BROTHERS DREAM BIG ON ALOUETTES OWNERSHIP
The Lenkov brothers — Peter and Jeffrey — live in California, but have never forgotten their Montreal roots.
That’s why they want to buy the Alouettes and have been negotiating with the CFL and commissioner Randy Ambrosie.
The brothers grew up in Chomedey, Laval, before their careers took them south of the border. Peter, 55, is a Hollywood producer/writer behind such hit TV series as 24, CSI: New York, Hawaii Five-0 and Macgyver, while Jeffrey, 54, is a Los Angeles-based lawyer. The brothers attended Western Laval High School before Peter studied film at Concordia University and Jeffrey went to Mcgill.
They were also both big Alouettes fans and their parents were season-ticket holders.
“The fact that we went out of town for careers doesn’t take away from the fact that we’re Montrealers at heart,” Jeffrey said in a phone interview Monday from his L.A. office, where he has long had a 1970s Alouettes helmet on his credenza. “We don’t want to own the team just to own a team. There’s a lot better dollar investments than that.”
Jeffrey added that he and his brother aren’t alone and have put together an ownership group interested in purchasing the Alouettes.
“We want to make sure that the highest quality talent goes into the ownership and management of this team,” Jeffrey said. “My brother and I are in Montreal very, very often, so we would not be absentee owners. You can’t go into this wanting to be an absentee owner. It doesn’t work.”
Due to a confidentiality agreement, Jeffrey couldn’t comment on the negotiations with the CFL. The Lenkov brothers attended the Alouettes’ season opener in Edmonton last month and will be at Molson Stadium for this Saturday’s game against the Eskimos, so there’s reason to believe they’re close to a deal.
Peter was active on Twitter during the Alouettes’ 36-19 win over the Redblacks on Saturday in Ottawa and posted a checklist for his trip to Montreal this weekend that included Schwartz’s, Beauty’s, Wilensky’s, bagels, poutine, the Orange Julep and an Alouettes win.
It doesn’t get much more Montreal than that.
The Alouettes have missed the playoffs in each of the last four years and the CFL took over control of the team before the start of this season from Robert Wetenhall and his son, Andrew. There were reports the Alouettes had lost $50 million since Wetenhall purchased the club in 1997, including $12.5 million last season.
Things have been going better on the field this year — the Alouettes won their last two games, improving their record to 2-2 — but they remain a mess off the field. On Sunday, the Alouettes fired general manager Kavis Reed. Team president Patrick Boivin said the decision had nothing to do with the club’s performance and refused to provide more details, saying: “To start commenting on the details could also potentially expose us at the legal level.”
The Alouettes also fired head coach Mike Sherman last month after training camp had concluded, suddenly replacing him with Khari Jones on an interim basis.
Jeffrey Lenkov had no comment on any decisions made by Alouettes management, noting the CFL owns the team.
“I can tell you that the Alouettes should be great,” Jeffrey said. “They’re a part of Quebec culture, they’re a part of my heritage and I know they’re part of so many other Quebecers’ heritage. I looked into a purchase of them years ago and it just wasn’t available. This particular team holds a special place for us and if we can contribute ... and do our little part as owners to get the brand back and the team where it should be, it’s worth looking into.”
The Lenkovs are continuing to do their due diligence. Jeffrey said they don’t want to rush things, but want to make sure they do everything right and that the CFL agrees. He added it’s great the Alouettes are on a two-game win streak, but that doesn’t play into any timeline for purchasing the team.
“You have to look at long-term, where this franchise is and where you can take it,” Jeffrey said.
“You don’t want, as a potential owner, to step into anything unless you can bring it real value and that really plays true here because the Alouettes are a very, very special, very unique opportunity. It has to be handled with care because it’s not like buying a private enterprise. It is a private enterprise, but there’s a community interest and respect that you have to be concerned about. And you want to add value because you’re basically shepherding something for the province as a whole.
“My brother and I want to see this team great,” he added. “The financials have to work, of course. You have to do your due diligence. I’m trying to do this the right way. It would be an honour to own the team, but I have to do it correctly.”