Thanks to all of the fans who submitted questions for Commissioner Mark Cohon. We received quite a few questions and have posted the Commissioner’s answers over the course of past several days.
Here are the final 6 questions and answers:
Please Note: No new questions will be answered after this point, so please save them for our next Q and A with the Commissioner.
1. Hi Mark, Mark you are doing a great job as the Commissioner of the CFL. I think you are the right man to help grow our Canadian game. Working towards that goal of attracting new fans and new interest from current cities without a CFL franchise would it be possible to add a third pre-season week, one in which all the games could be played at a neutral site? Perhaps TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, PEPS in Quebec City, Huskies Stadium in Halifax and at the new Moncton Stadium. And if they could be televised that’s all the better. We do need 1 more week of pre-season anyhow, I feel only 2 weeks does not allow a head coach to properly assess the talent. A third week of pre-season would also lead to a higher quality of play at the season’s start. On the expansion front we do need to see the return of CFL football to Ottawa, this current ownership group will be successful. Also eventually there must be more teams (Quebec City would be my immediate target following getting Ottawa back in). How does the current agreement between the CFL and the CFLPA as well as the current TV deal with TSN affect in any way the ability to be able to expand the league? Would any expansion after Ottawa have to wait until the current deals expire?
I count three questions there. 1. An extra pre-season week, with exhibition games at neutral sites, is a cool idea that could grow the game. However, adding another game would undoubtedly add to our player costs, and playing in small venues could make it tough for our teams to recoup those costs. It’s innovative and worth discussing, though, so I’ll share your idea with our Board of Governors. 2. I’m for expansion, but only where it makes long term business sense. For starters, there has to be serious owners with deep financial resources, and an appropriate stadium in place. 3. The TSN deal doesn’t prevent us from expanding. But it doesn’t provide our teams with more revenue if we do expand, either. The fact we’re working to go back to the nation’s capital speaks to our Governors’ commitment to the future.
2. I understand that with TSN being the only broadcaster for the CFL that you have to allow them a lot of input into the scheduling of CFL games however this has greatly affected attendance numbers in Edmonton. We used to lead the CFL every year in this category and this will be the first year in quite awhile that this will probably not be the case. For goodness sake our highest attended game was a preseason game. There has to be a more equitable way of diving up these Thursday night games. Edmonton has been the home team for every Thursday night game this year and this is not fair. Today’s Saturday game would have also been a Thursday game if not for that rock concert being rescheduled. If you do not rectify this situation it will only get worse.
Schedule building is one of the biggest challenges we have, and the result is never perfect. TSN’s broadcast schedule is just one of the factors that we take into account, along with the availability of multi-purpose venues, the need to give teams time to recover between games, and the preferences stated by our teams. (Montreal has also hosted Thursday night games this year, by the way.) We also strive to take into account our fans’ preferences. We hear from some who love weeknight games because they want to get to a cottage on the weekend, and from others who prefer weekend games because they like to build their day off around kickoff. I know the Eskimos have tremendous respect for their fans. Please continue to share your input with them and us at the league office, so it’s taken into account when we’re drafting future schedules.
3. Good Day Mr Cohon. I have been a riders fan and a cfl supporter for over 40 years. My comment to you and the league is the Banjo Bowl game between the riders and bombers. Why is it on a Sunday at 2:00 pm and the game goes to approx. 6:00pm then it takes 5-6 hours to drive home. Why not make it a Saturday game where more rider fans would make a trip to the peg. Thanks, Perry Pachkowski P.S. Keep up the great work you do to make this such a great game! GO RIDERS GO!!!!!
Thanks, Perry. I love your question, because it really speaks to the passion of CFL fans in general, and Rider fans in particular. I’ll make sure our schedule makers see your suggestion for a Saturday game. Schedule making is really complex. I see that this year, the Riders and Bombers are the second half of a great Sunday doubleheader that starts with a game in Montreal. The Als can’t play at McGill stadium on Saturdays in the Fall. It’s part of their arrangement with the university, and that may have been a factor in this year’s schedule. Have a fun and safe trip to Winnipeg, if you make it this year.
