2023-11-23 21:45:43
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League have set up a committee to review their business model, particularly at the club ownership level, as the Alberta team faces more and more financial pressure.
The goal of the five-member committee is “to ensure that professional football continues to thrive within the CFL in Edmonton and northern Alberta,” Elks president Tom Richards said Thursday.
The team has been owned by the community since its creation in 1949. The club’s interim president and CEO, Rick LeLacheur, said the team has, however, attracted the attention of private investors.
“I told them they had to wait. We had no negotiations,” LeLacheur said. It’s a wonderful place for sports, wonderful for football and I believe there will be interest, from a single investor or a group. »
LeLacheur, who is a non-voting member of the committee, said earlier Thursday that “we cannot turn a blind eye to the club’s financial problems over the past few seasons.”
“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, football operations decisions, as well as subsequent on-field issues have all contributed to this difficult financial situation. »
LeLacheur, who agreed to stay on until the end of the process, clarified that the team had to resort to stabilization investment funds to cover current expenses.
“If we stay on the same course in 2024, these funds risk decreasing dangerously,” added LeLacheur.
The committee consists of Richards, fellow board members Brent Hesje and Darryl Boessenkool, as well as former board members Diane Brickner and Bruce Bentley. The latter acts as president of this committee.
The team posted operating losses of $3.3 million in 2022, the fourth consecutive loss year for the Elks.
LeLacheur, who arrived in August 2022 to replace Victor Cui, is confident that the Elks will be able to compete in the 2024 season, but new investments are necessary for the future.
“We will need massive investments for the future, because it will take us a few years to absorb this accumulated deficit,” he stressed.
News of the Elks’ financial woes is the latest shock to what was once a model CFL franchise.
The club has collected 699 victories, tied with Calgary for the most in league history. He has also won 14 Gray Cups, the last in 2015.
But Edmonton has not reached the playoffs since 2019, then taking advantage of the crossover rule to deliver the Eastern semi-final by virtue of its fourth place in the West at 8-10.
Since the CFL resumed operations in 2021 following the canceled 2020 season, the Elks have finished last three times in the West, never amassing more than four wins in a season in the process.
On August 28, the team ended a streak of 22 losses at home, the longest in all North American professional sports.
An average of 24,700 spectators passed through the turnstiles at Commonwealth Stadium this season. In 2015, the club led the CFL with an average of 31,517 spectators per game. Next year, the Elks will not sell tickets in the upper section of their stadium, which can hold 56,400 people.
The Elks improved their field situation once Canadian quarterback Tre Ford took control of the offense. LeLacheur also believes that the situation is better since Ford is the starter.
“We are selling a good number of season tickets, which is a good sign. »
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