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American Morning
SCARS Scare: Interview with President of Toronto's Blue Jays
Aired April 25, 2003 - 08:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: So, is it safe to go to Toronto or not? An unusual step yesterday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, it disagrees with the World Health Organization about the danger of traveling to Toronto.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: We can predict so far in Toronto where the patterns of transmissions are leading us. And there is no evidence that that travelers to that area are at any different risk of acquiring SARS than they are from going to any number of the other countries in the world where sporadic cases have cropped up among returning travelers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Toronto's mayor is trying to get the W.H.O. to reverse its warning.
And joining him in that effort is the president of the Toronto Blue Jays, Paul Godfrey.
Good morning to you, Paul. Thanks for being here.
PAUL GODFREY, PRESIDENT & CEO, TORONTO BLUE JAYS: Delighted to be here.
COLLINS: All right, I want to ask you quickly now. You believe obviously that the World Health Organization is actually being irresponsible in this warning. How so?
GODFREY: Absolutely. I don't think they discussed this at all with our provincial or our federal health officials. They have no idea with respect to how widespread or not this virus is, they have not the right information with respect to containment, and they're putting out wrong facts. And this has led to a major tourism and economic impact on the city, and we think it's irresponsible of them.
COLLINS: What about the argument: better safe than sorry?
GODFREY: Well, you know what? You can overreact to a situation. I think health officials have to be responsible. They can't act out of emotion or anxiety. They have to act in a scientific, realistic way.
COLLINS: What impact do you see -- you've already kind of touched on this -- the direct impact in particular on tourism? GODFREY: Well, tourism makes up about 20 percent of our economy in Toronto, and it will have a severe impact, not only on economic growth, but on jobs. There is no doubt that when somebody like the World Health Organization makes a statement like that, it will be a long-lasting statement. Because people are making their travel plans for the summer and beyond at this point in time, and the thought of taking that statement back even now, the danger and the impact of it has already taken place on the economy.
So we have to fight a rear-guard action in trying to win back some of the tourism that we've already lost because of the statement.
COLLINS: And you have a very personal interest in this, obviously. What sort of effect have you seen on ticket sales for the Toronto Blue Jays?
GODFREY: Well, we've already seen a loss of over 10,000 tickets from group sales, mainly from the United States. People who have made plans, people who have come here year after year have decided now, well, gee, if people are saying that there is a danger in coming to Toronto, then we'll cancel. And we think this is a way overreaction by the World Health Organization, but it does impact not only people from the United States and further afield, but it puts a scare into people living in this city as well.
COLLINS: Now, I know that you guys are hosting the Kansas City Royals. And I'm wondering, is there any concern from the players about this?
GODFREY: Well, we have not had any concerns raised by our own players, but there is no doubt that we have had questions asked from a number of the teams, including the Kansas City Royals. We've attempted to answer them. We were on a conference call yesterday with five teams, who will be the next five teams coming to Toronto and to the Skydome. We think we have answered all of their questions, but, again, a lot of wrong information, misinformation, twisted facts.
But after listening to us, we believe we've covered a lot of the points, and we had Dr. Pellman (ph) on, from Major League Baseball, who also gave them that assurance.
COLLINS: All right, Paul Godfrey, the president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, thanks so much for being with us this morning.
GODFREY: Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Jays>
Aired April 25, 2003 - 08:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: So, is it safe to go to Toronto or not? An unusual step yesterday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, it disagrees with the World Health Organization about the danger of traveling to Toronto.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: We can predict so far in Toronto where the patterns of transmissions are leading us. And there is no evidence that that travelers to that area are at any different risk of acquiring SARS than they are from going to any number of the other countries in the world where sporadic cases have cropped up among returning travelers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Toronto's mayor is trying to get the W.H.O. to reverse its warning.
And joining him in that effort is the president of the Toronto Blue Jays, Paul Godfrey.
Good morning to you, Paul. Thanks for being here.
PAUL GODFREY, PRESIDENT & CEO, TORONTO BLUE JAYS: Delighted to be here.
COLLINS: All right, I want to ask you quickly now. You believe obviously that the World Health Organization is actually being irresponsible in this warning. How so?
GODFREY: Absolutely. I don't think they discussed this at all with our provincial or our federal health officials. They have no idea with respect to how widespread or not this virus is, they have not the right information with respect to containment, and they're putting out wrong facts. And this has led to a major tourism and economic impact on the city, and we think it's irresponsible of them.
COLLINS: What about the argument: better safe than sorry?
GODFREY: Well, you know what? You can overreact to a situation. I think health officials have to be responsible. They can't act out of emotion or anxiety. They have to act in a scientific, realistic way.
COLLINS: What impact do you see -- you've already kind of touched on this -- the direct impact in particular on tourism? GODFREY: Well, tourism makes up about 20 percent of our economy in Toronto, and it will have a severe impact, not only on economic growth, but on jobs. There is no doubt that when somebody like the World Health Organization makes a statement like that, it will be a long-lasting statement. Because people are making their travel plans for the summer and beyond at this point in time, and the thought of taking that statement back even now, the danger and the impact of it has already taken place on the economy.
So we have to fight a rear-guard action in trying to win back some of the tourism that we've already lost because of the statement.
COLLINS: And you have a very personal interest in this, obviously. What sort of effect have you seen on ticket sales for the Toronto Blue Jays?
GODFREY: Well, we've already seen a loss of over 10,000 tickets from group sales, mainly from the United States. People who have made plans, people who have come here year after year have decided now, well, gee, if people are saying that there is a danger in coming to Toronto, then we'll cancel. And we think this is a way overreaction by the World Health Organization, but it does impact not only people from the United States and further afield, but it puts a scare into people living in this city as well.
COLLINS: Now, I know that you guys are hosting the Kansas City Royals. And I'm wondering, is there any concern from the players about this?
GODFREY: Well, we have not had any concerns raised by our own players, but there is no doubt that we have had questions asked from a number of the teams, including the Kansas City Royals. We've attempted to answer them. We were on a conference call yesterday with five teams, who will be the next five teams coming to Toronto and to the Skydome. We think we have answered all of their questions, but, again, a lot of wrong information, misinformation, twisted facts.
But after listening to us, we believe we've covered a lot of the points, and we had Dr. Pellman (ph) on, from Major League Baseball, who also gave them that assurance.
COLLINS: All right, Paul Godfrey, the president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, thanks so much for being with us this morning.
GODFREY: Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Jays>
