Alouettes remain mum on reports of franchise sale
The Montreal Alouettes were offering no comment Wednesday regarding reports the Canadian Football League franchise is close to being sold.
Various reports out of Montreal said the Alouettes — who’ve been owned by American businessperson Robert Wetenhall for more than 20 years — are on the verge of being sold.
Montreal-based TSN Radio host Tony Marinaro tweeted Eric Lapointe, a one-time Hec Crighton Trophy winner as top university player in the country and former Alouettes running back, was heading up a local group that was looking into purchasing the CFL franchise.
The Canadian Press requested to speak with Alouettes president Patrick Boivin on Wednesday, but a club spokesperson said in an email that the organization “doesn’t comment on rumours.”
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie was in Montreal on Wednesday for the league’s East regional combine as well as for a gathering with fans later in the evening. Ambrosie would neither confirm nor deny reports of the Alouettes sale, saying only the league remains committed to helping the franchise return to its former greatness.
“We have been in discussions with the Wetenhall family and Patrick Boivin about how do we work together to strengthen the Alouettes’ situation,” Ambrosie said in a phone interview. “We’re in a leave no stone unturned mode. At the core of everything has been, ‘How do we make a better future for the Alouettes,’ in a city that’s obviously had a proud tradition of winning. That includes, how do we help them get an on-field product that’s going to kind of match that proud history of winning?”
Ambrosie said that future does include the Wetenhall family.
“The discussions are absolutely inclusive of the Wetenhall family because we’re talking with them about how do we take this club back to where it once was,” he said.