Saputo, Gillett aim for Montreal MLS franchise

[ErickMontreal]

Saputo, Gillett aim for Montreal MLS franchise



Canadian Press

March 26, 2008 at 1:09 PM EDT

MONTREAL — Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett has teamed up with the Montreal Impact in a bid for a Major League Soccer franchise, Impact president Joey Saputo said Wednesday.

"I can confirm that we are in discussions with Gillett Entertainment Group as well as with Major League Soccer to bring an MLS franchise to Montreal," Saputo said in a statement. "However, I am currently in no position to share any more details, since doing so would jeopardize the process."

Montreal La Presse reported that they hope to call the team Montreal FC and begin play in the 2009 season.



The two would split the $30-million franchise fee as well as a $12-million expansion of Saputo Stadium from 13,000 to 20,000 seats. The privately financed facility near Olympic Stadium in the city's east end is set to open this season.

The report said Gillett's company and Saputo informed MLS of their interest in a letter on March 12.

Gillett became majority owner of the Canadiens in 2001. In 2007, he teamed with Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks to purchase soccer giant Liverpool and a few months later became majority owner of the Gillett-Evernham NASCAR team.

[rapswin!]

I would love to see the MTL join the MLS with Toronto FC as a Canadian team. Do the Impact get alot fans?

[MTLskyline]

Originally Posted by rapswin!

I would love to see the MTL join the MLS with Toronto FC as a Canadian team. Do the Impact get alot fans?

about 11,000 per game. Certainly being in MLS combined with the new stadium will raise that

[rapswin!]

if Montreal got the team don't be suprised to hear an increase in seats for the staduim after the team's first year. There are already talks of an increase of seats for the TFC staduim.

[kitchener-lrt]

I'd love for more Canadian teams to join the MLS, and Montreal seems like the perfect addition!

[Innersoul1]

This would be Brilliant! If Vancouver could figure out something also it would really do well for the game in this country.

[Rico Rommheim]

great news! Montreal is as crazy about football as TO. I believe the impacts were getting 10-11000 fans per game in a stadium made for 8000 people.

[Nicko999]

I think the new team(if we get one) would have alot of fans. Maybe more than Toronto???
Let's just hope!

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

great news! Montreal is as crazy about football as TO. I believe the impacts were getting 10-11000 fans per game in a stadium made for 8000 people.

no wonder why they had to tighten all those loose bolts after the first game...

good for canada

[shappy]

great news! Hopefully we'll get an intense rivalry going (duh).

[vid]

Sa puto!

[trueviking]

montreal should have a team...the impact draw more fans than some MLS teams....as a matter of fact they have a higher average attendance than the averages of leagues in every scandinavian country, czech, austria, belgium, greece and even portugal.

TFC have a canadian exclusivity clause until the end of 2010 however, so if montreal were to come in before that, they would have to negotiate a settlement.

and their stadium has real grass, not the plastic embarasment of BMO.

now lets get that damn stadium built in vancouver....whats taking so long?

[Rico Rommheim]

-

[elsonic]

it' been many years before Expos leave for DC that Soccer was way way over baseball in term of popularity. thanks to our huge European, Latino and African communities.

[SHOFEAR]

Any fire cracker companies in montreal I can invest in?

[cornholio]

Would be great but could be bad news for Vancouver because the MLS is just about done expanding - for probably a long time. If Vancouver doesn't get a MLS team because of the incompetent city staff and councilors then ill loose it...well actually I wont because I wont be living here for much longer because iv had with the city anyways. Great city, even greater province but it feels like im living in some repressed totalitarian country. But thats a whole different subject.
Anyways I do hope Montreal gets it.

[kitchener-lrt]

Originally Posted by Nicko999

Maybe more than Toronto???
Let's just hope!

TFC sells out almost every game .

[PhilippeMtl]

Originally Posted by trueviking

that, they would have to negotiate a settlement.

and their stadium has real grass, not the plastic embarasment of BMO.

Except for this point, BMO Field is such a nice stadium. It is by far, the nicest canadian stadium for a soccer game...

Hope we will get a team here. I can't wait for a futur Montreal -Toronto rivalty 11 months a year.

[MolsonExport]

Saputo...wonder if he still has his mob connections.

I recall a big article in the Glob and Snail a few years back detailing his links to the Montreal Mafia.

[Mister F]

How about we establish our own professional soccer league? Canada has to be the only country in the world whose professional sports system piggybacks on another country's. One or two pro soccer teams in a country of 33 million is pretty pathetic. Six hockey teams is even more pathetic.