:37 pm
The article above quote Braley as saying that he is ready to sell the team. But is he ready to take a realistic price which will likely be less than what he has previously turned down?
Can't even compare the situation today versus a few years ago. Back then when rumours were floating around groups talking to him it only made sense to put a large price tag on the club because quite simply HE DIDN'T WANT TO SELL them unless somebody made an offer too good to be turn down. Easiest way to take care of that was to put a price on the Lions that nobody would pay. It was a case of make me an offer that is too good to turn down and by the way this is where the number has to get to for me to consider it too good to turn down. Everybody balked and he got to keep the team.

Today Braley is facing his own mortality. We don't even know what his health situation is but given that we do know he's faced a couple of very serious issues in the past 2 or 3 years. Before these issues Braley very much loved and enjoyed owning the team and his passion for the CFL is something nobody would deny. Seems he's at a point where his health likely denies him the ability to enjoy owning the club. For all we know his doctors may have already suggested he start tying up some loose ends. Where he had little to no motivation to sell 5 years ago I think he has plenty now and finding the right group will be far more important to him than price. He would like to leave this world knowing the club is in good hands. He can take that with him. An extra few million he can't.

As for price obviously he'd like to get a decent price but I think that's as much for the good of the CFL as anything else. While perhaps not as important to community owned clubs franchise values are hugely important to the other private owners and the CFL. In pro sports what teams are bought and sold for sets the values for the rest. It also sets the value for expansion fees. Ottawa paid $7M to get in. I don't know if they've settled on a fee for the Atlantic Schooners but one would have to think it will be pushing $10M. If a 65 year old franchise in one of Canada's biggest markets can't go for upwards of $15M to $20M then Ambrosie will have some 'splaining to do to the Schooners if they want anything like $10M for what will be one of Canada's smallest markets playing in what will likely be barely a 20K seat stadium. You can also bet a big part of Ambrosie putting on his own dog and pony show for these interested groups is to help push the selling price up as high as it can go because that's in the CFL's best interests.
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After meeting Friday with prospective new owners, Randy Ambrosie seems to be endorsing the consortium model proposed by Mark Woodall and Moray Keith.
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie met with a number of Vancouver-area business people interested in purchasing the Lions on Friday and while Ambrosie wasn’t long on details, he was on enthusiasm.

“I’m definitely not here to broker a deal,” Ambrosie said after Friday’s kickoff. “(Lions president) Rick (LeLacheur) and I met a lot of really great people who expressed a passionate interest in the future of the B.C. Lions.

“It was a chance for me to share the (CFL) 2.0 strategy and give them a sense of where we want to take the league. I’d say it was an incredibly uplifting day.”

Ambrosie didn’t divulge any names but he did speak with Mark Woodall and Moray Keith, the frontmen who have proposed a consortium-style ownership group for the Lions.

“Things seemed to move forward with a very positive tone,” Woodall wrote in a text.

“I think we’ve learned great ownership comes in all shapes and sizes in our league,” Ambrosie said. “I think in the end, (Lions owner) David (Braley), Rick and the governors have to approve the choice but there are going to be great choices.

“I’m confident there’s a solution here for the future of the ownership. The turnaround of the Calgary Stampeders started with a consortium (in the early aughts). That was the beginning of turning that franchise into the most successful one in the modern era.”
Ed Willes article
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It's hard to read too much into the Ambrosie meeting with potential buyers Mark Woodall and Moray Keith as these are locals and long time Lion fans and valuable people for the franchise and CFL as we don't see enough of these guys any more as businesses have moved away from involvement in sports.
David wrote:
Wed Aug 28, 2019 1:18 pm
If I can be brutally honest, I believe the "stronger interest outside Vancouver" group is either being concocted or embellished to get the "within Vancouver" group(s) to strengthen their offer. It's a negotiating ploy.



DH :cool:
I didn't hear these remarks but I doubt that the Commissioner would embellish interest in purchasing to spur the local group to make an offer for the simple reason that it would border on an indictable offence for fraud and get the commish up to14 years in federal custody LOL. It might also be unhelpful to Braley in getting a sale if the local group decided to quit on a bid.

I suspect that the reference to "stranger interest outside Vancouver" might refer to prospective buyers with DEEP POCKETS versus the locals who will drum up $200,000 shares or whatever it's called from 20 or 30 people.

Having said, who outside Vancouver would be interested in the Lions ownership and who has DEEP POCKETS which I interpret to mean that they can come up with the cash and not be a transitional owner like other groups like Woodall/Keith have been in sports.

In retrospect it sure looks like David Braley mistimed the market if there was one back in 2011.
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Sun Sep 15, 2019 11:30 am
After meeting Friday with prospective new owners, Randy Ambrosie seems to be endorsing the consortium model proposed by Mark Woodall and Moray Keith.
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie met with a number of Vancouver-area business people interested in purchasing the Lions on Friday and while Ambrosie wasn’t long on details, he was on enthusiasm.

“I’m definitely not here to broker a deal,” Ambrosie said after Friday’s kickoff. “(Lions president) Rick (LeLacheur) and I met a lot of really great people who expressed a passionate interest in the future of the B.C. Lions.

