Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

CALGARY -- Every sports fan understands revenue sharing by now. It’s Robin Hood -- steal from the rich markets to give to the poor ones.

And so we experienced another of those "Only In The Canadian Football League Moments" on Friday, when the president of the smallest CFL market looked at the largest one, nodded his head and said, as Saskatchewan Roughriders president Jim Hopson did on Friday, "If revenue sharing is what it’s going to take, then I think we need to talk about it."

Up has become down in the CFL, as the Toronto Argonauts look to move from a big-league stadium into a minor-league one, and the economic bus for the league is being driven by its smallest market -- Regina. The team that once took cereal crops in lieu of money for season tickets now trails only the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens among Canadian pro teams in merchandise sales.

"I like to tell the other presidents that we are (already) revenue sharing," Hopson said. "(Roughriders apparel represents) about 54 per cent of total merchandise sales in the CFL, and we all get the same percentage from that. And we’re about six of the top eight rated (TV) games, and we all get the same from that. They don’t buy my argument, but I like to tell them that."

But while fortunes are soaring on the prairies, in Toronto, owners David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski have reached simultaneous plateaus as the 2009 season comes to a close.

After buying the franchise out of bankruptcy in 2003, they’ve brought the financial picture to within sight of break-even. But there are no signs that it will get any better than that under the current model while playing in Rogers Centre. At the same time, their 15-year lease signed in 2005 opens up for extension after this season, and they are highly interested in moving into BMO Field, where the Maple Leafs Sport and Entertainment-owned Toronto FC plays soccer.

There are, of course, several roadblocks there.

For one, the field isn’t long enough. CFL commissioner Mark Cohon confirmed Friday that the Argos are looking at the option of a move.

"On one hand, I understand the value of smaller, intimate stadiums," Cohon said. "On the other hand, the integrity of our game and our field is critically important."

MLSE, which does not own the field but is paying for new natural turf, wants no part of the Argos sharing BMO field. The Argos, however, have gone behind MLSE’s back and begun negotiations with the city over perhaps moving in.

And what exactly was MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum doing in the front row at the CFL awards show Thursday night? Could he be thinking, "If we’re going to have a football team at BMO Field, perhaps MLSE should own it?"

Then there is B.C. Lions owner David Braley, who would happily relieve Cynamon and Sokolowski of the Argos. He wants the team for cheap though, and if they sell, they’ll be looking to recoup a large portion of their losses over the years.

The Argonauts have pushed 30,000 with their average attendance, but the lower bowl seats are too far from the field and there are still 20,000 empty seats up top. A smaller stadium would create ticket demand and could, like the Montreal Alouettes model, pave the way to profitability.

The Argos owners will be calling in chits this weekend at the CFL board of governors meetings when they ask for some help from the other seven teams. Sources say that Sokolowski and Cynamon feel like they relieved their colleagues of a lot of debt when they bought the Argos out of bankruptcy in 2003, and have lost a lot of money over the years.

The Argos’ presence in the CFL has a major impact on national TV and advertising deals, and as the only team that competes with the NHL, NBA, MLS and has the NFL’s Buffalo Bills nearby, the Argos feel deserving of a bigger share of CFL revenues.

Hopson and another West Division owner spoken to on Friday agree, but not in perpetuity.

"If revenue sharing is what it’s going to take, then we have to talk about it," Hopson said. "As an operator though, we’re concerned that they get their house in order. We want to make sure they have the right business plan, so the money isn’t just going in the front door and disappearing."

Clearly, it is difficult to gauge a franchise’s viability when it is coming off of a 3-15 season in 2009 and a 4-14 campaign in ’08. The Argos finished either first or second in the East in every season from 2003 to 2007.

Now the team stinks, and as always, losing money is getting old for a CFL owner.

The way they’ve always solved this problem -- in every CFL city but Edmonton, over the years -- is for the league to lend a helping hand.

He’s been nearly everywhere else. Who says Robin Hood can’t make a stop in Toronto?