Breaking news…
Posted by Carl on April 24, 2008
From the Ottawa Business Journal:
| News Story | ||
| UPDATE: Zip.ca owner to buy Ottawa Rapids: source By Krystle Chow, Ottawa Business Journal Staff Thu, Apr 24, 2008 11:00 AM EST
Ottawa’s new professional baseball club, the Rapids, will be bought by Zip.ca’s CEO Rick Anderson and president Rob Hall, the OBJ has learned. Sources intimate with the deal say the acquisition is close to being announced, with the purchase occurring before the Rapids play their first exhibition game against the New Jersey Jackals on May 22. Online video rental company Zip.ca, along with Mr. Hall’s company Momentous.ca, is based in Ottawa. Both Mr. Anderson and Mr. Hall have been prominent figures in the national high tech and political landscape. Mr. Anderson has worked with the Conservative Party and helped grow the Reform Party with Preston Manning, while Mr. Hall founded the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) which oversees the dot-ca domain, and is one of the principal founders of the Canadian Association of Internet providers, which represents all Internet service providers in the country. The arrival of the Ottawa rapids franchise to the city was announced in February, when the Can-Am League said it would restore baseball to Ottawa after the departure of the Lynx due to poor attendance and parking disputes. When contacted by the OBJ, a Zip.ca spokesperson said the company is an “enthusiastic supporter” of the new team, but neither confirmed nor denied the news of the acquisition. “Whether Rick and Rob get involved with the team beyond being avid fans remains to be determined,” the spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. To learn more about the Rapids, click Ottawa baseball team announces name and manager to read a story by OBJ reporter Roman Zakaluzny, and for the profile on Zip.ca, click Zipping up the online video rental market.
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April 24, 2008 at 3:02 pm
If this is true then it scares me. I don’t view zip.ca as having a realistic chance at being successful in the medium/long-term. Read the referenced OBJ article for some of the reasons. I don’t have a real feel for whether Momentous.ca is really a reasonable company, or merely a fame-out waiting to happen. I skimmed the following link to read a speach from Rob Hall http://www.icann.org/meetings/lisbon/transcript-tutorial-expiring-25mar07.htm. It doesn’t give me any confidence that this is a real long-term business.
I really don’t look forward to the owner of the Rapids having money problems (been through that with the Riders and Renegades). I thought Miles was going to own the team for 2 years and then get some other owners (e.g. the rumoured Lorne Micheals).
At best I could live with them owning part of the team, but I see problems if they own the whole thing. Doesn’t seem like they have any real experience owning baseball teams, but I expect they think they know a lot more than they really know.
Hopefully this story ends up being false…
April 24, 2008 at 5:39 pm
1)Zip.ca is a very very successful company.First you take the amount of members they have and there are paying atleast $10-30 plus per month.From day one they have been successful and its just getting stronger.To add they have a deal with rogers video where the do the work but get a cut of roger online video services.As with member zip has atleast 60,000 and rogers has about 30,000.
2)Don’t forget both of these guys were weatlhy before they started zip.ca and now they even have more cash.
3)They deal with alot of pro sports team and so on with sponcership etc.So i am sure they have got some advice.
40To be honest there is alot of advantges with this more pors then cons.
April 25, 2008 at 9:12 am
> If this is true then it scares me
Not sure why it would Larry. I’m guessing you think Zip is not going to be a viable business in the long term. I would disagree although I am surprise to hear they have (had) only 30,000 subscribers. I thought they had lots more than that. I am one of those subscribers, have been for a few years, and just love the service. My mailman also said there are others in the area so that 30k mentioned in the article seems low. Maybe Canadians are just slower to accept new ways of doing things. But I do believe that this type of service, especially online videos, is the way of the future and Zip is taking the lead in this country.
Therefore, I think the owner will have good cash flow from Zip in the long term. He obviously has enough money (a few million) to buy a baseball team.
I am surprised however to hear, if this is true (must be true, the OBJ reported it) that Miles found a buyer this soon, before the very first game. I would have expected an eventual buyer to wait what will happen this season and possibly next. Had I had the money, I would have waited myself but, as a baseball fan, definately have put my name on the list of potential owners. I think Mr. Wolff must have really impressed those guys and the viability of baseball in Ottawa or they are just really big baseball fans with money who themselves impressed Mr. Wolff.
Let’s also remember that Mr. Wolff likely wanted to find an owner as soon as possible. He after all, is the league’s commissioner AND already owns the Capitales on top of his other business assets.
As for them not having experience running a sport team, I think that is irrelevant. It is a business not unlike many others. If they are smart, and most business people are, they will let the GM run the show, just as Ray Pecor did with the Lynx.
So I’m surprised by this news but not worried at all.
PS: Does this mean the stadium might be renamed Zip.ca Stadium? Now that would be a weird name.
April 25, 2008 at 6:05 pm
>PS: Does this mean the stadium might be renamed Zip.ca Stadium? Now that would be a weird name.
Zippy the Pinhead for mascot! Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
April 27, 2008 at 12:03 am
Rapidz?Rapidz??
Already a change in the logo, the name, the colors, the ownersip. Whatever happened to stability?
Sorry, Rapidzzzz can’t translate very well into French (remember the radio deal? with CJRC and that 25% of your market is francophone).
If that’s the logo, hope they don’t intend to print too many T-shirts.
I was really positive on the Can-Am, but already this operation seems bush league. My interest is quickly turning into Zip, as in Zero…
April 29, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Paul
1)The rapidz really did not have any owners.Miles wolf said he would fund the team for up to 2 years.The plan was never for miles to own the team long term.So this is a good thing we have owners now.
2)The english name is ottawa rapidz and the french name is rapidz de ottawa.