If No Season will the CFL fold

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JohnnyMusso
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I just read David Braley's comments. Here is the article that suggests that could happen, if there is no CFL season. He is not a fan of Hub City. He insists there must be fans in the stadiums, at least 5,000 or no CFL season. Have we seen our last game? If true, this would be very sad. Not impressed with Ambroise. The clock is ticking and all is too quiet:

B.C. Lions owner David Braley has made his stance on a potential CFL season in 2020 clear.

If the three-down league is going to play in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Braley wants his franchise’s home games in Vancouver. TSN reporter Rick Dhaliwal had a conversation with the longtime CFL owner and delivered his viewpoint.

“They need fans in the stands, even 5,000 at $50 gives them some revenue. You get some revenue from television and all of a sudden you’re not losing $10 to $20 million, but maybe you only lose, two, three, four million. David is insistent, if there are no fans allowed, the CFL is not going to be a go,” Dhaliwal said on TSN radio 1040.

“Look, the CFL can’t do this, can’t do it without fans. They just cannot do it without fans. Braley wants an eight-game schedule starting in September. He wants four games in BC Place. They’ve done social distancing in BC Place, you can get 2,500 in the lower bowl, you can get 2,500 in the upper bowl. Now, BC Place is not totally 150 percent negative to that idea, but they’re saying no games in June or July.”

The CFL regular season was scheduled to kick-off on Thursday, June 11, but commissioner Randy Ambrosie has stated the earliest the league might return to play is September for a shortened season. Of course, the final decision on whether that indeed happens depends on what government and health officials deem safe for players and fans.


“David is 100 percent, he insists, with fans we can’t do it. He doesn’t like the hub city idea. Who is going to pay for 45 player salaries? Whose pocket does that come out of if there’s no revenue from the gate? That comes out of his pocket,” Dhaliwal said.

Braley, the Burlington, Ontario resident has owned the Lions for 23 years, purchasing the franchise in 1997. During his time as owner, B.C. has won three Grey Cups in 2000, 2006 and 2011. The Leos did not contend in 2019 as the only team to miss the playoffs in the West Division. Braley was CFL commissioner for one season in 2002, served as the chair of the league’s board of directors and inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

“He’s already lost millions since the pandemic started. He’s paying people basically, essentially that nobody is doing anything, but he’s still paying,” Dhaliwal said. “They gotta get going by the end of this month. He continues to insist, if there is no CFL this season, the league will probably fold.”
maxlion
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There are almost 30,000 confirmed active cases in Canada at the moment (who knows how many actual cases). There is no way to safely host in-person sporting events in Canada in these circumstances. I don't blame Braley for not wanting to fund a money losing venture but also don't support his approach.

Other countries including New Zealand, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam have eliminated the virus from their countries and now can safely host in-person sporting events. Perhaps Braley should lobby our leadership to follow the lead of these countries rather than lobbying to risk public health for the sake of his hobby/business.
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B.C.FAN
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I’m not sure about the national total but there are only 159 confirmed active cases in B.C. and the case count is comparable In most CFL cities in the West, as well as Hamilton and Ottawa. If stadiums are open to spectators with social distancing, I’ll be there.
maxlion
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I will never understand the thinking that having "only" 159 cases of a deadly highly infectious virus in our midst is cause to relax.

We should eradicate the virus and get back to normal. That is how we can save the CFL, not to mention public health and the economy.

Oh well, obviously I am in the minority and Dr. Henry knows best. I'll go back to my hole and watch the western world crumble.
TheLionKing
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There was an instance where a nephew in the States hosted a surprise party for his family. All 18 members of the family contracted Covid 19. Doesn't take much to spread the disease.
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Hambone
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 12:26 am
I’m not sure about the national total but there are only 159 confirmed active cases in B.C. and the case count is comparable In most CFL cities in the West, as well as Hamilton and Ottawa. If stadiums are open to spectators with social distancing, I’ll be there.
That's 159 active cases of which maybe 20 are requiring more than quarantining at home treatment? Up north it's hard for us to feel the same fear factor as you folks in the lower mainland. I think Northern Health is stuck at something like 65 cases and 0 deaths total since the start of CV19 for an area roughly the size of the province of Saskatchewan.

