With a third "substantial loss in four years, members
of the Expos' ownership consortium might soon have to dig
into their pockets," according to Ian MacDonald of the
Montreal GAZETTE. Expos President Claude Brochu said the
club will finish with a C$13M shortfall this year after
losing between C$6-7M in '96. Brochu said that the club
received between C$9-10M in revenue sharing last year, "and
it expects a little more this year." The Expos are also
receiving an annual sum of C$4-5M from the expansion teams.
Brochu: "[Revenue sharing] simply is not sufficient to cover
expenses. ...[W]e'll know where we stand in all of this next
spring. If there is enough interest in license sales and
corporate boxes for us to go ahead with the [new] stadium
planning, that's the way we'll go. If there is not, we will
sell" (Montreal GAZETTE, 9/30). Brochu added that ticket
prices will increase to '96 levels, after this year's
experiment with cut-rate prices, which was, in Brochu's
words, "a miserable failure" (GAZETTE, 9/29).
BALLPARK UPDATE: Brochu said that all 1,300 of the most
expensive C$10,000 seat licenses for a new ballpark have
either sold or "will be sold" (Montreal GAZETTE, 9/29).
