How Could the Coronavirus affect the Argos and the CFL

[ArgoFan1]

You cannot deny the success of the last Grey Cup game played there. With there being no baseball, Rogers would be happy to host something, I am sure. I have no complaints about it being there. I don't go to Grey Cups in cold outdoor cities out West.

[argolio]

Can they still host football at the Dome? I remember talk of renovations that would make the baseball configuration permanent. Not sure if they did that.

[ArgoZ]

Can they still host football at the Dome? I remember talk of renovations that would make the baseball configuration permanent. Not sure if they did that.

You mean the real grass? 😆 Funny, how the Argos are the ones on real turf now.

[gilthethrill]

Can they still host football at the Dome? I remember talk of renovations that would make the baseball configuration permanent. Not sure if they did that.

The Argos played on an elevated playing surface when at RC if I recall. I am sure that surface is long gone. Football at RC is a dead issue. Good riddance.

[Golden Fleece]

Can they still host football at the Dome? I remember talk of renovations that would make the baseball configuration permanent. Not sure if they did that.

Maybe when they went to all dirt basepaths? Anyway if TFC can play a championship game at BMO in December, why not a Grey Cup too?

[ArgoZ]

Maybe when they went to all dirt basepaths? Anyway if TFC can play a championship game at BMO in December, why not a Grey Cup too?

I have been to a soccer match in the Rogers Centre where they brought in natural turf. Anything can be done. The issue with the Jays was that if they put in real grass, the movable sections would be locked in place for the season, making football configuration impossible.

[KCargosfan]

To me the biggest revelation is this: “How do we restructure our business model? What changes can we make to make our league stronger? We’re looking at our business models, we’re looking at our cost models, we’re having really good discussions with the players’ association. We’re going to be talking with our coaches and football operations partners because they play such a vital role in our game. It’s time to really work on our business model — to really look at the foundation on which our league sits. One where we get our cost models into place. That’s the single greatest lesson from this, is we need to do work on our business now. This is a chance for us to work on our business, to set a new foundation for the league’s future.”

Seems pretty clear that the league has come to the realization it can't keep spending more than it's receiving, and that its revenues are likely going to be down not just in 2020 but beyond. So costs will have to come down to survive. That means (among other things) pay cuts for players. I suspect fairly steep pay cuts will be needed, which means some pretty challenging negotiations with the PA. It may also mean going back to the days of small coaching staffs.

I've banged this drum before and I'll do it again: Put in a maximum salary of $450K. That prevents the teams from giving out an insane contract to one player and really only affects quarterbacks.

I'm also down for smaller coaching staffs. Maximum of seven coaches.

[AngeloV]

I've banged this drum before and I'll do it again: Put in a maximum salary of $450K. That prevents the teams from giving out an insane contract to one player and really only affects quarterbacks.

I'm also down for smaller coaching staffs. Maximum of seven coaches.

I've also lobbied for a max individual salary, but that won't do anything to minimize costs without totally lowering the overall cap, and that would not be a good thing for the league. Fact is they have to find a way to increase overall revenues. One thing they can definitely do is stop the fictitious injuries listed allowing teams to carry 15 or so extra bodies at full salary. Maybe the league needs to hire an independent physician to verify all the injuries are legit before allowing for this.

In the end, as I have said earlier in this thread, the teams have to get together and share all revenues. A league is only as strong as it's weakest team.

[SkalbaniasGhost]

In the end, as I have said earlier in this thread, the teams have to get together and share all revenues. A league is only as strong as it's weakest team.

It's a little late for that. The question that must be addressed for this market is how MLSE will reduce the Argonaut brand in 2021? Do they move games to Alumni Stadium?

[1971GreyCup]

I found great solace on April 8th when Professor Karol Silora (UK) laid out the near term future.

Maybe a week off on the resumption of society, but certainly right and optimistic when others were most gloomy.

Today Professor Sikora reported:

“Families & friends are being reunited, the high street is reopening, sport is back on soon.

I always thought summer would feel a lot more like normal than people feared.

It was never going to happen overnight, but the worst of this pandemic is far behind us.”

[argolio]

This has been kind of a milestone week in the world of Covid-19 and pro sports. It appears (fingers crossed) the worst of coronavirus is, if not over, then almost over. Barring major setbacks, the NHL and NBA want to open training camps in July and stage playoffs with no fans in August, September, and likely into October. Baseball will start an 80-100 game season in July with no fans if the owners and players agree to terms (far from a sure thing based on recent reports). Other leagues are also planning to start playing to no fans. Some in other parts of the world have already started.

Common denominator is obviously no fans. The CFL has said Labour Day is the earliest possible starting date. So will the CFL get government aid? Is a season possible without it? If not, how will the CFL be affected if it shuts down in 2020 while other leagues operate?

