Just like a magic trick, Canadian professional sport teams disappearing, and then reappearing somewhere else-the United States. Over the past decade, we have seen the Vancouver Grizzlies (NBA), the Winnipeg Jets (NHL), and the Québec Nordiques (NHL) migrating to the south. This shows that even hockey isn't safe in the Great White North. The mixture of the falling Canadian dollar, high taxes, sparse population, and lack of revenue sharing brews up a lethal formula for the pro sport teams remaining in Canada. The low exchange rate is a factor in Canada because 80% the teams' income (from television, tickets, memorabilia) are in Canadian dollars, while 80% of expenses (player salaries, advertisements) are in US dollars-it is up to the team to come up with the difference (Godfrey). The so-called "revenue sharing" of Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association are not helping the Canadian teams either.
English: Based on :Image:BlankMap-Canada-South.png...
North American (U.S. and Canada) cities in which a...
Karte mit Spielorten der Vereine in den Ligen: NFL...Most of them only have sharing at 23-29% of the total income (Shiller). Canadian fans shouldn't be blamed for not going out to support their teams-they shouldn't have to support mediocre teams with below-average players. Unless the Canadian dollars rebounds back, more star players sign with Canadian teams and the leagues establish a NFL-like revenue sharing policy, the future of professional sport teams in Canada looks rather grim.
We have seen the loonie plummet from $0.89 US ten years ago to a scanty 62 American pennies today. The owners of a Canada-based professional sport club get the majority of their income in Canadian dollars because the fans pay for tickets and merchandise using the loonie, while they have to give their players with the green-backs. For example, if an average ticket for a game costs $34.00 CAD, the team really only gets $21.20 USD. The reverse is true too:...