03-14-2003, 09:31 AM
Quote:I don't understand. Why does that make you uncomfortable?
Because it's a pension plan. Because its goal is to make money.
I don't resent it for that. It's a pension plan. It's supposed to make money.
But it's in charge of a hockey team. And a hockey team's goal is to win championships first, make money second. In these days in the NHL, where money spent is increasingly linked to success (the Sens being a happy exception), a profit-motive is a liability.
Quote:Would it bother you to have any other Mutual Fund be a part owner of the Leafs? Would you feel better if it was the University of Toronto endowment fund instead?
Or were you happier when that bastion of uprightness, decency and lack of whining called Harold Ballard owned them outright? :unsure:
No, no, and an emphatic NO to those three. For an example of what I consider model franchise owners, look at the owners of the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings of the NBA. They won't shy away from trimming the profit if they're going to win. Heck, they're accepting losses so they can win. (Well, that's going a little far. But the Leafs are $24.5M in the black, they can trim that back a little for a free agent or two...)
Quote:As investment choices go, it isn't all that bad. It could have been Enron, or even the Ottawa Senators, eh? And, at least the fund is investing in Ontario. :P Heck, some of those people whose money is tied up in that fund might even be Leafs fans.
As investment choices go, it's the closest thing to a sure bet as you can find in Ontario. The Leafs are always going to sell out. They will always have people buying their tickets, no matter how outrageous the prices. It's a great investment - but the fact that they look at it as an investment is what makes me uncomfortable.