Newf
11-29-2009, 03:34 PM
CALGARY -- The Saskatchewan Roughriders are ready to admit it: it’s time to help those poor sisters of the Canadian Football League, the Toronto Argonauts.
“We need Toronto,” Saskatchewan president and CEO Jim Hopson said Friday morning at Grey Cup. “I know people say, ‘Aw, they think they’re the centre of the universe.’ But they are the centre of the (Canadian) media world, have a huge population base, and all the corporate money… We need that team to be successful.
“If revenue sharing is what it’s going to take, then I think we need to talk about it.”
Argonaut owners Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon were expected in Calgary on Friday to take part in CFL board of governor meetings set for this weekend. They arrive amid reports that the Argonauts are looking into the feasibility of playing their home games at BMO field in Toronto, with their lease at the Rogers Centre having reaching an exit point after the 2009 CFL season.
Sources also tell sportsnet.ca that revenue-sharing scenarios will be raised by the Toronto owners at this weekend’s meetings.
“Revenue sharing will be on the table,” CFL commissioner Mark Cohon confirmed at his state of the league media address Friday morning. “We need to increase and improve the revenues that come through our league office so that there can be revenue to share.”
It’s a chicken and egg situation when it comes to giving the Argonauts a larger share of league revenues than other clubs. Because the Argonauts represent the most populous CFL market, their very presence pumps dollars into the CFL’s national TV deal and all national advertising platforms.
But if the league decides not to help the Argos and they disappear, then all of those revenue streams will decrease — likely by more money than is required to keep the Argos afloat.
“The bills are being paid,” Cohon cautioned of the situation in Toronto. “Fans need to know that the Toronto Argonauts will be around for generations and generations.”
By moving to BMO field, which seats just over 20,000, the Argos could create a demand for tickets that just does not exist at the cavernous Rogers Centre. That would mean an increase in ticket prices for the 3-15 team, and perhaps an additional increase in parking and concessions, two revenue streams that do not exist for the team in its current location.
The problem is that BMO was shortsightedly built too small to fit a CFL field. Whether the Argos would play with something shorter than the mandated 20-yard end zones would be up for discussion, as would the topic of who would pay to enlarge the stadium to fit a full-sized CFL field.
Also on the table for Argos ownership, sources say, is to sell the team to current B.C. Lions owner David Braley and walk away, if the league decides that is what is best. However, that would come at a hefty price — believed to be $10 million — as Cynamon and Sokolowski try to forge an exit strategy that would make their tenure as Argos owners close to a break-even proposition.
“The owners are really committed, they really want to do well,” Hopson said. “But the model they’re been using doesn’t work. Whether it’s the stadium, whether it’s their philosophy, they know they’re going to have to change.
“Are we willing to look at (revenue sharing)? Absolutely.”
Sokolowski and Cynamon bought the Argos out of bankruptcy in 2003 and have been, by all accounts, excellent partners in raising the CFL tide in Toronto. Those efforts will give them some currency when they ask their partners for a bigger share of the revenue pie this weekend in Calgary.
“We need Toronto,” Saskatchewan president and CEO Jim Hopson said Friday morning at Grey Cup. “I know people say, ‘Aw, they think they’re the centre of the universe.’ But they are the centre of the (Canadian) media world, have a huge population base, and all the corporate money… We need that team to be successful.
“If revenue sharing is what it’s going to take, then I think we need to talk about it.”
Argonaut owners Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon were expected in Calgary on Friday to take part in CFL board of governor meetings set for this weekend. They arrive amid reports that the Argonauts are looking into the feasibility of playing their home games at BMO field in Toronto, with their lease at the Rogers Centre having reaching an exit point after the 2009 CFL season.
Sources also tell sportsnet.ca that revenue-sharing scenarios will be raised by the Toronto owners at this weekend’s meetings.
“Revenue sharing will be on the table,” CFL commissioner Mark Cohon confirmed at his state of the league media address Friday morning. “We need to increase and improve the revenues that come through our league office so that there can be revenue to share.”
It’s a chicken and egg situation when it comes to giving the Argonauts a larger share of league revenues than other clubs. Because the Argonauts represent the most populous CFL market, their very presence pumps dollars into the CFL’s national TV deal and all national advertising platforms.
But if the league decides not to help the Argos and they disappear, then all of those revenue streams will decrease — likely by more money than is required to keep the Argos afloat.
“The bills are being paid,” Cohon cautioned of the situation in Toronto. “Fans need to know that the Toronto Argonauts will be around for generations and generations.”
By moving to BMO field, which seats just over 20,000, the Argos could create a demand for tickets that just does not exist at the cavernous Rogers Centre. That would mean an increase in ticket prices for the 3-15 team, and perhaps an additional increase in parking and concessions, two revenue streams that do not exist for the team in its current location.
The problem is that BMO was shortsightedly built too small to fit a CFL field. Whether the Argos would play with something shorter than the mandated 20-yard end zones would be up for discussion, as would the topic of who would pay to enlarge the stadium to fit a full-sized CFL field.
Also on the table for Argos ownership, sources say, is to sell the team to current B.C. Lions owner David Braley and walk away, if the league decides that is what is best. However, that would come at a hefty price — believed to be $10 million — as Cynamon and Sokolowski try to forge an exit strategy that would make their tenure as Argos owners close to a break-even proposition.
“The owners are really committed, they really want to do well,” Hopson said. “But the model they’re been using doesn’t work. Whether it’s the stadium, whether it’s their philosophy, they know they’re going to have to change.
“Are we willing to look at (revenue sharing)? Absolutely.”
Sokolowski and Cynamon bought the Argos out of bankruptcy in 2003 and have been, by all accounts, excellent partners in raising the CFL tide in Toronto. Those efforts will give them some currency when they ask their partners for a bigger share of the revenue pie this weekend in Calgary.