Timing really is everything.
It was announced on Thursday the Toronto Argonauts are playing host to a regular-season game next September in what will be a newly-built stadium in Moncton.
It happened exactly one day after the wildfire rumour that the Argos ownership is thinking of selling the team, which prompted statements of clarification/denial by the team, B.C. Lions owner David Braley, who is apparently scheduled to buy the team according to the whispers, and the Canadian Football League.
What became an exercise in crisis control 101 one day became a celebration the next day, a chance to preen instead of cower.
Not surprisingly, someone leaked the story in advance of the Moncton announcement to swerve the negative attention from the Argos ownership rumour.
That is the CFL in a nutshell, where from one day to the next the script can change as if written for a soap opera, all the while leaving fans wondering what’s happening.
This much is certain: Somebody will own the Argos next year and it won’t be the CFL. While the current ownership doesn’t want to be seen as deserting the ship and Braley is loathe to be seen as the caretaker in waiting while owning an existing franchise, the CFL will not allow this team to be operated a la the Phoenix Coyotes.
Or if you want to apply recent CFL history, the 2003 Argos, whose owner at the time stopped paying the bills seven games into the season and had the team stripped from his control.
There is absolutely no way the CFL would allow the Argos to venture into a historic game next year with anything but sound financing.
So why would anyone owning the Argos want to sacrifice a regular-season game to play in Moncton? The answer is purely the bottom line. Literally.
The Argos constantly have to battle for prime dates at Rogers Centre and are often frustrated by the scraps they are given. Not only will the team cut out the expenses of playing a game at home and additionally subtract that from the overall expenditures of the season, it might even make some money depending on how all the financials are divvied up after the game. Both the federal government and the province of New Brunswick are kicking in collectively $1.5 million. However the financials are worked out, the Argos will be compensated.
In recent years under the current ownership, which took over after the 2003 season, the Argos have routinely averaged an attendance of between 20,000-30,000 per game. Exactly how many of that number has actually paid is uncertain. As a privately-owned franchise, the Argos are not required to disclose their financials. In 2003, after the ownership collapse, the Argos were lucky to draw 10,000-15,000.
The game in Moncton will have a seating capacity of 20,000, which will include 10,000 temporary seats. It will be a sellout because this is a chance for football fans in Moncton and Atlantic Canada to witness a regular-season game. In 2005, fresh off their Grey Cup-winning season, the Argos played host to a pre-season game with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Halifax in a stadium that was ill-equipped for pro football. But it was an event, a chance to see the CFL and the optics really didn’t matter.
Now it does. It is a chance for Moncton and Atlantic Canada to show their support for a future franchise. The CFL has long talked about a league from coast to coast, but the reality is several factors need to be in place to make it economically feasible and viable. A CFL stadium with 20,000 seats is not ideal, in particular 10,000 temporary seats. A variation of that exists in Montreal, which has undergone numerous changes in renovation and expansion since the Alouettes moved full-time to decrepit Molson Stadium from the expansive Olympic Stadium in 1998. But 20,000 seats would make it virtually impossible to break even, let alone make a few bucks, unless the prices became outrageously expensive. That wouldn’t be attractive from a sales point.
So for one game, which will be prefaced by a high-school game and college game as part of a football festival that will resemble a mini Grey Cup-like weekend, Moncton can embrace the Toronto Argonauts as their own. The oldest North American professional football club will be polished and primed as the home team, playing an opponent, most likely from the west to showcase an east-west battle. In January or February when the 2010 schedule is announced, the opponent will be revealed.
The game will draw significant eyeballs for historical reasons, which may help to sell advertising that, in turn, will factor in the overall financials.
Presumably, the Argos will have recovered from the funk which has seen it plummet on the field and draw attention to the ownership, the football operations and the players.
There is a legion of fans in Toronto who care about the Argos, but for reasons that are as much about financial as they are political, they will see their team play one less game at home in 2010.
Not surprisingly, the team also announced a 37 per cent price reduction for tickets in 2010. How could you possibly charge the same amount when you’ve removed one game, in particular in September when the season takes on a whole new meaning?