“It was a chance for me to share the (CFL) 2.0 strategy and give them a sense of where we want to take the league. I’d say it was an incredibly uplifting day.”

Ambrosie didn’t divulge any names but he did speak with Mark Woodall and Moray Keith, the frontmen who have proposed a consortium-style ownership group for the Lions.

“Things seemed to move forward with a very positive tone,” Woodall wrote in a text.

“I think we’ve learned great ownership comes in all shapes and sizes in our league,” Ambrosie said. “I think in the end, (Lions owner) David (Braley), Rick and the governors have to approve the choice but there are going to be great choices.

“I’m confident there’s a solution here for the future of the ownership. The turnaround of the Calgary Stampeders started with a consortium (in the early aughts). That was the beginning of turning that franchise into the most successful one in the modern era.”
Ed Willes article
The Stamps group in 2005 had the advantage of a Flames group minor ownership stake--which transitioned to a majority ownership stake in 2012.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/ ... -1.1132253
The Lions group does not appear to have the same major player (but we haven't seen all the potential parties in the Woodall-Keith group.)
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BC 1988 wrote:
Sun Sep 15, 2019 2:03 pm
The Stamps group in 2005 had the advantage of a Flames group minor ownership stake--which transitioned to a majority ownership stake in 2012.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/ ... -1.1132253
The Lions group does not appear to have the same major player (but we haven't seen all the potential parties in the Woodall-Keith group.)
Barring an Aquilini participation n the group I don't see a Flames-like player out on the left coast. However if the speculated $200K/share scenario comes to fruition I would hope that there is a narrow group of no more than 1 to 3 people who wind up holding enough shares to make for a controlling interest with others combining for a minority stake. The Stamps consortium that took over from F-Troop amounted to 3 individuals; Hellard, Mitchell and Forzani plus the Flames. That's a reasonable structure. I'm not sure how functional the consortium of 30 was who bought the Edmonton Oilers from Pocklington. Too many cooks can spoil the broth.
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Hambone wrote:
Sun Sep 15, 2019 2:26 pm
Barring an Aquilini participation n the group I don't see a Flames-like player out on the left coast. However if the speculated $200K/share scenario comes to fruition I would hope that there is a narrow group of no more than 1 to 3 people who wind up holding enough shares to make for a controlling interest with others combining for a minority stake. The Stamps consortium that took over from F-Troop amounted to 3 individuals; Hellard, Mitchell and Forzani plus the Flames. That's a reasonable structure. I'm not sure how functional the consortium of 30 was who bought the Edmonton Oilers from Pocklington. Too many cooks can spoil the broth.
I agree, I don't see an Oilers-like consortium scenario working here with a CFL team. We need at least a few bigger stakeholders who can carry the load. Otherwise, I don't see a stable future.
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Hambone wrote:
Sun Sep 15, 2019 2:26 pm
BC 1988 wrote:
Sun Sep 15, 2019 2:03 pm
The Stamps group in 2005 had the advantage of a Flames group minor ownership stake--which transitioned to a majority ownership stake in 2012.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/ ... -1.1132253
The Lions group does not appear to have the same major player (but we haven't seen all the potential parties in the Woodall-Keith group.)
Barring an Aquilini participation n the group I don't see a Flames-like player out on the left coast. However if the speculated $200K/share scenario comes to fruition I would hope that there is a narrow group of no more than 1 to 3 people who wind up holding enough shares to make for a controlling interest with others combining for a minority stake. The Stamps consortium that took over from F-Troop amounted to 3 individuals; Hellard, Mitchell and Forzani plus the Flames. That's a reasonable structure. I'm not sure how functional the consortium of 30 was who bought the Edmonton Oilers from Pocklington. Too many cooks can spoil the broth.
I don't want Aquilini anywhere near the Lions. He's already completely screwed the Canucks. If you think things are bad with the Lions right now, they'd get much worse with Aquilini.
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David
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Not sure I necessarily want the Aquilinis either but I'm going to bite this time (ignoring the other 15x you've written the same thing on here, lol). How have they "completely screwed" the Canucks? They are one of the most valuable teams in the league. Rumours persist of their (Francesco's?) over-involvement, thus delaying the rebuild. But the Canucks have drafted well and have a number of key assets in place to make the playoffs this year or next. Hell, they came within one game of winning the Stanley Cup in 2011!

Could their vast scale and reach not be helpful to the Lions' marketing? I love the Canucks marketing. "We Are All Canucks" was adopted as a local battle cry. I wish we had the staff and creative assets they have. The Stampeders seem to have benefitted from their partnership with the Flames as well. Even if you don't like the Aquilini family, what makes you think they would be as "hands-on" with the Lions as they are with the Canucks?

Further, while the sample size with Vancouver Warriors is limited and professional lacrosse teams have always been bad in this market, their attendance more than doubled by moving downtown to Rogers Arena and with ancillary marketing/branding by Canucks Sports and Entertainment (source: Globe and Mail, April 25, 2019). There is a precedent for owning other sports franchises and cross-promotion.


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