The CFL hasn't given up on staging this season, as it has pushed back the regular season to JulyGETTY IMAGES
The CFL is "asking the federal government" for up to $150M (all figures C) in financial assistance due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the CP. CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie yesterday said that the league's proposal "involves three phases: $30 million now to manage the impact the novel coronavirus outbreak has had on league business; additional assistance for an abbreviated regular season; and up to another $120 million in the event of a lost 2020 campaign." Ambrosie said, "Our best-case scenario is we're almost certain to have to cancel games. But at worst if this crisis persists and large gatherings are prevented, we could lose the whole season and the types of losses we could incur would be devastating." Ambrosie added that if the season is completely wiped out, the CFL's "long-term future would be in peril." The CFL "hasn't given up" on staging this season, as it has "pushed back the beginning of the regular season -- which was to begin June 11 -- to early July, at the earliest." But many provincial governments have said that there "will be no sports events with large crowds this summer." Ambrosie said, "No decisions have been made but it's pointing us to a September start, at the earliest." Meanwhile, the CFL and CFLPA had been "jointly discussing all possible contingency plans" for the '20 season, but a "disagreement in talks last week resulted in the two sides no longer meeting" (CP, 4/28).
NO FANS, NO PLANS? TSN.ca's Dave Naylor notes the CFL has "spent most of the past two months examining various scenarios under which it might play this season, but along the way something has become abundantly clear: the CFL's business model doesn't work without fans in the stands." The CFL "simply can't operate without an additional revenue stream, which is why it turned its attention to Canada's federal government." The league vows to pay back the money by "providing partnerships with its players and teams, to deliver programs that promote tourism or social messages about such things as domestic violence or bullying." It is "really its only option" since the league is not in the position to pay back a $150M loan with cash. Ambrosie "sounds like he's bracing himself for a 2020 without the CFL." The truth is that with every day there is "more skepticism among players, agents and team personnel that the CFL will have a season" (TSN.ca, 4/29). SPORTSNET.ca's Arash Madani notes officials from different CFL teams have "feared that the league could close business until large gatherings like concerts and games in stadiums are permitted by the government." That would "likely be when there is a widely public and accessible vaccine for COVID-19, which in a best-case scenario would be in time for the 2021 season, although there is no way of knowing for sure when that may happen" (SPORTSNET.ca, 4/29).
