” I hope that [la famille Saputo] will get the support it deserves from the City. She wants to make renovations and investments in the stadium. The City should help the family. A sports team is not charity. »
Posted yesterday at 9:02 p.m.
These words are those of Don Garber, Commissioner of Major League Soccer. He said them during his press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday ahead of the MLS final, which will take place on Saturday.
Garber was answering a question from colleague Jérémy Filosa, by videoconference, who wanted to know what he thought of CF Montreal’s success this season.
After having praised the organization, he challenged the City.
According to him, funding from the municipal government for renovations to the Saputo stadium would make it possible to “give back to the community in a concrete way”.
Garber had also just pointed out that the Saputo family “did not reach the break-even point” with CF Montreal. But that doesn’t stop him from “working in the soccer business in Canada for decades,” he says.
It warmed my heart to come to Montreal and see Joey and his family, in the stands, in front of everything they had always dreamed of.
Don Garber, Commissioner of Major League Soccer
Don Garber came to town for CF Montreal’s clash with New York City FC on October 23. Alongside the Montreal owner, the American businessman witnessed a packed Saputo stadium and an electrifying atmosphere.
He credits in passing “the exciting team” that the CFM put on the lawn in 2022, but also the work that Gabriel Gervais has done since taking office.
“The new president is doing a fantastic job,” says Garber. I think they finally have a good formula in the staff. »
Apple TV, to “reinvent”
Earlier, Don Garber was delighted with records reached this year in MLS. He spoke of “10 million” tickets sold for the league and a 16% increase in ratings, in particular.
He said the league’s 10-year contract with Apple TV will “reinvent the way sports are consumed for the next generation of fans.”
Garber says the league is “finalizing” deals with cable channels to provide coverage on traditional television. We are still waiting to find out who from TVA Sports or RDS will get the fifteen games that MLS is ready to share with these channels in 2023.
“There was no press to do that during the season,” he points out to explain the delay.
A 29e team will join MLS in 2023: St. Louis City SC. And already, Garber estimates that talks will continue early next year to host the 30e. San Diego and Las Vegas are part of “very active discussions”. However, it raises a particular issue in Nevada: an indoor stadium must be built in Las Vegas, which involves much greater costs.
The perennial question of the stadium for New York City FC has surfaced again. The defending champions still play at Yankee Stadium, a stadium designed for baseball.
And in 2022 alone, NYCFC played at home in six venues.
“It’s not optimal not to have a house” for a club in New York, agrees the commissioner. “MLS never wants that. »
Last July, the New York Post wrote that Mayor Eric Adams was about to announce a deal for a soccer-specific stadium in Queens, not far from the Mets’ Citi Field. Confirmation still hasn’t come.
Despite repeated attempts and failures over the past few years, Don Garber is staying the course. “I have confidence that we will have a stadium in New York. »