For the second time in four years, the Alouettes find themselves under the tutelage of the Canadian Football League.
Should we be worried about it?
Yes.
The stars leave. Attendance is leveling off. Finances are fragile. The club plays in a rented stadium (at McGill), it trains on rented land (at the Olympic Park) and its employees work in rented premises (also at the Olympic Park, at a good price). And now there is no owner. Not exactly a winning recipe.
While waiting for the white knight who will save the Alouettes, the CFL has asked the shareholders of the other teams to assume the operating costs of the Montreal franchise. A strange and uncomfortable situation.
They will try to make us believe that it will be business as usual, until the arrival of new investors. However, recent history has shown us that a guardianship is anything but ordinary.
Remember that of the Expos in 2002. Against all odds, the team found itself in the race for the playoffs. General manager Omar Minaya wanted to recall minor league outfielder Peter Bergeron. A small expense. A few tens of thousands of dollars, at most. Nay, replied the owners of the other teams. The Expos missed the playoffs.
The Alouettes’ season in 2019 was also exceptional. Within months, the club lost its president, general manager and head coach. A potential buyer had even descended into the locker room, after a victory, to make a speech and celebrate with the players. A major misstep.
This time, strangely, guardianship is a lesser evil. It’s even better than the status quo.
You should know that since the non-renewal of President Mario Cecchini’s contract in December, things had become messy. The trust of Sidney Spiegel, the majority owner who died in 2021, wanted to find new investors. In the meantime, the constraints were piling up.
An example: until Monday evening, the Alouettes were no longer offering signing bonuses, a source told The Press. Big problem, a few hours before the opening of the free agent market. It’s because American players are looking for these tax-efficient bonuses. I don’t know if that’s what convinced quarterback Trevor Harris as well as receivers Eugene Lewis and Jake Wieneke to leave Montreal, but certainly general manager Danny Maciocia didn’t have all the cards in his game.
I am told that the situation returned to normal on Tuesday after the guardianship. So much the better. Mario Cecchini took over the presidency, on an interim basis. Good too. His presence will reassure the employees, and will stabilize a rocking liner.
The Canadian Football League has begun “an accelerated and formal sale process” to quickly find new owners for the Alouettes.
During the last sale, in 2019-2020, at least five Quebec groups had expressed an interest. Several names had circulated: the actor and producer Louis Morissette, the financier Clifford Starke, the ex-footballer Éric Lapointe, the founder of Stingray Eric Boyko (who is no longer interested, I am told). The CFL had even reached an agreement in principle with a consortium led by two Quebec brothers, Jeffrey and Peter Lenkov. When the transaction failed, the league preferred to sell the franchise to Ontario investors, rather than Quebec.
What is our motto again?
Oh yes. I remember.
Well, I assure you that Quebec inc. remembers this decision of the CFL very well. Do not be surprised if local investors who wanted to buy the club four years ago pass their turn this time. The risks of a recession in the coming year also call for caution.
In a press release published Tuesday, the CFL assures that “several groups have already expressed a strong interest in buying the Alouettes, including groups whose members live or work in Montreal, or in the province of Quebec”.
I insist on the choice of words. “Whose members live or work in Montreal, or in the province of Quebec”. A definition that applied to the previous owners, Sidney Spiegel and Gary Stern. The latter owned businesses in Rouyn and Longueuil, as well as buildings in Montreal, but they resided in Ontario.
This time, the Alouettes need investors rooted in the Montreal community. Business people who are committed, invested, capable of attracting new local sponsors – the sinews of war. Owners who want to take risks, to create wealth.
It takes Quebecers ready to get the franchise out of its precariousness.