Some I think are not understanding Braley's concept of fans in the stands. He's not talking 20K coming in. Sounds like he's talking opening the upper deck and having 2500 upstairs and 2500 in the lower bowl. That works out to about 50 per section which amounts to 2 fannies per row. Policing that might be an issue as would be BC Place's willingness to open the doors for such a small crowd. If he could get approval though that could put a small dent in the losses vs no fans at all. And who know maybe come October they can ease enough to allow maybe 5000 per level?

Having said that I'm with you. If there's a reasonable plan to have a limited number of fans at games I'm absolutely ready to attend. Hopefully my 10 years seniority makes the cut. Damn I need an excuse to get out of PG for something other than work.
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David
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maxlion wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 9:13 am
I will never understand the thinking that having "only" 159 cases of a deadly highly infectious virus in our midst is cause to relax.

We should eradicate the virus and get back to normal. That is how we can save the CFL, not to mention public health and the economy.

Oh well, obviously I am in the minority and Dr. Henry knows best. I'll go back to my hole and watch the western world crumble.
I wouldn't say relaxing is an intelligent approach because we have to remain vigilant against contagion, but let's be clear, 159 cases against a population of 5.1 million is statistically insignificant. There are likely far more people in B.C. with the flu or pneumonia right now. Moreover, remove those in long term care facilities from the equation and that number drops even further.

So I say "yes" to caution. "No" to fear-mongering.


DH :cool:
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Hambone
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David wrote:
Mon Jun 29, 2020 12:35 pm
So I say "yes" to caution. "No" to fear-mongering.


DH :cool:
Well stated David. Can't go running around totally in fear of CV19 but definitely have to treat it with the respect it's earned.
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maxlion
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David wrote:
Mon Jun 29, 2020 12:35 pm
maxlion wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 9:13 am
I will never understand the thinking that having "only" 159 cases of a deadly highly infectious virus in our midst is cause to relax.

We should eradicate the virus and get back to normal. That is how we can save the CFL, not to mention public health and the economy.

Oh well, obviously I am in the minority and Dr. Henry knows best. I'll go back to my hole and watch the western world crumble.
I wouldn't say relaxing is an intelligent approach because we have to remain vigilant against contagion, but let's be clear, 159 cases against a population of 5.1 million is statistically insignificant. There are likely far more people in B.C. with the flu or pneumonia right now. Moreover, remove those in long term care facilities from the equation and that number drops even further.

So I say "yes" to caution. "No" to fear-mongering.


DH :cool:
I do feel that our society is in serious danger. There are two reasons:

1. Our economy is in a rapid and unprecedented decline.
2. We are so far unable to contain a deadly and highly contagious virus.

We need to be forward-looking. How long will people go along with voluntary limitations on their behaviour? Already we see changes in behaviour. How long will the government be able to support the economy?

The countries that have dealt most successfully with the virus were successful because they went to war with the virus. Our approach is more similar to the US. We rely on our own exceptionalism to defeat the virus.
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Sir Purrcival
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The part that has me concerned so far is how easily the virus has returned to places where they supposedly had it licked for the most part. China, Korea, Germany and all the while, there is a massive under reporting going on in places like Brazil, Mexico, India, Russia and so on. If we knew the true scope and spread of this, I think we would probably be a little more uncomfortable than we are at the moment.

Even at these current levels, fast forward for 2 years and think what the all out effect could be over that length of time. I hear the word "immunity" a lot but at the moment there seems to be some disturbing trends that suggest that elusive state is not as clear or as imminent as we would want it to be.

If this turns out to be something that doesn't easily lend itself to the "herd", then we have to put our hopes in a vaccine. If this does drag out past 1 year, then I think that the CFL could well be toast. Other sports may not be much better off either. When you think of the medical costs associated with the virus and particularly with each community outbreak, the reduced economic activity, some of these things may simply end up being something we can't afford.

