Malcomson

Who really cares who takes over the ownership of the stock portfolio called Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment! For the last little while it has been Bell and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund who have been the principal overseers, and now it looks like Rodgers with all its extra cash kicking around is looking to take over for a billion dollars plus. The same mentality of using the profits from ticket sales to pay off wealthy, top-end investors will still prevail for both the Raptors and Leafs and very little will be turned back into the teams to make them competitive. The sports entertainment value has long ago departed this stock. Maybe one day the fans will realize that they are the saps who are helping to pad the dividends that come from being preferred shareholders in this massive and lucrative corporation. Ticket prices to watch mediocre sporting teams like the Leafs and Raptors are unreasonably high because MLSE has a virtual monopoly on professional sports in this region. Perhaps the time has come to introduce some competition or break up this very powerful conglomerate of commercial interests who really don’t care what kind of product they put on the ice or court for Torontonians to watch. It is all about money and nothing about value.