CFL delays start of 2021 season
A new target date for the start of the 2021 CFL season was greeted Wednesday with optimism and a dose of reality.
Craig Reynolds, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ president and CEO, provided some positivity after it was announced that the CFL has moved the proposed start of the regular season from June 10 to Aug. 5 to allow more time for governments to deal with the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We will find a way to play in 2021 and I’ve never been as certain of that as I am today,” Reynolds stated during a Zoom call with reporters.
“A year ago, I didn’t think that we would be having this call about a delayed season, but we are where we are and COVID is very unpredictable. Given what we know, I firmly believe that we’re going to have a 2021 season.”
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said Wednesday that, if the pieces associated with the ongoing battle with COVID-19 fall into place, “we will play CFL football in 2021.”
He then revealed the league’s return-to-play plans, which include the opening of training camps in July, followed by the regular season. The 2021 Grey Cup game remains in Hamilton, but has been moved from Nov. 21 to Dec. 12.
Ambrosie added that the approval from provincial health officials of the league’s return-to-play protocols and the permission from governments across the country to allow a “significant number of fans in the stands at a significant number of stadiums” must be in place for the league to kick off on Aug. 5.
“We haven’t set a threshold for the percentage (of fans),” Reynolds said. “It’s pretty clear from the Roughriders’ perspective that we want to play football. The reality is economically playing football with reduced capacity will certainly add to our financial challenges and not subtract from them.”
The financial challenges posed by the cancellation of the 2020 season are daunting.
Reynolds said the Riders would announce multi-million-dollar losses at the team’s annual general meeting in June.
“We are a gate-driven league and we derive 80 per cent of our revenue from the gate,” Reynolds said. “With COVID, we lost a season last year and getting back on the field will not solve our issue. It’s a multi-year problem for the club.”
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced a loss of $6.9 million in their annual report for 2020-21. Although the reporting periods are different, Reynolds said the Riders’ losses could be in that range.
“(Getting on the field) is really important, but it won’t solve our financial issues,” he said. “For the sustainability of the franchise, for the brand and for continued fan engagement, (returning to play) is vitally important.”
The Riders have completed and submitted two returnto-play protocols to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). The football operations return-to-play proposal, which includes the conducting of training camp and actually getting the team on the field, has been approved by the SHA.
The second proposal involves the reopening of Mosaic Stadium and how fans, media and stakeholders can be accommodated. That proposal has yet to be approved by the SHA.
Riders placekicker Brett Lauther is pleased to learn there are dates targeted for a start to the 2021 season. Plans call for the Riders to report for training camp on July 2. They would then a spend a week in quarantine before training camps open on July 10.
“We have report date, a training camp date and we have a kickoff date and that’s what we have been asking for,” Lauther said. “We saw last year that we had a number of target dates and I thought it was done deal that we would be playing in September. COVID and other things played a huge role in whether it was a good or bad decision at the time and we still didn’t play football.
“I feel we’re at the same point as last year. We’re a year ahead in the process and a number of factors are involved. It does look a lot better, but until it actually happens it’s one of those things where you’re hoping for the best.”
“We are a gate driven league and we derive 80 per cent of our revenue from the gate.” Craig Reynolds Saskatchewan Roughriders’ president, CEO