I don't envy Ambrosie having to deal with this, but that's why he gets paid the big bucks.

[AngeloV]

It's a little late for that. The question that must be addressed for this market is how MLSE will reduce the Argonaut brand in 2021? Do they move games to Alumni Stadium?

Ah. Another conspiracy theorist. Carry on.

[AngeloV]

This has been kind of a milestone week in the world of Covid-19 and pro sports. It appears (fingers crossed) the worst of coronavirus is, if not over, then almost over. Barring major setbacks, the NHL and NBA want to open training camps in July and stage playoffs with no fans in August, September, and likely into October. Baseball will start an 80-100 game season in July with no fans if the owners and players agree to terms (far from a sure thing based on recent reports). Other leagues are also planning to start playing to no fans. Some in other parts of the world have already started.

Common denominator is obviously no fans. The CFL has said Labour Day is the earliest possible starting date. So will the CFL get government aid? Is a season possible without it? If not, how will the CFL be affected if it shuts down in 2020 while other leagues operate?

I don't envy Ambrosie having to deal with this, but that's why he gets paid the big bucks.

I'm starting to think they will have an 8 game season with no fans. If they decide to go with hub cities, I think they should go with Winnipeg and Regina as Saskatchewan and Manitoba seem to have been hit the lightest among CFL provinces, and their closish proximity makes for a decent hub area.

This is another idea that I think might work:

Several days after it was first suggested by one of my Twitter followers, I’m still intrigued by the idea of the @CFL relocating it’s 4 Eastern teams into one Western city each. Seems so much more practical than stuffing 4 or 5 teams into a hub city. #CFL

— David William Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) May 26, 2020

[Argo57]

If the season does indeed start I’m looking forward to Toronto hosting the 2020 Grey Cup.

[Antwon]

I'm starting to think they will have an 8 game season with no fans. If they decide to go with hub cities, I think they should go with Winnipeg and Regina as Saskatchewan and Manitoba seem to have been hit the lightest among CFL provinces, and their closish proximity makes for a decent hub area.

This is another idea that I think might work:

Almost makes sense. The GTA can't seem to figure out social distancing and the numbers appear they will keep plugging away at the current rate for months to come. (300-400 cases and 30-40 deaths a day really sad) Add in Quebec's situation and it makes sense play the 8 game season out west with the Grey Cup in BC.
MLSE looks ignorant to the fact that 70% of Ontario cases are in Toronto/GTA. How can they be a hub city for the NHL???

[ArgoZ]

I don’t see it. I don’t believe the collective owners will push through a season out West and potentially lose millions more than no season at all. I also don’t believe that missing a season kills the CFL. If the CFL gets enough government funding to cover this venture, then it’s possible I guess, but no scenario would include Ontario. Working backwards from Sept, they need 2 weeks camp, 2 weeks isolation and the teams would need at least a month for logistics. At best, we now have 1 month to decide if we are playing in Sept because even those numbers seem rushed.

[paulwoods13]

. . . the teams would need at least a month for linguistics.

To get the Globals speaking English, or the NATs and INTs speaking Spanish and German?

[Argo57]

To get the Globals speaking English, or the NATs and INTs speaking Spanish and German?

😂👍

[R.J]

https://3downnation.com/2020/05/26/s...del-is-broken/

And the 63-year-old Waugh wants to see an increase in the amount of Canadians playing on the field, coaching on the sidelines and evaluating talent in the front office. He didn’t agree with the CFL 2.0 Global initiative pushed by Ambrosie and believes if the “C” in CFL was more prominent it would result in increased revenue for the league.

I'm all for scrapping Ambrosie's Global CFL plan, but I'm not sure if adding more Canadians automatically means Canadians will watch and invest more in the CFL.

I'll take a lot of heat for saying this, but I hope the CFL doesn't get any Federal funding (I'm actually against all the "free" money being handed out by the Liberal Government, but that's a topic for another forum). The League has been struggling for a long time, Sars-Cov-2 is just the latest issue, so hopefully the League comes out of this with a real plan to take the League where it needs to go. If not, I wonder how much longer some of the Owners are willing to lose money on some of these sinking ships.

[1971GreyCup]

Denmark unlocked 6 weeks ago and has reduced social distance to 1 metre. All is going well. Individual close contact less than 15 minutes. If all goes well, sports may return first maybe with every other seat filled?

Notre Dame announced that students and athletes will return mid August. The President of the university wrote an OpEd this week in the NY Times “We are in our society regularly willing to take on ourselves or impose on others risks — even lethal risks — for the good of society. We send off young men and women to war to defend the security of our nation knowing that many will not return. We applaud medical professionals who risk their health to provide care to the sick and suffering. We each accept the risk of a fatal traffic accident when we get in our cars.”

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproje...virus.amp.html