JNO1
Active Member
From flagship franchise to the outhouse. How far we've fallen.
Don't go to Edmonton - Kenny Lawler
Don't go to Edmonton - Kenny Lawler
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The Edmonton Elks - CFL
- Thread starter IanO
- Start date
scyeg
New Member
The Elks have obviously had issues for a while now, but I don't get the point of trying to sewer your former team more than a year after you've played your final game with them. You're in the GC, you should be focused on prepping for the biggest game of the year. Anyway, one more reason I hope the Als win. Go Maas.
kcantor
Senior Member
^
i don’t get it either. just as I don’t get that weird “watering the grass under his own feet” sentiment,.
obviously that sentiment didn’t extend to giving back some of that highest non qb salary in the league so the team could bring in a stronger supporting cast…
i don’t get it either. just as I don’t get that weird “watering the grass under his own feet” sentiment,.
obviously that sentiment didn’t extend to giving back some of that highest non qb salary in the league so the team could bring in a stronger supporting cast…
IanO
Senior Member
https://3downnation.com/2023/11/15/c...edmonton-elks/
CFL won’t speculate on possible privatization of Edmonton Elks
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie refused to weigh in on the possibility of private ownership for the Edmonton Elks during his State of League address on Tuesday.
“It’s not for me to speculate what direction the Elks might take,” Ambrosie told members of the media. “What I will say is whatever decisions and whatever future is going to be created for the Elks, those decisions will be made in Edmonton by Edmontonians, by the Elks and their board.”
In August, Elks’ board chairman Tom Richards denied speculation that the team was considering a move to private ownership due to financial difficulties, citing a reserve fund of $10 million. However, recent reports have indicated that a change in the ownership model remains a possibility.
The Elks mutually parted ways with president Victor Cui on August 15, under two years after the entrepreneur and former mixed martial arts promoter was hired to turn around the struggling organization. The team went 4-23 during his tenure and set a North American pro sports record by losing 22 consecutive home games. Edmonton posted a $3.3 million net operating loss in 2022 as attendance plummeted 9.1 percent. Average ticket sales rose 4.1 percent to 24,774 in 2023 but remain well below pre-pandemic levels.
Veteran CFL executive Rick LeLacheur came out of retirement to take over as the team’s interim president and is expected to remain with the club through next season. He previously served as the Edmonton Football Team’s president and CEO from 2002 to 2011, winning a pair of Grey Cups. LeLacheur later joined the B.C. Lions in the same capacity from 2018 to 2022 and is widely credited with spearheading the sale of the team from the estate of the late David Braley to current owner Amar Doman.
“I won’t speak for the Elks in terms of what led to the final decision that they made to make that change,” Ambrosie said regarding the departure of Cui.
“What I can say is that I was really pleased to see Rick LeLacheur come back into the fold. Rick’s got a really great history in Edmonton. He was part of a lot of very successful Edmonton football clubs over the years. He’s an Edmontonian and he knows the city really well. Ultimately, and I think appropriately so, the Elks board is going to rely heavily on Rick to get them going.”
The Elks, which were founded in 1949, are one of three remaining community-owned teams in the CFL, alongside the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The B.C. Lions were privatized in 1989, while the Calgary Stampeders underwent the process in 1991.
Though Ambrosie would not express an official league stance on the subject of privatization in Edmonton, he shared optimism for the franchise as a former player.
“In terms of Edmonton itself, obviously for me, it’s very personal. I spent five of my nine seasons there. I know that city well. I know how passionate they are about their football club and that gives me a lot of optimism for the future because they’ve had such a big fan base there,” he said.
“Clearly, that fan base was very disappointed with their on-field performance and they made their displeasure known but it’s encouraging to see the success they had with the emergence of (Canadian quarterback) Tre Ford as a legitimate CFL star. I think the future’s bright in Edmonton, but clearly, like all of the teams, they’ve got work to do. I think they’ve got the right people in place to make that happen.”
CFL won’t speculate on possible privatization of Edmonton Elks
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie refused to weigh in on the possibility of private ownership for the Edmonton Elks during his State of League address on Tuesday.
“It’s not for me to speculate what direction the Elks might take,” Ambrosie told members of the media. “What I will say is whatever decisions and whatever future is going to be created for the Elks, those decisions will be made in Edmonton by Edmontonians, by the Elks and their board.”
In August, Elks’ board chairman Tom Richards denied speculation that the team was considering a move to private ownership due to financial difficulties, citing a reserve fund of $10 million. However, recent reports have indicated that a change in the ownership model remains a possibility.