Not trying to be a fear monger as it were but there is some thinking to do about the "what ifs". I've never been one to just sit by and see what happens and then react. The CFL may be able to get back to playing sometime this year but it can't afford not to be planning for the case of not being able to play. If that means laying off almost everyone in the league, then that might be where it has to go which means that at some point there is going to be an absolute "go, no go" threshold. The league has been able to get by till now playing it casual because the season hadn't started, we didn't know clearly how the virus was going to progress and so on.

We now have a much cleaner picture of how this virus is going to carry on. Despite the hopes that it might act like a flu and disappear in the summer months, what we are seeing is that even here, we are doing well with only 10-15 new cases per day. Other places, those numbers are in the hundreds or even thousands. Even modest cases of easing of restrictions comes with risks. So while I stand with those that would like to see them play, would be happy to help by paying for pay per view or what have you, I am simultaneously preparing for the news that the CFL isn't going to happen this season and that isn't the worst scenario.
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cms22
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grunching here.

what is the monthly burn rate for teams right now?...... seemed like CFL was asking federal government for a huge amount of money relative to what i would have thought hard cash expenses represent.

why should CFL gm's, player personnel directors etc. be getting paid right now? there isn't that much work to do..... although if i think more about it, there was FA signing period and CFL draft.

but my main point is they need to cut expenses to ZERO right now.

i have never seen good answers on this question: were any team athletes in major leagues (any sport) around the world going to get paid in full if there were no games?.... very unclear to me. lionel messi took a huge pay cut and it seemed like the general idea was that it was 100% voluntary, which is hard to believe.
cms22
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all leagues are going to have issues for quite awhile. longer than people think

athletes are sqwuaking, rightfully i might add, about having to stay in bubbles for extended periods of time. i fail to see what will different in 2021 seasons. i'd even say 2023 season.

vaccinating billions of people will be enormous challenge... this is already a severe medical glass shortage for mostly "business as usual" use. (i don't covid is leading to huge medical glass usage),,,, lots of people won't want to be vaccinated etc.etc.etc.
cms22
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i see the discussion about needing to open up more but cautiously... i agree... we have all kinds of driving deaths per year but we still have highways..... governments make money off smoking for gosh sakes. i understand smoking is voluntary but still i think this is telling in the covid matter.

ex-the elderly and/or nursing homes, i think this is reasonably manageable. .. i think we could get far more people circulating semi-normally but restrict it by age......... under 40 seems fine. over 65 seems bad. not sure about the middle.

but i don't see what is different 12 months from now. 24 months from now
Murdoch
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cms22 wrote:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 2:16 pm
why should CFL gm's, player personnel directors etc. be getting paid right now? there isn't that much work to do..... although if i think more about it, there was FA signing period and CFL draft.

but my main point is they need to cut expenses to ZERO right now.

i have never seen good answers on this question: were any team athletes in major leagues (any sport) around the world going to get paid in full if there were no games?.... very unclear to me. lionel messi took a huge pay cut and it seemed like the general idea was that it was 100% voluntary, which is hard to believe.
Not sure you will get good answers as the CFL qualifies as a private corporation I believe. No requirement to report.

I'd like to know if all the commissioners, presidents, senior vice presidents, junior vice presidents, directors, and the rest of the sixty or so listed on the CFL staff directory are still being paid.

Gig is up. No one left but the fans interested in the love of the game. Everyone else is all about money. It's a tougher sell in hard times.
cms22
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i do think the CFL provides one of the few things that links people from across the country (once halifax CFL team starts).

so i think the government should subsidize it in the future............ if the government can subsidize the CBC for so many years, i think it can do likewise for the CFL.

might need a much smaller salary cap etc. etc........ not sure how that would work with existing contracts.... maybe more individual contracts. not sure government should subsidize reilly's $700k contract. of course, there are probably highly paid people at the CBC
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