4. Mark, Can you please tell me why you are letting TSN (Toronto Sports Network) determine the absurd schedule of some games. I am referring to the two games in August where Saskatchewan was forced to play Hamilton on Sunday then travel to Montreal to play on Friday. As you know it is physically impossible to play games within that timeframe epically having to travel cross country like Saskatchewan did. From media reports Saskatchewan requested a one day delay to the league but you refused or should I say TSN refused. When will you stop letting TSN control your schedule, I believe you made a huge error in awarding them the exclusive rights to the CFL. This is not the first time teams have had to play with less than a week’s rest but I hope it is the last as the quality of play and injuries will increase. If you want to be a first rate league this cannot happen. Thank you.
Thanks for your comment. I agree it’s tough to play on less rest, and preparation and recovery time is one of the factors we try to take into account when building the schedule, along with several others, including the availability of multi-use venues and our teams’ preferences for home dates. Our CBA states that there must be a minimum of 96 hours between games (4 days), and that can only happen two times a year, with 120 hours (5 days) being the regular minimum. Some have gone so far to suggest we should play all of our games on the same day – Saturday or Sunday — to ensure seven days rest. But I’d hate to see Friday Night Football leave us, or not see all of our games televised. By the way, the TSN deal was reached before I became Commissioner but, while it’s not perfect, I believe it has been good for the league. We have our minor disagreements from time to time – that’s life – but TSN is an excellent partner. Believe me, they’re as passionate about our league as our fans are.
5. Mark, I would like to bring up the eastern expansion topic again. Looking at the Saskatchewan model of franchise sponsorship and ownership, would it not be advantageous to openly seek a franchise for say Halifax? Football is an integral part of the society out there and unless I miss the mark, a community sponsored stadium mixed with private ownership looks to be the best way to approach this. Being a Saskatchewanian I fail to see why this has not been an active goal for the CFL. On that note, as much as I would love to have Ottawa involved with another team, the hard support for it in terms of hard support has never been there, so I again fail to see why the CFL would take yet another chance. What are your thoughts; is there eno
ugh real solid footing there or fleeting support as proven 3 times in the past? Let’s face it, the owner ship there was a problem but so was fan vs. dollar support. oh, and by the way, your tenure has been an unprecedented one for the CFL, great job!
Thanks for the kind comment. I really believe Ottawa can and will succeed with the right owners, and the right stadium, in place. And we’re working towards that goal. Just recently, our group presented its plan to City Council for redeveloping Lansdowne Park and refurbishing Frank Clair Stadium. City Council voted to move to the next stage of the process which is a 45 day public consultation. City Council will then vote sometime after that period on whether to move forward the plan. We remain cautiously optimistic and hope to have some news over the coming months.
As for community ownership, it’s tough to compare a franchise like your Riders, with such a great history and such deep roots, with a brand new expansion franchise, in a region new to the CFL. And even if a community based group could raise the funds to operate the team, and foot the bills, in tough times as well as good ones, there’s the matter of a proper stadium, and who will pay for it. So expansion isn’t simple. It is one of our goals, but only if it makes sense for our fans and our existing teams, who have too often paid the price when a team fails.
6. I’d like to see the CFL work harder with Canadian universities to develop more home grown talent. Universite de Laval has a great program that other schools need to follow. CFL needs to get involved in this process. As Commissioner what would you recommend?
Our teams are working with their CIS counterparts. But I think it goes beyond universities, right to the grassroots level, so we’re also working with Football Canada. This year we are part of an initiative to expand something called six-on-six football, so smaller communities and more neighbourhoods can offer the game to youngsters on a more manageable scale. Six-on-six also encourages every player to run with and catch the ball, instead of forcing the biggest kids to always block. Our football operations department works closely with our teams to grow the game at every level, and while we have much more to do, we’re making progress. We are also focusing on promoting our up and coming Canadian players. This year, for the first time, TSN airs the first two rounds of our CFL Canadian Draft on its network. We have also created a CFL Scouting Bureau which ranks CIS players throughout the year, to help media and fans learn about these great athletes.
