Barely a month ago, Mark Weightman would never have thought it possible to return to Montreal. But once the sale of the Alouettes to Pierre Karl Péladeau was confirmed, everything fell apart.
“Just after the confirmation of the purchase of the club, I was contacted by people around Mr. Péladeau, with whom I have worked a lot in recent years, whether with the Lions of Trois-Rivières, the Videotron Coliseum, TVA Sports broadcasts, etc. These are still people I have met a lot in recent years, “told The Canadian Press Weightman, who was named chairman and chief executive, the same roles he held from 2013 to 2016.
“I was called to sound out my interest. From then on, it happened pretty quickly. It was automatic for me: as soon as I noticed Mr. Péladeau’s passion, his objectives and his long-term vision, it became very clear that it was something that could interest me. It’s not something I could have dreamed of a year ago, not even a month ago. »
Weightman currently serves as President of the Trois-Rivières Lions, ECHL. He will finish the Lions season before taking possession of his “old” offices on April 11. He succeeds Mario Cecchini, hired in January 2020, but whose contract was not renewed after the last season. Cecchini had come to ensure an interim transition when the CFL took over the reins of the team last month.
“I’m going to make sure there’s a good transition, not to leave the organization in a difficult position, on the contrary,” Weightman said of his departure from the Lions. It’s a project that I helped bring to life and that I hope will see success in Mauricie. I had embarked on this project by telling myself that it would be a project of three or four years: it’s been three years. You don’t choose the timing sometimes; with this opportunity, in full transparency, it would have been impossible for me to refuse it. »
Objective: profitability
Weightman will have a clear objective: to make the organization profitable, while ensuring that football operations can put a winning team on the field.
“The profitability of the organization is always going to be at the top of the list, but the first thing is winning. We must give a good reason to the supporters to be proud of their organization, “said the man who went through practically all the departments of the club between 1996 and 2016.
“I think that in terms of profitability, it takes good and sound management. You don’t have to change one thing at 100%, but 100 things at 1% to get optimal changes. I salute the work of Mario (Cecchini), who worked in the organization’s most difficult three years in recent memory. »
While he admits there is still work to be done, he does not consider the task insurmountable.
“We’ve done it once, we’re going to do it again,” he said. There are passionate people here, a dynamic young team that has worked very, very hard. They too have lived through difficult years with the pandemic and the transfer of owners. They went through it and came out even stronger. […] I think that bodes well for the future.
“The recipe isn’t magic: it’s winning,” emphasizes Weightman. It is also to ensure entertainment and the customer experience at the stadium. At the end of the day, the biggest product that people consume is coming to the game. We are still pampered: yes, (Percival-Molson) is a century-old stadium that deserves a little love, but we will see how to overcome that. But it’s also one of the most beautiful places, not just in Montreal or in Canada, but everywhere, to come and see a game, on the side of Mount Royal, right downtown. We have to revitalize the experience. »
Greater community involvement
The new president also wants to bring the Alouettes back to the regions, as was done before.
“Community involvement has always been part of the Alouettes’ DNA. Not just in Montreal: you have to be very present everywhere in Quebec. I remember like it was yesterday, in the early 2000s, we were doing a hockey tour in the winter. We went to play in Alma, in Dolbeau, we did Alouettes junior camps in Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Quebec. It was an opportunity for our players to get out of Montreal and meet our fans from all over Quebec.
“It doesn’t take Papineau much to understand that these initiatives leave positive marks. People remember that we went to see them. If they don’t buy a ticket because they are too far away, they will watch our matches or follow us on our social networks. The love rating will benefit. »
Originally from Saint-André-d’Argenteuil, Weightman has 28 years of experience in professional sport. In addition to his previous stint with the Alouettes and his duties with the Lions, he participated in the establishment of the Montreal Alliance, the Canadian Elite Basketball League, worked with the Laval Rocket, restructured a Swiss National A League hockey team, as well as a Swedish Elite League team.