Montreal Alliance | Three owners take up the torch

The Alliance de Montréal invited the media to the Verdun Auditorium Monday morning for a “major announcement” about its future. Seeing the imposing buffet and the tempting cupcakes in the team’s colors, our sleuthing skills allowed us to conclude that the said announcement was intended to be positive.

And indeed, everyone was very happy to announce that the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CBLE) ceded control of the Montreal team to Alli-Oop Investissements, a trio of private owners led by none other than the general manager of the Alliance, Joel Anthony.

The Alliance thus becomes the seventh of ten LECB teams to be sold to private hands. “We are passing the torch,” summarized the commissioner and co-founder of the circuit, Mike Morreale, speaking of this day as a “historic moment”.

“Over the last three years, with teams becoming privately owned, I saw that this was something necessary for the future of [l’Alliance]. I didn’t know if I would really like to be in this position, but I’m so happy to be here, with good partners. It’s really exciting for me,” said Joel Anthony, who remains CEO.

In addition to Anthony, pharmacist-owner Ian-Philip Paul-Hus is among the new buyers. Holder of Alliance season tickets since 2022, he notably demonstrated his love of basketball by showing a newspaper article in which we see him with his arms in the air, screaming his joy around the court, during of a match for his new team.

Léo Bouisson, founder of Weeve, an electric vehicle rental company, completes the triumvirate. Basketball is a family affair for him. His grandfather co-founded Cholet Basket in France, a club that developed Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves, among others. He also hosts the podcast Unfiltered Athletesin which he interviews athletes from various sports.

Montreal, “favorite city”

One of the priorities of the new owners of the Alliance is quite clear: improving the club’s sporting results. Because if the latter is overall successful at the ticket office, the story is very different on the court. Since its founding in 2021, the Alliance has consistently finished its seasons ranked last in its division.

“I know we can change that,” insisted Joel Anthony. I want our team to be one that everyone talks about. […] It’s going to take a little time, but we know we now have a chance to be in this position. That’s what’s exciting for us. »

In the opinion of the three men, the fact that the Alliance is now privately owned will help them in this sense, since it will now be able to offer better salaries to its players.

“What we realized was that the teams that were privately owned had a certain advantage,” argued Mr. Paul-Hus. Some players preferred to go, for example, to Winnipeg because it is private property. Knowing this, if the Montreal team remained in a certain way the property of the league, we could [présenter] a good club, but there were certain barriers. And we just took them off. »

“What we want is to create an environment where players want to come to Montreal. We want to be the darling city. We want the players to choose Montreal before the others,” he added.

Renewed experience

In addition to performances on the court, the owners want to improve the experience offered to the public during local matches. First item on the menu, Mr. Paul-Hus believes: the sound system of the Verdun Auditorium, apparently at the center of many complaints.

“As it belonged to the league, the budgets were more limited. We guarantee you that we will open it, the budget, and we will resolve it, the problem,” he promised.

The owners also want to organize large-scale events, to make themselves better known and to show that they deserve a place in the city’s sports ecosystem, just like the Canadiens, the Alouettes, the Victoire and the CF. Montreal.

“We don’t want to be just in the shadows,” insisted Léo Bouisson. We want to be side by side [avec les autres équipes]be respected and seen in the same way. »

“There will be things that the fans will see, and others that they will not see. But there will be a change in the identity of this team,” warned Joel Anthony.

In addition to presenting its new owners, the Alliance also announced that it had renewed its lease with the Verdun Auditorium until December 31, 2026. The team will begin its 2025 season in May and will play 12 games at residence.