At a press scrum last Thursday, the day before the Redblacks were to play their season home opener and officially open the new TD Place Stadium, one of the
owners, Roger Greenburg, was asked why he decided to become the co-owner of a
football team.
Detroit Tigers James McCann Jersey . His answer just may be the best example of why football will work this time, when it
didnt on two previous occasions in Ottawa. Im paraphrasing, but the chairman/CEO
of Minto Developments said that he believes there are four pillars that make up
a strong community. The first is the medical system. Second, is the education
system. The third is the arts and the final one is the sports culture. He went
on to say that the Senators have contributed to the sports culture, but it was
time to add to that with the return of professional football to the city and the
addition of professional soccer. Greenburg and his partners John Ruddy, William
Shenkman and Jeff Hunt wanted to be part of building and strengthening one of
the pillars of a strong community. In other words, this ownership group has done
all of this for the right reason - to strengthen the community that they live in
and they were rewarded on Friday night for all their hard work and perseverance.
Fridays home opener was an unforgettable experience and, hopefully, showed one
of our other major cities in the country, that happens to be only about four
hours away, just what is possible. The Redblacks didnt score a touchdown on the
field, but they did in the stands and that is what mattered most. Jeff Hunt said
the team could have sold another 15,000 tickets to the game and that will
translate into demand. Based on the in-game experience on Friday night, nobody
should be surprised to hear that the next home game will be sold out soon. The
atmosphere was electric. It was a young energetic crowd, who partied like they
were attending a rock concert. In fact, in what was an ingenious move, there was
also a rock concert going on before the game to get people pumped up for
kick-off at what was a Canadian-style tailgate party. TD Place Stadium is
fantastic with great sightlines and a design that not only looks outstanding,
but is designed to enhance the fan experience for soccer and football,
specifically. It doesnt feel like an all-purpose facility that accommodates
many, but pleases none. The game itself was not a masterpiece, but it had an
exciting finish when, down by two, Redblacks QB Henry Burris hit Kerrie Johnson
on a deep ball to set up the game winning field goal. It wasnt a walk-off winner
by Brett Maher, but when Ricky Ray was intercepted in the dying seconds, it was
game over and the crowd erupted. The games MVP was the crowd, that included
Prime Minister Steven Harper, who sat beside CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon and
Rough Rider great, Russ Jackson. In fact, one of the highlights of the night was
when our TSN cameraa caught a fan walking by the PM and the commish to shake
hands with Jackson. It was not a slight to our country leader or the leagues top
man, but a show of respect for history of football in Ottawa. And speaking of
the telecast, I owe the football fans in Ottawa an apology for mistakenly saying
that the five Grey Cup teams in the 60s and 70s were all coached by Frank Clair.
My intention was to say that all the Cup teams in the 60s were coached by Clair.
Jack Gotta was the coach from 1970-1973 and George Brancato was the coach when
the Rough Riders beat Saskatchewan to win in 1976. The telecast wasnt perfect
and neither was the night - apparently, some of the concessions ran out of beer
and the traffic was a bit tricky, which, of course, was pointed out by some
sportswriters...I swear some people would complain that their ice cream is too
cold. I recently went to a George Strait concert in Dallas at AT&T Field,
one of the most elaborate and state-of-the-art stadiums in the world and it had
traffic issues, as well. In fact, it was so jammed up, I ended up tailgating in
the parking lot for almost two hours after the event waiting for it to clear. On
Friday night, the small issue were just that - small - and didnt, in any way,
take away from the success of the event. It was a look at what is possible, even
in Ontario ,when it comes to CFL football. The capacity of TD Place Stadium is
24,000, which just may be the perfect number and a blueprint for a possible
stadium in Toronto. Our country has great football fans, but just not the volume
to consistently fill a 40-to-50,000-seat stadium and at 24,000 in the stands,
owners are making money. For those who would say that, if the NFL were in
Toronto, they would sell out the old SkyDome, I would remind those people that
the NFL regular season games played in Toronto were not sell-outs and not even
close. In fact, sources have said that upwards of 20,000 tickets to the games in
the Buffalo Bills series were freebies, handed to people on the street. No,
25-30,000-seat stadiums are the perfect size for CFL football, professional
soccer and summer concerts and, for proof of that, look no further than Friday
night in Ottawa. It can work in Toronto, as well, with a stadium at a realistic
capacity and one built for football and soccer, specifically. It worked in
Montreal, it is working in a big way in Winnipeg and, after Game One in Ottawa,
it looks like it will be a huge hit there, as well. The answer may be BMO Field,
which seems to still be part of the plan for the Argos. On our TSN set in
Ottawa, Commissioner Mark Cohon had this to say when asked what it would take to
replicate the Ottawa plan in Toronto: "The answer is a smaller stadium like
BMO," said Cohon. "We know that they have a four-year deal left with Rogers
Centre. Were talking to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, were talking to the
city of Toronto and were working to see if we can move [the Argos] into BMO
Field and replicate what we have [in Ottawa.]" The blueprint for the correct
business model has now been created and now all that is needed in Toronto is for
David Braley, or whomever buys the Argos, to start building the fourth pillar in
that community. Congratulations again to the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment
Group and, on behalf of the football fans in our country, thank you. At the end
of the night in Ottawa, the scoreboard read Redblacks 18 - Argonauts 17, but the
true winners were the fans and the community in our nations capital.
New York Mets Curtis Granderson Jersey . The Rays hope to stay alive for the postseason and salvage the finale of this series
Sunday at Rogers Centre, where they dropped a 7-2 decision Saturday.
Chris Archer lasted 2 1/3 innings in the no-decision, charged with a run and
five hits, and Alex Torres suffered the loss in relief.
Cleveland Indians Joe Carter Jersey . I suppose Sternberg has earned the right to speak out since his Rays, despite one
of the lowest payrolls in the Majors at $58 million, are entering the final
weekend of the regular season holding down the first Wild Card spot in the
American League, one game ahead of Cleveland and two up on Texas.BRADENTON, Fla.
-- The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired right-hander Vance Worley from the
Minnesota Twins for cash. The Pirates announced the trade Tuesday. Worley was
acquired in a trade that sent outfielder Ben Revere to the Philadelphia Phillies
before last season and he was the starter on opening day for the Twins. But he
went 1-5 with a 7.
Baltimore Orioles Frank Robinson Jersey. 21 ERA in 10 starts for the Twins and spent most of last season at
Triple-A-Rochester. He came to spring training a long shot to make the Twins
revamped rotation, but posted a 13.50 ERA in 10 2-3 innings before being placed
on waivers last week. Worley cleared waivers and was outrighted to Rochester on
Friday.
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