The Elks mutually parted ways with president Victor Cui on August 15, under two years after the entrepreneur and former mixed martial arts promoter was hired to turn around the struggling organization. The team went 4-23 during his tenure and set a North American pro sports record by losing 22 consecutive home games. Edmonton posted a $3.3 million net operating loss in 2022 as attendance plummeted 9.1 percent. Average ticket sales rose 4.1 percent to 24,774 in 2023 but remain well below pre-pandemic levels.
Veteran CFL executive Rick LeLacheur came out of retirement to take over as the team’s interim president and is expected to remain with the club through next season. He previously served as the Edmonton Football Team’s president and CEO from 2002 to 2011, winning a pair of Grey Cups. LeLacheur later joined the B.C. Lions in the same capacity from 2018 to 2022 and is widely credited with spearheading the sale of the team from the estate of the late David Braley to current owner Amar Doman.
“I won’t speak for the Elks in terms of what led to the final decision that they made to make that change,” Ambrosie said regarding the departure of Cui.
“What I can say is that I was really pleased to see Rick LeLacheur come back into the fold. Rick’s got a really great history in Edmonton. He was part of a lot of very successful Edmonton football clubs over the years. He’s an Edmontonian and he knows the city really well. Ultimately, and I think appropriately so, the Elks board is going to rely heavily on Rick to get them going.”
The Elks, which were founded in 1949, are one of three remaining community-owned teams in the CFL, alongside the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The B.C. Lions were privatized in 1989, while the Calgary Stampeders underwent the process in 1991.
Though Ambrosie would not express an official league stance on the subject of privatization in Edmonton, he shared optimism for the franchise as a former player.
“In terms of Edmonton itself, obviously for me, it’s very personal. I spent five of my nine seasons there. I know that city well. I know how passionate they are about their football club and that gives me a lot of optimism for the future because they’ve had such a big fan base there,” he said.
“Clearly, that fan base was very disappointed with their on-field performance and they made their displeasure known but it’s encouraging to see the success they had with the emergence of (Canadian quarterback) Tre Ford as a legitimate CFL star. I think the future’s bright in Edmonton, but clearly, like all of the teams, they’ve got work to do. I think they’ve got the right people in place to make that happen.”
Gronk!
Senior Member
Als win the Grey Cup!
Jason Maas gets a well-deserved Cup win as Als coach.
Oh, and Kenny Lawler can seriously go fuck himself.
Jason Maas gets a well-deserved Cup win as Als coach.
Oh, and Kenny Lawler can seriously go fuck himself.
archited
Senior Member
Grey Cup 2023: Canadian institution or antiquated tradition?
www.macewan.ca
Maybe we consider a future expansion like this (comments welcomed):
Potential CFL Expansion Cities:
— Anchorage, Alaska (400,000) - West
— Spokane, Washington (594,000) - West
— Billings, Montana (190,000) - West
— Boise, Idaho (765,000) - West
— Fargo, North Dakota (260,000) - West
— Grand Rapids, Michigan (1,100,000) - East
— Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (318,000) - West
— Toledo, Ohio (610,000) - East
— London, Ontario (544,000) - East
— Rochester, New York (1,100,00) - East
— Syracuse, New York (660,000) - East
— Quebec City (845,000) - East
— Halifax, Nova Scotia (470,000) - East
the league would then be comprised of 9 existing teams and 13 expansion teams, a total of 13 Canadian Cities and 9 U.S. teams for a total of 22 teams, 11 West Teams and 11 East Teams
West Teams would include:
Anchorage, Alaska — supporting a 40,000-seat stadium
Spokane, Washington — supporting a 40,000-seat stadium
Vancouver, British Columbia — supporting a 54,500-seat stadium
Edmonton, Alberta — new 60,000-seat stadium
Calgary, Alberta — supporting a 35,650-seat stadium
Boise, Idaho — supporting a 50,000-seat stadium
Billings, Montana — supporting a 35,000-seat stadium
Saskatoon Saskatchewan — supporting a 35,000-seat stadium
Regina, Saskatchewan — supporting a 33,450-seat stadium
Winnipeg, Manitoba — supporting a 33,422-seat stadium
Fargo, North Dakota — supporting a 35,000-seat stadium
6 Canadian teams; 5 U.S. teams
East Teams would include:
Grand Rapids, Michigan — supporting a 60,000-seat stadium
Toledo, Ohio — supporting a 50,000-seat stadium
London, Ontario — supporting a 50,000-seat stadium
Hamilton, Ontario — supporting a 23,218-seat stadium
Toronto, Ontario — supporting a 25,000-seat stadium
Ottawa, Ontario — supporting a 25,000-seat stadium
Montreal, Quebec — supporting a 20,025-seat stadium
Rochester, New York — supporting a 50,000-seat stadium
Syracuse, New York — supporting a 50,000-seat stadium
Quebec City, Quebec — supporting a 50,00-seat stadium
Halifax, Nova Scotia — supporting a 40,000-seat stadium
7 Canadian teams; 4 U.S. teams
The_Cat
Senior Member
I think potential CFL expansion locations could also include:
Portland, Oregon
Rochester, New York
Columbus, Ohio
Mind you, college football could be the big draw on these markets.
