Alouettes President & CEO Patrick Boivin believes the team will remain in Montreal next season and beyond, saying they will "get something done (with new ownership) soon, hopefully in the next month, if not before the end of the year," according to Herb Zurkowsky of the MONTREAL GAZETTE. Sources said that Hollywood producer Peter Lenkov and lawyer Jeffrey Lenkov, brothers who grew up in Quebec, "remain the front-runners" to buy the franchise. But another theory recently raised has Pierre Boivin, Patrick's father, and Claridge, the Montreal private investment firm of which Pierre is President & CEO, "perhaps kicking the tires," especially after prospective Montreal MLB team owner Stephen Bronfman last week said that the Alouettes "could potentially play" in a proposed ballpark. Bronfman repeatedly has said that he is "not interested in owning" the team but "would lend some assistance, if necessary, to prevent the team from relocating or folding." Meanwhile, the Lenkov brothers said that they "believe they're close to acquiring the team, [but] they didn't want to travel to Montreal" for last Saturday's game "until the deal's closed." Boivin said that he has "daily conversations with either CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie, league officials, potential owners or lawyers." A source said that potential owners have been "told to budget for losses" of $7M in '20 (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 10/8).
