Toronto deal a mega coup for Champ Car
Don't bet on that, said Kalkhoven before as much as saying Champ Car plans to acquire the event, much as it did the Long Beach race earlier this year.
"We'll be racing in Toronto for a long time to come," he said. "Long Beach is the jewel of the American portion of our series and we purchased the assets earlier this year. Mexico City is the jewel of the Mexican portion of our series and we own half of that. Do you see a trend there?" SPEEDTV
10/15/05 The broadcast arm of Molson Sports and Entertainment — the production unit that produces Champ Car's television package — is not part of the deal with the Toronto Indy race. Negotiations between Molson and Champ Car for the production unit to handle Champ Car's television package in 2006 are continuing. Toronto Star [Editor's Note: That's not what we are hearing.] 10/15/05 AutoRacing1.com is now hearing that Messrs. Kalkhoven and Forsythe may have pulled off another major coup for Champ Car. While most of the media is thinking they are just buying the rights to the Toronto race, our sources now tell us they are likely buying all of Molson Sports & Entertainment (Molstar until 2001) – a company that not only does event management, operations, marketing and public relations, but also TV production, which they currently do for Champ Car. By doing so Kalkhoven and Forsythe will not only own another company to help put on the increasing number of races they own, but they will have full control and ownership rights to the TV production and images just like Bernie Ecclestone does in F1. If this rumor is true, this is a mega deal for Champ Car and cements yet another brick in their foundation – this a major brick.
Molson Sports and Entertainment, was a division of Molson Canada, and is a dynamic company built on a solid foundation of expertise in producing world-class events. With a successful history as one of Canada’s leading corporate sports broadcasting companies, Molstar, as it is known, is uniquely positioned in the North American sports marketplace.
Molson S & E has become known internationally for successfully owning and operating the Molson Indy event in Toronto and previously in Vancouver. Molson S & E is unique in the North American sports marketplace due to its ability to handle all aspects of a large event, including management, operations, sponsorship, marketing, public relations and ticketing, as well as the ability to take the event to the broadcast community.
Now we know why the rumored purchase price was over $20 million, it wasn't just for the rights to the Toronto race.
10/13/05 Molson, Canada's largest beer maker, has given the Champ Car World Series an Oct. 31 deadline to purchase the assets of the Toronto Molson Indy or risk losing it to the Indy Racing League. The bombshell deal will not mean the end of Toronto's largest sporting event, however, as Molson virtually is certain to maintain primary sponsorship duties, no matter who takes over the weeklong summer festival of speed.
"What we have now is a memorandum of understanding that means if (Champ Car) wants to purchase the physical assets of the race — which is the blocks, the fences and the bridges — it has to do its due diligence now," Cynthea Galbraith, Molson Sports and Entertainment communications manager, said yesterday. [Editor's Note: We can tell you that they are going to buy it.]
Galbraith said that Molson remains very interested in continuing its involvement with the event, but not as a promoter. "Molson knows that this is one of its pillar events," she said. "It wants to keep it. It is important for the city."
Galbraith also said that if Champ Car decides to buy the race assets from the brewer, it would be a good thing for the event. "If Molson is not going to run it then Champ Car will and that's the next best thing," she said.
If Champ Car completes the deal to buy the Toronto assets, it will mark the second race purchase for it's two majority owners — Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe — this season. The pair outbid the IRL to take over the Grand Prix of Long Beach — Champ Car's premier American event — earlier this year.
Champ Car spokesman Steve Shunck said yesterday that the series is very interested in making sure Toronto stays on its race calendar. "There will be Champ Car people in Toronto talking with Molson people about the future of Molson Sports and Entertainment," he said. "Champ Car has had a great relationship over the years with Molson and with the Toronto Molson Indy race and we hope our relationship continues long into the future." Toronto Sun
10/12/05 We are upgrading this rumor to 'fact.' AutoRacing1.com has learned that Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe have bought the rights to the Toronto race from Molson. We await the official announcement. 10/12/05 Molson Sports and Entertainment is getting out of the auto racing business. The subsidiary of Molson Canada Inc. has reached a memorandum of understanding to sell the rights to stage the Toronto Indy back to Champ Car, the Star has learned. A source said the two sides have yet to agree on a price. By repurchasing the rights and running the race itself, Champ Car would be assured of maintaining one of its strongest events and would make it difficult for the rival IRL to step into the breach if the Toronto race were not run. Attendance has slipped slightly over the past three years — even with a 20 per cent drop in ticket prices last year — but the Toronto Indy continues to draw upwards of 160,000 for the three-day event. Molson has been gradually moving away from organizing auto races in Canada. When the Vancouver Indy was abandoned and a replacement race, which turned out to be a huge success, was organized in Edmonton, Molson waived its Canada-wide rights. The rights to the Montreal Champ Car race were also reassigned, going to Normand Legault of Grand Prix Canada. Grand Prix Canada holds the rights to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and stages the annual Formula One race. As it has done in both Edmonton and Montreal, however, Molson will likely retain either the sponsorship rights or exclusivity over beer sales and advertising rights at the Toronto Indy. "Molson is getting out of organizing events and going back to what it does best — sell beer," said the source. Neither Champ Car nor Molson officials returned calls yesterday. Toronto Star