The Blue Jays’ “gutting World Series Game 7 loss is vindication of the decision” by Rogers Communications Exec Chair Edward Rogers and CEO Tony Staffieri to “make sports a tentpole strategy at the telecom company,” according to Andrew Willis of the GLOBE & MAIL. Rogers owning the team is “flipping the switch on perceptions of a company consumers loved to hate, while bulking up its balance sheet.” For even the most casual of fans, the Blue Jays’ run through the playoffs “built a bond with both players” and a company that “never stopped reminding viewers it is the ’proud owner of Canada’s team.’” Wrapping Rogers in the “warm and fuzzy feelings generated by the Blue Jays is a huge win.” It “speaks to competence at a family-controlled company that hasn’t always been able to get out of its own way.” The Blue Jays‘ run and “massive valuation on Rogers’s sports platform speak to a consistent approach to building a business.” Over the past three years, Staffieri “paid down debt by raising capital from sophisticated investors such as Blackstone Inc. and pension plans.” Rogers “picked up the pace on signing up new cellphone customers.” The Blue Jays’ “season-for-the-ages is icing on the cake.” The team has a “relatively minor impact on the telecom’s revenues, given its massive valuation.” But the “psychological and marketing benefits from owning the Blue Jays are far larger” (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/2).
PAYING OFF: SBJ’s Mike Mazzeo noted Rogers has “invested significantly in the Blue Jays,” with a combined $400M on renovations at the Rogers Centre and TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla., as well as a major contract for 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a payroll that ranked fifth in the majors. The postseason run has “benefited” the Blue Jays, with the team “selling out the remaining” 30% of its 1,100-seat, 200-level TD Clubhouse premium space set to open next season. Full-season ticket equivalents are also “expected to climb” from roughly 9,000 to as many as 13,000, while sponsorships are “projected to rise by approximately” 20% (Mike Mazzeo, SBJ).
