The Meeting

(Jeff Hunt must be getting tired with Friends of Lansdowne)


On Thursday March 24th, the Friends of Lansdowne (FOL) combined forces with the Council of Canadians to riot on the renovations to public space becoming privatized. The meeting largely squared upon the issue of Ottawa City Council giving OSEG the rights to redevelop the park the best way they see fit.

The meeting detailed can be more so followed through this media story.
(click here)


From what I gather a bit more than 100 people showed up to this meeting even though it was open to all the public of Ottawa. Ottawa is a city close to a million people; I feel the FOL should take this as a major hint that the citizens of Ottawa frankly don't care what they're doing. In addition they raised $2000 to help cover their legal expenses. Their Lawyer, and FOL member, is Steven Shrybman. The FOL must be expecting a big discount price off legal fees in the coming months if $2000 is all they can raise for this cause. Lawyers are expensive!!

Remember the MAJOR court date will be happening in June. This is when the courts will decide if the City Council of Ottawa got their decision ethically right when they award the reno project to OSEG.

Their full legal challenge can be seen here

Other than that it was a rather slow news week in terms of CFL in Ottawa stories. Blogging on FOL is becoming a bit boring. Next Sunday I will look into the new CFL expansion draft that is set to occur in 2012!

Friends of Lansdowne Park Antics

This past Monday, Friends of Lansdowne (a group against the current renovation project to Lansdowne Park) won a minor victory in getting the courts to delay legal proceedings in the ongoing legal battle over the Lansdowne renovations. FLP Park as mentioned in previous blog postings are arguing that the city council of Ottawa did not act appropriately in the bid process for the Lansdowne renovations. In their opinion because there was only one bid submitted, the City Council of Ottawa acted in bad faith in allowing the sole bid to go through without competition. As mentioned (again) before this to me is ludicrous as EVERY company was given ample time to bid on the renovations, just most every company but ONE chose not to. In addition, FLP is also arguing that Lansdowne Park should be a heritage site, and the renovation bid will not be taking that into consideration. My question to them, have they seen the proposal? The new Frank Clair looks amazing! The hearing is now scheduled for sometime in June, which will give FLP enough time to check over all the documents the bid company had sent in their submission.

This ruling has me very irritated as now the renovation process to Lansdowne will have to be put on hold until an even further date. CFL in Ottawa is still scheduled to go by 2013, but you have to wonder when they will begin the physical process of the renovations. Time is money, and time is dwindling!

FLP have a website, http://www.letsgetitright.ca. Please note that they have scheduled meeting times on their website to discuss Lansdowne Park and its future. Specifically on March 24th, the Council of Canadians are holding a public meeting at 7 p.m at the Knox Presbyterian Church on 120 Lisgar (at Elgin). At this meeting they will be discussing the privatization of public spaces. I’m sure FLP will be there, and if I was around Ottawa at this time I would definitely go! Unfortunately, I’m way over in Newfoundland at the present, so I urge anyone and everyone who would love to see CFL in Ottawa again to go out to this meeting and fight for the current bid to the renovations of Lansdowne Park!

Let’s get these renovations started ASAP!

Jeff Hunt vs The Gliebermans

Much has been said about the Glieberman's (Dad Bernard and Son Lonie) failed CFL attempts over the past two decades. If you are in the CFL know, than Ottawa can be considered a laughing stock whenever this father-son combo laid their hands on the proud Rough Rider and Renegade franchises. This born into wealth family from Detroit truly had no idea the heritage and prestige they were getting themselves into in the early 90s and mid 2000s.

The biggest mistake they made was getting the league to agree to split the 90s Rough Riders into two separate sports franchises, with one going to Shreveport, Louisiana. This was a massive failure on both the CFL and the Gliebermans. The CFL hadn’t even been heard of in the southern states, and it had to compete with the intensely popular New Orleans Saints and the LSU Tigers. Seriously, was a market study even done on this before hand, for it would have certainly reported this was a no brainer NOT to get into.

Lonie, Lonie, Lonie… the appoint of this Glieberman only makes sense if your Bernard Glieberman. Hiring a person with no CFL experience or background is a recipe for disaster. Better recruiting for the General Manager position should have been orchestrated. What makes matters worse was his quid pro quo status of dating Ottawa Cheerleaders, and terrible signings of drug addicted athletes.

