Braley to buy Argos?

[zark]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/a ... le1322625/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/y ... le1322631/
I don't think Braley can own two teams, and he is from Southern Ont.

[Big Time]

I thought he already did own the Argos, what with all the loans from last year

[SammyGreene]

The most interesting part:

Braley has said on several occasions that when the time comes to sell the Lions, he will look for a football fan with a community mindset, someone who will be a trustworthy caretaker. He has estimated the value of his franchise at $15-million, and says as many as 15 interested parties exist, half residing in B.C.

One such person is Vancouver Canucks chairman Francesco Aquilini, who is interested in buying the Lions and had lunch with Braley last month.

“It’s not for sale now,” Braley said when approached recently about the Lions. “When the time comes, I’ll pick the person with the same passion as me. And he’ll have to look after it properly. He doesn’t have to be local, but it’s preferable.”

Letting the Canucks marketing department take on the Lions would be a good thing IMHO.

No. 1 Red Flag — Does Aquilini understand and grasp the history of the CFL and the Lions franchise in this province or is this more about controlling the pro football interests in this town and exploring relocating an NFL team to a refurbished BC Place in the future?

[Don Miller]

I would be worried that Aqulini would want a damn Orca on the helmets..We need someone who breathes football not a guy who thinks he wants to buy another franchise!

[Blue In BC]

The Lions aren't worth $15 M. All the teams in the CFL aren't worth $15M since they don't generate that kind of profit as a league.

[Rammer]

The Lions aren't worth $15 M. All the teams in the CFL aren't worth $15M since they don't generate that kind of profit as a league.

I agree, but you don't ask for $15M expecting it, but it does weed out the $5M interested parties.

[Hutch85]

One such person is Vancouver Canucks chairman Francesco Aquilini, who is interested in buying the Lions and had lunch with Braley last month.

Ick. Doesn't feel right to me, don't know exactly why but it just doesn't.

Let's hope Braley's intuition/sense/knowledge guides him to the right owner(s), if/when the time comes.

[Big Time]

I think Aquilini would be an excellent owner for the Lions. I'm not sure if it's just anti-Canuck sentiment that is creeping in to some of the comments in this thread, but having a local owner and leveraging the marketing power of the Canucks would be absolutely huge for this team. So far Aquilini has been an excellent owner, showing he is willing to spend what it takes and to install the right people to get the job done. Having the same owner for the Lions and the Canucks would likely also eliminate one of the more annoying things that happens every year: Canucks and Lions home games on the same night. Building an environment that attracts players to the team is critical. Did you see what the Canucks recently did with their dressing room? Having a guy with his bank roll, not to mention being local, would be a win for the Lions, the city and the CFL.

[Hambone]

I think Aquilini would be an excellent owner for the Lions. I'm not sure if it's just anti-Canuck sentiment that is creeping in to some of the comments in this thread, but having a local owner and leveraging the marketing power of the Canucks would be absolutely huge for this team. So far Aquilini has been an excellent owner, showing he is willing to spend what it takes and to install the right people to get the job done. Having the same owner for the Lions and the Canucks would likely also eliminate one of the more annoying things that happens every year: Canucks and Lions home games on the same night. Building an environment that attracts players to the team is critical. Did you see what the Canucks recently did with their dressing room? Having a guy with his bank roll, not to mention being local, would be a win for the Lions, the city and the CFL.

I'm not sure what it is either. Whether it's some of that Canuck animosity that is prevelant around here or not liking the way Aquilini went about getting the Canucks, at least according to Gagliardi. Regardless the early returns on his ownership of the Canucks are that he has been an absolute model owner with a desire to have nothing less than a top notch and classy organization operated by highly competent people.

[Tighthead]

I liked the way Aquilini got the deal done on the Canucks. The other guys negotiated for over a year, trying to make the deal just right, and seemed to induce vendor fatigue as a result.

Aquilini got the deal done. Coffee is for closers.

I can't see him being much better than braley, but not much worse either. He may have more political clout due to the Canucks.

[Spud387]

I liked the way Aquilini got the deal done on the Canucks. The other guys negotiated for over a year, trying to make the deal just right, and seemed to induce vendor fatigue as a result.

Aquilini got the deal done. Coffee is for closers.

I can't see him being much better than braley, but not much worse either. He may have more political clout due to the Canucks.

It opens possibilities. Aquilini would have the influence to try and prevent Lions and Canuck games from overlapping. Giving out incentives to Canucks fans to attend Lions games since he would want both to succeed.

[Big Time]

Truthfully, outside of being generously committed to the Lions, I wouldn't say Braley has been a great owner. He has run constant power plays to get rid of CFL commissioners even after he played a large hand in hiring them in the first place, he at one point was the acting commissioner of the league while he was still owner of the Lions, he gave under the table loans to the Argos without disclosure, and he generally has been adverse to any salary cap management system from the get go, largely to the detriment of the league. This team was largely a joke for a long time, and shockingly like the current Argos regime (i wonder why ), until he hired Ackles and Buono. In general, he seems to follow rules when they are convenient, and works to undermine those who he disagrees with. The fact that he lives in Hamilton yet has shown so much commitment to BC has been commendable, but I would not classify him as a great owner.

People are free to bash the Canucks and Aquilini if they want to. Everyone has their reasons. I'm both a Canuck and Lions ticket holder and think that Aquilini has done more while owning the Canucks for the last two years than John McCaw did for them in 10 years. Having the Lions and Canucks team up for joint marketing initiatives would be beneficial to all fans.

As for the Gagliardi thing, I have many friends who are lawyers who were close to this case and they all said that Gagliardi's case was completely without merit, which was evidenced by the judgment in favour of Aquilini. In fact, it was actually extremely difficult for Gagliardi to even get a law firm to take the case, because virtually every legal opinion he received was that he was going to lose badly.

[ziggy]

The Lions aren't worth $15 M. All the teams in the CFL aren't worth $15M since they don't generate that kind of profit as a league.

I agree, but you don't ask for $15M expecting it, but it does weed out the $5M interested parties.

As a long term investment I think it would be a good deal. If you are looking at a quick turnaround and big profit,it likely isn't, nor are you likely a good candidate to own the franchise IMHO

[The_Pauser]

Quite honestly, Aquilini possibly buying the team has me very worried. The guy is a huge money grabber and really only cares about how profitable an investment is. If the team ever starts losing money again I fear that he might just gut the team, cut as many costs from anywhere he can, and try to dump them whenever he can as best as he can to whomever he can. He's definitely not a guy I would trust.

BUT, Greg Kerfoot on the otherhand, if he could afford to buy the Lions while owning the Whitecaps, that wouldn't be such a bad thing.