Suck it, Alex Rios: the Jays are not leaving Toronto
In an appropriately financial analysis, Forbes reveals why Alex Rios is always wrong and capitalism is always right. On one of the magazine’s blogs, Peter Schwartz takes the former Jay to task for shooting his mouth off and speculating that the team is going to have leave Toronto because of crappy attendance. Don’t get us wrong: the attendance is crappy (records are being set for mid-game echoing at the Rogers Centre), but that doesn’t matter. “Rogers owns the team, its ballpark and the TV and radio stations that air most games,” writes Schwartz. “The Jays get more money from TV than most teams because their broadcast territory stretches across Canada.” How much? "$63 million since the 2004 season, including $13 million last year, despite fielding mediocre teams.”
Looks like no matter how lousy the Jays’ performance is, English Canada just keeps tuning in (if not attending games). As Schwartz says, “The Blue Jays are not the Expos.” No kidding. Quebecers won’t even tolerate that level of loserdom when it comes to hockey.
