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Bombers to get new stadium
DAVID NAYLOR
From Friday's Globe and Mail
April 2, 2009 at 11:50 PM EDT
After 79 years of public ownership and 55 years in the same stadium, the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers are slated to wind up in the hands of media mogul David Asper, according to a deal announced by the Manitoba and federal governments in Winnipeg yesterday.
Asper will contribute $100-million to build a new 30,000-seat stadium for the team at the University of Manitoba. The stadium is to open in time for the 2011 CFL season.
The two governments are contributing a total of $35-million to the deal, which would allow Asper's company to develop commercial real estate on the site of the Bombers' current home, Canad Inns Stadium, in the area known as Polo Park.
"It's a good day not only for the Blue Bombers but for our fans," said Lyle Bauer, president of the Blue Bombers. "From the outset when we came here in 2000, management has driven the prospect of a new stadium by saying we need one if we're going to compete in the future, so this is very good."
Bauer said discussions about a new stadium began in earnest shortly after he was hired after the 1999 season, with the team in $5.5-million of debt. While cleaning up the books and improving the business model were priorities, the organization has always had its sights set on a new facility.
"This process has never had anything to do with ownership," Bauer said. "It's been, how do we get a new stadium? It was the board that had to decide whether ownership would be considered."
The deal, slated to close in early 2010, is contingent on Asper's company acquiring leasing and financing for the commercial development.
Asper is a lifelong Bombers fan who resigned from the team's board of directors in 2005 after his emotions publicly got the better of him following a loss at home. But he maintains his support won't interfere with his vision of ownership of the club, noting he does not plan to be involved in day-to-day operations.
"The worst thing you can do is allow the fan part to encroach into the business part," said Asper, executive vice-president of CanWest Global Communications Corp. "You've got to be a fan, you never stop being a fan. But you've got to find a balance between that and the business side. I hope to be a motivator and I hope to help with the overall purpose of what we hope to accomplish. But in terms of the rah-rah stuff, you've got to draw a line and I intend to do this."
Asper said fans will notice a difference under his ownership off the field, where he plans on being more aggressive in marketing the Bombers.
"We need to take the story of the Blue Bombers, our franchise as our provincial identity, and animate it, bring it to life," Asper said. "And by telling the story of the Blue Bombers in a more animated way, it will help us as a community understand our own history. From a fan's perspective, what they will see is a much more overt, shameless approach of wearing-your-heart-on-your-sleeve pride that we'll be able to afford to drive."
If the deal goes through, the CFL will be left with just two publicly owned teams, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Eskimos. (The Calgary Stampeders were publicly owned until 1991.)
The Bombers are the first CFL team to announce a deal to build a new stadium in decades. Most CFL teams play in facilities that are either poorly suited to their needs, or outdated in comparison to those of other leagues.
The Montreal Alouettes recently won approval to expand Percival Molson Stadium at McGill University to 25,000 seats, while the B.C. Lions and Stampeders both have refurbishment projects ahead. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are pushing a new stadium tied to a Pan American Games bid, while Saskatchewan has been mulling either a large renovation to Mosaic Stadium or a new facility altogether.
"This is very good for the CFL and I think our fans deserve it," Bauer said.
*****
http://www.blueandgold.ca
Bombers to get new stadium
DAVID NAYLOR
From Friday's Globe and Mail
April 2, 2009 at 11:50 PM EDT
After 79 years of public ownership and 55 years in the same stadium, the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers are slated to wind up in the hands of media mogul David Asper, according to a deal announced by the Manitoba and federal governments in Winnipeg yesterday.
Asper will contribute $100-million to build a new 30,000-seat stadium for the team at the University of Manitoba. The stadium is to open in time for the 2011 CFL season.
The two governments are contributing a total of $35-million to the deal, which would allow Asper's company to develop commercial real estate on the site of the Bombers' current home, Canad Inns Stadium, in the area known as Polo Park.
"It's a good day not only for the Blue Bombers but for our fans," said Lyle Bauer, president of the Blue Bombers. "From the outset when we came here in 2000, management has driven the prospect of a new stadium by saying we need one if we're going to compete in the future, so this is very good."
Bauer said discussions about a new stadium began in earnest shortly after he was hired after the 1999 season, with the team in $5.5-million of debt. While cleaning up the books and improving the business model were priorities, the organization has always had its sights set on a new facility.
"This process has never had anything to do with ownership," Bauer said. "It's been, how do we get a new stadium? It was the board that had to decide whether ownership would be considered."
The deal, slated to close in early 2010, is contingent on Asper's company acquiring leasing and financing for the commercial development.
Asper is a lifelong Bombers fan who resigned from the team's board of directors in 2005 after his emotions publicly got the better of him following a loss at home. But he maintains his support won't interfere with his vision of ownership of the club, noting he does not plan to be involved in day-to-day operations.
"The worst thing you can do is allow the fan part to encroach into the business part," said Asper, executive vice-president of CanWest Global Communications Corp. "You've got to be a fan, you never stop being a fan. But you've got to find a balance between that and the business side. I hope to be a motivator and I hope to help with the overall purpose of what we hope to accomplish. But in terms of the rah-rah stuff, you've got to draw a line and I intend to do this."
Asper said fans will notice a difference under his ownership off the field, where he plans on being more aggressive in marketing the Bombers.
"We need to take the story of the Blue Bombers, our franchise as our provincial identity, and animate it, bring it to life," Asper said. "And by telling the story of the Blue Bombers in a more animated way, it will help us as a community understand our own history. From a fan's perspective, what they will see is a much more overt, shameless approach of wearing-your-heart-on-your-sleeve pride that we'll be able to afford to drive."
If the deal goes through, the CFL will be left with just two publicly owned teams, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Eskimos. (The Calgary Stampeders were publicly owned until 1991.)
The Bombers are the first CFL team to announce a deal to build a new stadium in decades. Most CFL teams play in facilities that are either poorly suited to their needs, or outdated in comparison to those of other leagues.
The Montreal Alouettes recently won approval to expand Percival Molson Stadium at McGill University to 25,000 seats, while the B.C. Lions and Stampeders both have refurbishment projects ahead. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are pushing a new stadium tied to a Pan American Games bid, while Saskatchewan has been mulling either a large renovation to Mosaic Stadium or a new facility altogether.
"This is very good for the CFL and I think our fans deserve it," Bauer said.
*****
http://www.blueandgold.ca
