“Spending millions does not guarantee success. ” It’s known. CF Montreal president and CEO Gabriel Gervais doesn’t need to name any teams. Nor to make superfluous promises. The key to success for his team lies in what has ensured its sustainability so far: doing more with less.
When Inter Miami CF moves to its new 25,000-seat stadium sometime by 2025, Saputo Stadium will become the smallest in MLS at 19,619 seats. Gabriel Gervais, in his best imitation of a real estate agent, prefers to say that he is “intimate”.
Above all, the Saputo stadium is not yet used to its full capacity, which leaves room for growth before finding it downright cramped. “We’re close to an average of 18,000 spectators per game this year, that’s almost 30% more than last year’s average. It is most encouraging. »
“Premium” experience
Another interesting percentage: the share of tickets sold by CF Montreal for home games that are considered “ premium “. These are the most expensive, which bring the most to the team. The Montreal Football Club wants to increase their proportion and reach the league average, thereby increasing its revenues substantially without having to invest too heavily in its facilities.
In the new MLS stadiums, tickets premium represent up to 20% of all tickets sold. They generate up to 70% of the ticketing revenue of the teams concerned. Not quite 7% of the tickets sold by CF Montreal fall into this category, indicates Gabriel Gervais, for less than 30% of the revenue collected at the ticket office at the Saputo stadium.
“So the question is, how do you get to the league average? It is more a question of the configuration of the stadium and its seats than a question of dimensions. Especially since there are no bad seats in our stadium. »
Messi in the Park (Olympic)
David Beckham, Inter Miami CF’s best-known co-owner, has promised “a dream team” to his team’s supporters. Not just Messi, then. Sergio Busquets, then Jordi Alba, also former FC Barcelona, will also join the ranks of the Florida team in the coming days.
The formula works: season tickets in Miami have gone. The price of all tickets skyrocketed. Full houses are already predicted for many of the team’s upcoming games, both at home and abroad.
The Messi effect is also felt 2600 kilometers further north. CF Montreal says the waiting list for season tickets has grown with many new names after the arrival in North America of the man who calls himself “Leo” has been confirmed. This is enough to revive rumors about a new, larger stadium closer to downtown, where the Alouettes of Montreal billionaire Pierre Karl Péladeau could also settle to play their football – the one with their hands.
The president of CF Montreal rather reiterates his intention to make his current stadium more welcoming. If Messi were to set foot on the Montreal lawn, which has a slim chance of happening this summer as part of the Leagues Cup, but which may happen in the regular season next summer, it will be on the natural grass of the Saputo stadium that he will do it. Not on the Olympic Stadium lawn.
“Our home is the Saputo stadium,” recalls Gabriel Gervais. We have some of the most beautiful pitches in the league, we will welcome Miami and Messi there, like the other teams, unless the weather does not allow it. »
Spotlight on women’s soccer
MLS news casts a lot of shadow on what should be the topic of the hour in the entourage of CF Montreal: the inauguration of a women’s component at its Soccer Academy. The Montreal club is taking the reins of the women’s Excel program, which until now has been piloted by Soccer Quebec.
As the 2023 Women’s World Cup gets under way in Australia and New Zealand, where Canada should do well, and with talk of a women’s professional league forming somewhere in 2025, this is big news. Especially since for CF Montreal, this could lead to an expansion of its training center, Center Nutrilait, located on Notre-Dame Street a little east of Pie-IX, in Montreal.
“We want to offer the best infrastructure, the best opportunities for all members of the Academy, girls and boys alike. Already, we are running out of space. We have plans for a potential expansion on the neighboring fields,” said Gabriel Gervais, who does not, however, intend to create a women’s CF Montreal. “If a league is born with a team in Quebec, we will be a talent incubator for this team. And for players who want to continue on the university side or abroad. »
A way to invest in soccer that connects CF Montreal to its roots. The club formerly known as the Impact has always been closer to Quebec soccer than to the multimillionaires of international soccer. It still benefits him quite well.