Portland, Oregon
Rochester, New York
Columbus, Ohio
Mind you, college football could be the big draw on these markets.
bodsbods9090
Active Member
We tried the American expansion once. Failed for all but Baltimore.
Focus on putting a 10th team in Canada first before we even look at an option of going to the States again.
Focus on putting a 10th team in Canada first before we even look at an option of going to the States again.
bodsbods9090
Active Member
Yeah, Columbus has Ohio State, one of the premier college football programs out there. The CFL would fail there big time.
archited
Senior Member
I picked locations that hug the Canadian border so that there was some affinity there and I wanted to make sure that Canadian locations outnumbered American locations in the end tally. Personally I prefer Canadian football with 3 downs and a more expansive field and it is sad to see the slow decline. I know that there is a huge discrepancy in media markets between CFL cities and NFL cities in general -- another reason to have American cities that hug the Canadian border; I also believe that creating camaraderie across the border is not a bad thing... especially in smaller U.S. cities that are nor represented in the NFL.
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Gronk!
Senior Member
I agree - let's concentrate on getting a new CFL franchise in Halifax first, then sometime later we can look at other Canadian cities such as Saskatoon.
bodsbods9090
Active Member
Big news today out of the Elks organization.
They have put together a 5 person committee to look at private ownership for the Elks.
Some notes from the press conference that came out:
They have put together a 5 person committee to look at private ownership for the Elks.
Some notes from the press conference that came out:
- There are 3 to 5 groups interested, two of the groups were in on buying the BC Lions before they were sold to Amar Doman
- They are looking at PLAYING IN A NEW STADIUM! Whoa!
archited
Senior Member
@bodsbods9090 whoa!!! Does this ring up real possibilities!!! It would be interesting to see if Daryl Katz and OEG were leading the charge.
archited
Senior Member
I am going to post this in 3 locations (thanks 'O for the precedent), relevant to the MacU expansion, a downtown impetus for accelerated development, and additional oomph for both the CFL in general and the Edmonton Elks specifically. This location for a new stadium has a series of positives:
-- incentivize central Edmonton Development (on steroids); transitional as the ICE District has proven/is proving to be.
-- brings massive crowds to the centre of the City supporting both Retail and Hospitality growth.
-- boosts interest in the Elks helping to prop up attendance locally and creating promotional interest in the CFL
-- increases opportunity for a professional Soccer team franchise (could happen concurrently with the announcement of a new stadium build-out)
-- provides an athletic venue for Track and Field and International competitions
-- provides a Sports Venue for MacU and for NorQuest college students (similar to Rogers Place arena).
-- in its build-out can provide a world class venue for major concert venues (year-round)
-- puts Edmonton on the map (once again) as a major sports venue
-- enables the repurposing of Commonwealth Stadium as a specialized Winter and Summer X-games venue with build-out of infrastructure that promotes that end, making it the World premier venue for X-games (a win:win solution)
-- incentivize central Edmonton Development (on steroids); transitional as the ICE District has proven/is proving to be.
-- brings massive crowds to the centre of the City supporting both Retail and Hospitality growth.
-- boosts interest in the Elks helping to prop up attendance locally and creating promotional interest in the CFL
-- increases opportunity for a professional Soccer team franchise (could happen concurrently with the announcement of a new stadium build-out)
-- provides an athletic venue for Track and Field and International competitions
-- provides a Sports Venue for MacU and for NorQuest college students (similar to Rogers Place arena).
-- in its build-out can provide a world class venue for major concert venues (year-round)
-- puts Edmonton on the map (once again) as a major sports venue
-- enables the repurposing of Commonwealth Stadium as a specialized Winter and Summer X-games venue with build-out of infrastructure that promotes that end, making it the World premier venue for X-games (a win:win solution)
Gronk!
Senior Member
This new stadium will be all for naught if they still insist on using artificial turf instead of real grass. For all intents and purposes artificial turf is what killed the World Cup bid for us.