‘A business worth saving’: Former Riders president-CEO reacts to possibility of lost season

It’s something that has been mentioned as a possibility, but the loss of the 2020 CFL season seemed to be closer to becoming a reality Thursday.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie testified before a House of Commons standing committee about the CFL’s need for $150 million to help the league if the season is lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our best-case scenario for this year is a drastically truncated season and our most-likely scenario is no season at all,” Ambrosie told the committee.

While it will be up to Ottawa to determine if the league will get its requested funds, former Saskatchewan Roughriders president and CEO Jim Hopson believes the government should reach into its wallet.

“I think (the CFL) is a business worth saving. It’s not just the Riders and the CFL and teams but all those spinoff jobs that others count on at Mosaic Stadium and the concessions and it just goes on and on and on,” Hopson told the Green Zone on Thursday.

“It’s also the tie that binds. It’s what makes Canada unique in so many ways; it’s the CFL. It would be a huge loss to our country and to so many fans that have followed this league for over 100 years.

“When you talk about the fans — and I include more than just those 30,000 people who show up to Mosaic Stadium 10 times a year — you think about the tens of thousands of people that watch the game on TV. The Riders are a part of their life.”

Hopson said he wasn’t surprised the league was asking for $150 million, also noting teams have business and football operations to pay.

“It seems like an awful lot of money but when you think about what has happened here in the last few weeks and the programs that have been put in place for other businesses and individuals and so on, it’s not out of line,” Hopson said.

Like Ambrosie has said before, Hopson said having the CFL without fans in the stands probably wouldn’t be possible.

“We’re a gate-driven league. The TV money’s nice but it’s not the biggest amount; it’s still the gate,” Hopson said. “Concessions are nice and the marketing and the sponsorship and clothing and that kind of thing, but it’s bums in seats and it looks more and more like we’re not going to be able to do that.”

Grey Cup expected to bring at least $70 million to Regina economy

The impact of a lost Grey Cup would be significant to the City of Regina.

Mayor Michael Fougere said the city expected the 2020 version to provide a similar impact to 2013, when the festival and game brought $68 million to the Regina economy and $25 million to the rest of the province.

“It would be a significant blow to us and I think we’re all looking forward to having (the Grey Cup) but we also know COVID-19 has changed the plans and lives of so many people over the past few months that we wouldn’t be surprised at all about (a cancellation),” Fougere said earlier in the week.

Fougere said the city has paid about $1 million to host the Grey Cup so far.

Along with the economic impact of hosting the Grey Cup, Fougere says there’s more that comes with hosting the showdown for Canada’s top football prize.

“(There’s) the prestige of holding one of the premier events in Canada. The history and tradition of the Grey Cup is incredible for any city to have that but we also get to show off our new stadium,” Fougere said.

“I think people would agree it’s the best stadium in Canada, one of the nicest in North America for the market size that we have. It would be a chance to show off our city around North America and even around the world that watches the game.”

Fougere admitted many businesses haven’t been thinking about the loss of a Grey Cup with everything else going on in relation to the pandemic.