CFL Toronto Argonauts Owner David Braley on Tuesday met with MLSE Chair Larry Tanenbaum, but they did not "reach a resolution" about the franchise's future, according to Sean Fitz-Gerald of the NATIONAL POST. Braley has put the team "up for sale, and he set out to find it a new place to play, with its lease at Rogers Centre set to expire in only two years." Braley: "There will be a place to play after 2017. I mean, the franchise has been around for 140 years. We’re going to solve the problem somehow." He did not divulge "any details of his conversations with Tanenbaum ... though he did say the two of them stayed to watch" the entire Rangers-Maple Leafs game. Braley: "There's a lot of moving parts in the discussion." Fitz-Gerald notes the Argonauts "have struggled to get anyone to attend their home games at Rogers Centre." Braley said, "The fans told me that they don’t like it, they don’t want to be there … and they want to be at some place like BMO Field -- and the fans are always right." Fitz-Gerald notes there "are a number of potential outcomes." Braley "could maintain ownership of the team while signing a lease to play at BMO Field." The "more sensible outcome would have him sell the Argos to MLSE, which would then fold the team into its vast sports empire, with a home at the renovated lakefront stadium." A report from Rogers Sportsnet suggested that Braley is asking $10M for the team, but "has only received an offer" of $2M. Braley "dismissed those numbers when asked" about them yesterday (NATIONAL POST, 2/19). Former MLSE President & CEO Richard Peddie in a recent Q&A advised against the company bringing the Argonauts to BMO Field.
