CFL ROUND-UP
TORONTO – Toronto Argonauts owner David Braley has people kicking the tires of the franchise he hopes to sell, but his top priority is securing the team a lease at BMO Field.
The Argos and B.C. Lions – the CFL teams Braley owns – have been for sale since last September when the 73-year-old Hamilton businessman stated he’d sell one or both by his 75th birthday. Braley said Tuesday he has several potential suitors for the Lions but refuted a Toronto Star headline stating he had “multiple offers” for the Argos.
“I don’t have multiple offers,” Braley said in a telephone interview. “I’ve had multiple people approach me, that’s the truth. It’s now three but that’s beside the point.”
Braley wouldn’t say if Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment – which owns the NHL’s Maple Leafs, NBA’s Raptors and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and also operates BMO Field – was one of the parties interested in the Argos. But Braley was adamant his top priority is reaching a lease agreement with MLSE for BMO Field.
“That’s the first step in the process,” Braley said. “I would say that’s not out of the question … I believe there’s a very good chance we’ll get this thing sorted out.
“Then the second step is are they (MLSE) interested in buying it? That’s a separate issue.”
Time is of the essence. The Argos’ lease at Rogers Centre expires after the 2017 season.
MLSE has proposed a $120-million renovation of BMO Field, with the first phase expected to be completed in time for next summer’s Pan-Am Games. The opening part of the project went ahead without $10-million funding commitments from both the provincial or federal governments, resulting in the third and final phase – which included the installation of a playing surface capable of accommodating a CFL franchise – being placed on the back burner.
CFL commissioner Mark Cohon expects the Argos and MLSE to resume talks in the coming weeks. Should either the provincial or federal governments not commit financially to the BMO Field expansion, Cohon said the league will look at how it could raise the $10-$20 million needed to ensure the third phase went ahead.
“I think what’s most important is we come up with the right lease agreement that works for MLSE as the operator of BMO Field but also works for the future of the Argos and can make them a profitable franchise,” Cohon said. “Then the next phase after that would be the discussion around other incremental areas we can support BMO Field.
“The important thing is for our fans and partners to know there’s a solution at hand and we’re trying to work through that. If we can get them in there it makes the team a lot more attractive for a future purchaser. That’s what we’re focused on.”
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Alberta’s two Canadian Football League clubs are teaming up with a non-profit organization to help end domestic violence.
The Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos are working with the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters in a program aimed at promoting respectful relationships and getting young men stop inappropriate and abusive behaviour.
Players from both teams, along with university coaches, are being trained to participate in what organizers hope will be about 50 school and community presentations a year.
Eskimos’ quarterback Mike Reilly (RY’-lee), who trained for the program, says it’s important to let kids know that men have the ability to end violence.
Carolyn Goard (GORD), a council spokeswoman, says it’s strictly coincidence that the program’s launch comes as the National Football League deals with some players who have been investigated in domestic violence cases.
The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters supports 41 sheltering organizations across the province.
(Canadian Press)
So the league has to fix a stadium for the Argos. Why not fix a stadium in the Maritimes and relocate the Argos. Toronto doesn't deserve a football team, they've lived for years without a hockey team but I don't feel sorry for them. There's no reason the other teams should give them five cents.
Great to see the work being done by the CFL in Alberta confronting violence against women. (Although I suspect that Obama is not impressed and might now be spinning in his computer chair.)
Five points that athletes, civic leaders, media, and role models could help communicate to end domestic violence in Saskatchewan.
1. Stop drinking so much.
2. Stop providing your underage children with alcohol for their bush parties.
3. Start respecting local authorities and laws.
4. Start respecting the education system.
5. Stop drinking so much.
Anon, Lighten Up, it's easy to point the finger at booze but it has a lot more to do with how people are raising their children than it does with drinking. 1. Have a drink and lighten up a bit2. Kids are gonna get booze regardless of whose buying it for them3. I don't see the relevance here, please expand on this theory4. Again I have a serious relevance issue with this statement. 5. You're too self absorbed, open your mind All of your points are ridiculous and making huge assumptions about the general population that just aren't true. Please… Read more »
Every game attended so far has featured Geroy Simon and a message about drinking and driving. The Riders seem to be proactive about the misuse of alcohol considering that the message is part of the game experience.
Do some social research including data from the RCMP and city police; most social dysfunction in this province including domestic abuse involves alcohol in some manner.
They are going to do it anyway is an answer to a problem that does not have an easy simplistic answer. It can be agreed that the real solution will require creative thinking and an open mind.
I like rum