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The B.C. Lions look to get 50K for 50 Cent and their home opener, another sign of the CFL’s post-COVID rebound back to relevance.
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Published Jun 04, 2024 • 5 minute read
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It was a little over four years ago that CFL commissioner Randy Ambroise appeared before parliament — well, on their computer screens via zoom, anyway — his hat in hand, pleading for millions upon millions in taxpayer dollars to keep his league afloat.
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His teams, he said, were bleeding cash, losing between $10-20M in 2019, and the league was at risk of going under. Without gate revenue, the league was toast.
Even if there was gate revenue to be had, the three biggest metro markets of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto couldn’t draw flies if they were covered in Manuka honey. Their attendance numbers approached junior hockey levels. Junior B hockey, even.
At a swanky lunch on Monday in downtown Vancouver, there was no hat in Ambroise’s hand, just the cheque — which may or may not have detailed which of us invited media chose to order the Prime New York Strip steak ($72). TV ratings are up, and so are league spirits and revenue.
The meal came on the heels of the big announcement of the day: the Jonas Brothers would be headlining the halftime show at this year’s Grey Cup, a nakedly earnest attempt to court a younger demographic but one that has been positively received though the mediasphere.
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“In my first season in 2017, the only question people would ask me during the press conference is ‘what are you going to do about your major markets?’” he said. “And now Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are strengths for the league, and all are showing signs of remarkable growth.
“I’d say one of the biggest positives has just been the way it has unified our board of governors,” he added, saying the league used the COVID challenge as a springboard.
“The league has never had owners, literally in our entire history that have looked like this group. They collectively have a resolve to take the league to the next level.
“When I got here, we did not share, and the teams did not share, financial information with each other. So I said to the governors ‘I don’t even know how to help you unless I know what the business really looks like.’ It was really the beginning of something totally different; now the teams share everything with each other. Internally, this is an open book to each other.
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“There’s also a sense of, you know, how do you learn from each other’s best practices, and it’s become a much stronger league as a result. So yeah, it is a totally, totally different league than it was back in those days.”
And the B.C. Lions have been a part of the bounceback. Amar Doman’s entry into the league ownership circle, and the injection of ideas and energy he’s brought are a lodestar for the rest of the league.
The Lions were well on their way to cracking 30,000 for their home opener in two weeks’ time before announcing 50 Cent as their pre-game concert. There have been more than 50,000 sales now, and it’s a good bet they’ll beat the 2011 record of 50,213, set when the newly refurbished B.C. was opened for the first time.
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As it was with One Republic in 2022 and LL Cool J last year, this was all arranged and executed by Doman, and not his team executive, as it was his idea to have 45-minute concerts before the game, instead of a 15-minute halftime show. He also was instrumental in the Jonas Brothers decision.
“Amar Dolan’s got a way better playlist than I have,” Ambroise said, laughing.
“And his level of engagement in the process was phenomenal. He had a real idea of what he wanted. He wanted to bring in an act that would really speak to the generations and be particularly attractive to a younger demographic and fans, and I think in that regard, we’ve really nailed it.”
No doubt, there have been some hiccups in the past few years, the Chad Kelly sexual harassment lawsuit and the uproar over how it was handled the most recent. A league investigation corroborated three of the six allegations brought forth in a lawsuit, and Kelly has been suspended for nine games.
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The outcry over the difference between how the Argonauts quarterback had his suspension handled versus Shawn Lemon’s suspension for gambling is another ulcer for him to deal with.
Lemon was suspended indefinitely for betting on a two-game parlay in 2021, with TSN’s Farhan Lalji saying the amount involved was 70 euro, and included Lemon’s Stampeders beating the Lions.
The league is going through the process of securing an arbitrator and hearing date, and an announcement is coming soon. When asked if sports needed to evolve, especially when legal betting sites are league sponsors, Ambrosie didn’t mince words. There are no blurred lines.
“It is not even a whisper blurry. This is 20/20 vision because ultimately our policy is absolutely clear,” he said. “Our education programs are absolutely clear. The unforgivable sin is gambling within your own league, but the most unforgivable sin was gambling on a game that you played in. The facts are very clear that what happened in this particular case is that an athlete bet on a game that he played in. Simply, you cannot cross that line. And if you do, you have to send a strong message that it’s not tolerated.
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“What this situation reveals is that if you do it, you’re gonna get caught. The surveillance systems are so good. … Previously to the legalization of sports wagering, it was all done out of country, it was done in the shadows. That was much harder, much harder to surveil. Now with the advent of the public systems, I’d say to a player today ‘if you do it, trust me, you will be found out and caught and the punishment will be severe.’ And I’m hoping that’s one of the messages that will land with this particular situation.”
jadams@postmedia.com
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Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/football/cfl/bc-lions/b-c-lions-cfl-both-lazarus-figures-as-blockbuster-vancouver-grey-cup-beckons