SkyDome's "big sales push" to renew leases on its
luxury boxes "has turned into an embarrassing bust,"
according to Tony Van Alphen of the TORONTO STAR, who
reports that sources say that "only a handful of the 151
boxholders have renewed leases with about two months left
before their 10-year term expire." Van Alphen: "Almost
everything has gone wrong with the campaign -- the timing,
the prices and lease terms -- after SkyDome officials
seriously underestimated competition from the nearby Air
Canada Centre." The situation is "so grave" that management
plans to "cut prices" and has called in IMG to "help revise
lease terms and benefits in hopes of generating critical
revenue." SkyDome President Michael Downey: "The response
is not what we expected. Therefore, we've got to repackage
it." Downey "would not reveal the size of the price cuts
but said they would be 'noticeable.'" Prior to the start of
the renewal campaign, SkyDome "reduced its expectations" by
cutting the number of boxes it would sell from 151 to 115
"because of the effect of the competition." Downey
acknowledged that the renewal campaign "has shown the [Air
Canada Centre] took a lot of money out of the market."
Downey: "It's something we knew was there but it's a deeper
problem than we thought" (TORONTO STAR, 10/22).