Happy 100th...
It may only be a matter of years until we can, once again, watch those famed Roughriders vs. Rough Riders football tilts of the early ‘90s.
Or, at the very least, see a Canadian Football League team back in the nations capital.
Ottawa has, in recent years, become a graveyard of sorts for professional football with their CFL club having folded twice in under 15-years. The Rough Riders, which operated for 121 years between 1876 and 1996, was one of the five oldest pro-sports teams in North America, but that couldn't stop a combination of dropping attendance and mismanagement from sinking the club.
A brief revival as the Ottawa Renegades followed between 2002 and 2006, but ultimately the club's play was suspended after the CFL refused to front them the money needed to revive the floundering team which lost almost $4 million in 2005 alone.
So here we are in 2008 and a recent announcement has been made promising the clubs impending return, hopefully in time for the 2010 season. But this time around the CFL, and the new franchisee Jeff Hunt, the owner and brilliant manager of the Ontario Hockey Leagues Ottawa 67's, are going to take the right path in bringing the team back. Or at least that's what they're stressing.
The deal maker, or breaker for that matter, is whether or not the new owners and the city of Ottawa can agree on a deal to upgrade Frank Clair Stadium, which turns an ancient 100-years old this year. An upgrade, however, won't come cheap considering that the entire south-end stands need to be torn down and rebuilt after cracks were found a few years back bringing the stadium's structural integrity into question.
It's a big job, and one that will not come cheap. On top of any rebuilding costs a franchise fee has to be paid, and the fee is estimated at hovering around the $6 million mark based on what the Calgary Stampeders recently shelled out for the team to change hands.
But besides having Jeff Hunt in their corner, the prospective ownership are confident that the fact that the owners are all based in Ottawa will be the keystone to the entire operation- because with management that really cares about the team and not solely on their bottom line, they're hoping the fans will start caring as well.
Or, at the very least, see a Canadian Football League team back in the nations capital.
Ottawa has, in recent years, become a graveyard of sorts for professional football with their CFL club having folded twice in under 15-years. The Rough Riders, which operated for 121 years between 1876 and 1996, was one of the five oldest pro-sports teams in North America, but that couldn't stop a combination of dropping attendance and mismanagement from sinking the club.
A brief revival as the Ottawa Renegades followed between 2002 and 2006, but ultimately the club's play was suspended after the CFL refused to front them the money needed to revive the floundering team which lost almost $4 million in 2005 alone.
So here we are in 2008 and a recent announcement has been made promising the clubs impending return, hopefully in time for the 2010 season. But this time around the CFL, and the new franchisee Jeff Hunt, the owner and brilliant manager of the Ontario Hockey Leagues Ottawa 67's, are going to take the right path in bringing the team back. Or at least that's what they're stressing.
The deal maker, or breaker for that matter, is whether or not the new owners and the city of Ottawa can agree on a deal to upgrade Frank Clair Stadium, which turns an ancient 100-years old this year. An upgrade, however, won't come cheap considering that the entire south-end stands need to be torn down and rebuilt after cracks were found a few years back bringing the stadium's structural integrity into question.
It's a big job, and one that will not come cheap. On top of any rebuilding costs a franchise fee has to be paid, and the fee is estimated at hovering around the $6 million mark based on what the Calgary Stampeders recently shelled out for the team to change hands.
But besides having Jeff Hunt in their corner, the prospective ownership are confident that the fact that the owners are all based in Ottawa will be the keystone to the entire operation- because with management that really cares about the team and not solely on their bottom line, they're hoping the fans will start caring as well.
