With the difficulties the CFL has had drawing fans in its
U.S. expansion cities, many are advocating changes in the rules,
or some say the league could be on the way out. In this
morning's GLOBE & MAIL, Marty York writes that the league "may,
actually be dying." York reports franchises in Shreveport,
Memphis and Birmingham are suffering through attendance droughts
and big financial losses. Shreveport President Lonie Glieberman
has had discussions with officials in Charlotte, Milwaukee,
Columbus and Norfolk about relocating next season. Meanwhile,
execs for the Birmingham and Memphis franchises are calling for
rule changes to make the game more like U.S. football. Those
markets are also having difficulties with scheduling, as Saturday
and Sunday dates are highly unsuccessful going against NFL and
NCAA football. Only 5,289 showed up in Birmingham for last
Sunday's game, while in Memphis, the Mad Dogs drew less than
4,300 for a game two weeks ago. Birmingham Owner A.L. Williams
is expecting to lose C$6M this year (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/22).
Birmingham's Williams: "We couldn't survive with that kind of
attendance. ... My hope is that it's just a freak" (Baltimore
SUN, 9/22).
