OPINION: Michael Naraine discusses how Rogers’ MLSE takeover will change Toronto

Associate Professor of Sport Management Michael Naraine wrote a piece recently published in Maclean’s about Edward Rogers’ forthcoming purchase of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He writes:

“It’s a massive shakeup in the world of Canadian sports and, in the year to come, he’ll be working furiously behind the scenes to make his investment pay off. He won’t do it through playoffs or sportscasts, but by leveraging the new golden goose of sports business: real estate. The consequences could reshape Toronto entirely.

Since at least 2019, Rogers has been in talks with Brookfield Asset Management’s infrastructure arm to possibly replace the Rogers Centre with a new, smaller stadium and transform the surrounding land into a mixed-use district. If the company is smart, it will want to build condos, retail, movie theatres and everything else people want. Ed has the vision. Now we’ll see how he executes it. “

Continue reading the full article on the Maclean’s website.