What I dislike most about their tenure with the Renegades was the fact they just gave up. Average attendance was dwindling as the 2005 season progressed. The Renegades last home game brought about 16,504 fans (a depressing statistic). Instead of reaching into their wallets, or coming up with a new strategic direction, they just held their hands out to the CFL and demanded the league pay them money to continue operating the Renegades. I’m pretty sure Business 1000 teaches you that this is not the way a successful business model works. Making demands, when you have the power to change something to me seems extremely selfish.

Enter Jeff Hunt a self made millionnaire and long time CFL fan. Hunt should be seen as the “White Knight” to CFL Ottawa. His resume, character, and determination speak volumes on the type of owner the city of Ottawa should expect when their new football franchise opens again in 2013. Looking at his resume, he started his own carpet company and made millions. Then Hunt in the late 90s took over the near brink Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Ottawa 67s. He knew he had to spend marketing $ to get people interested in minor league hockey again, so he did. The attendance, and the on ice team quickly improved after his investment. Not only is he OK with splashing cash when necessary, he also gets what it takes to build a proper sports franchise. In the service industry, customer service and interaction is key! Are you likely to go back to a restaurant that served you bad food or had poor customer service… NO. The sports industry should be treated no differently. All it takes is one bad experience, and then the customer will NEVER return.

Hunt wants to keep the Ottawa 67s in Lansdowne Park with the CFL team. This I feel is genius as the two diverse sports teams will synergize together in getting more people and more buzz to Lansdowne Park. It will become the MECA of the sports industry in Ottawa.

Determination is one of the best assets I see in people, and Hunt has it. In 2006, he was part of a failed bid to take over the suspended Ottawa Renegades. A lot of business people would say, well that was a waste of time, and never bid again. Hunt defied this mold. In some ways I’m glad it was a failure, as I think this new Ottawa model, with a new draft scheme, renovated Frank Clair stadium, and new attitude will be make CFL Ottawa a much better team.

My last plug for Jeff Hunt is simple. He is a Memorial University of Newfoundland Commerce grad back in the 80s. This is a stellar business program… How do I know this? Well I’m graduating from it in a couple months and its been great to me! Newfoundland and Memorial University Rocks (Pun intended)!

Dear Jeff Hunt… YOU GOT THIS!

Ottawa's Coaching Opportunities

There is a growing trend amongst CFL teams to promote and grow former star players to high coaching roles. In the coming year three former stars, Dave Dickenson, Marcus Crandell, and Khari Jones will become Offensive coordinators for Calgary, Edmonton, and Hamilton respectively.

All these players have worked for it, starting from bottom coaching levels within organizations and working their way up. Dickenson last year was the Stampeders QB coach and look what he did with Henry Burris. Most of all Burris's stats from 2009 to 2010 improved (Highlights- 22TDs to 38TDs, QB rating 88 to 102, and completion pct 59 to 66) and Oh he happened to win the CFL's most coveted award, the league’s "Most Outstanding Player" award. You can also see the improvement in Kevin Glenn's game under the tutelage of Jones. Teams willing to take the chance on player coaches are not only investing in proven winners, but they are creating a unique marketing opportunity. Fans love to see their former fav CFL players back on the sidelines!

Enter Ottawa in 2013, who should they have as their head coach? Well that's still up in the air and I'm sure Jeff Hunt is working on it. However, the players I'd love to see back on the sidelines helping the next Ottawa team are Kerry Joseph and Pat Woodcock. During their time as Renegades they were fan favourites, so why not bring them back to help create a little more buzz for the new Canadian team? Seems like a no brainer. The point I'm neglecting is whether or not Joseph and Woodcock would even be interested in a coaching role. Turns out they are!

Take it for what it's worth but in a recent twitter conversation I had with Kerry Joseph I asked if he'd ever be interested in a coaching position for the new Ottawa team? He answered with "I would have to see where things are in my life when that time comes. It wouldn't be a bad idea to coach where I started". I also asked Woodcock and he said he would definitely be interested in a strength and condition coach job!

Dear Jeff Hunt, sign these guys!