"Will be 1st year Grey Cup won't be presented since 1919"
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie shoulders the blame for the Grey Cup not being handed out for the first time in more than 100 years.
The CFL cancelled its season Monday due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning the Grey Cup won't be presented for the first time since 1919.
<section id="inread-wrapper-id-56980684" style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></section>The decision comes after the CFL was unable to secure financial assistance from the federal government. The league sent Ottawa an amended request Aug. 3 for a $30-million, interest-free loan, but the sides couldn't come to terms on a deal.
It was the CFL's last-ditch effort to stage an abbreviated season in the hub city of Winnipeg. It came after the league asked for $44 million in July.
"I do feel I am responsible for the fact that we are not on the field this year," Ambrosie said in a telephone interview. "But I resolve to learn from what we've experienced and I'm looking forward to a bright future.
"I think we're all watching an example on the world stage today of a leader that takes no responsibility for anything … and no matter what happens, I won't be that guy."
The CFL had maintained it required government funding to stage a shortened season. In late April, Ambrosie told The Canadian Press the league had presented a three-tiered request for financial assistance that began with $30 million initially, more in the event of a shortened season and up to $150 million in the event of a cancelled campaign.
"I regret that.… I do wish we hadn't thrown that number [$150 million] out," Ambrosie said. "We never asked for $150 million, at least I don't feel we did.
"What we did was aggregate what we thought was the worst-case scenario … and we said, 'In the end our problem could be as big as $150 million,' but that became the number."
Ambrosie had stated the CFL collectively lost around $20 million last season. With no football in 2020, a source familiar with the situation said the league will lose between $60 and $80 million this year.
Ambrosie said he was at a loss to explain why the CFL and government couldn't come to a suitable financial arrangement. But two league sources said the $30-million request fell through when the assistance couldn't be provided to the league under the terms it sought.
The sources were granted anonymity because the league and government haven't discussed certain financial figures publicly.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-cancel-season-pandemic-1.5689252
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie shoulders the blame for the Grey Cup not being handed out for the first time in more than 100 years.
The CFL cancelled its season Monday due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning the Grey Cup won't be presented for the first time since 1919.
<section id="inread-wrapper-id-56980684" style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></section>The decision comes after the CFL was unable to secure financial assistance from the federal government. The league sent Ottawa an amended request Aug. 3 for a $30-million, interest-free loan, but the sides couldn't come to terms on a deal.
It was the CFL's last-ditch effort to stage an abbreviated season in the hub city of Winnipeg. It came after the league asked for $44 million in July.
"I do feel I am responsible for the fact that we are not on the field this year," Ambrosie said in a telephone interview. "But I resolve to learn from what we've experienced and I'm looking forward to a bright future.
"I think we're all watching an example on the world stage today of a leader that takes no responsibility for anything … and no matter what happens, I won't be that guy."
The CFL had maintained it required government funding to stage a shortened season. In late April, Ambrosie told The Canadian Press the league had presented a three-tiered request for financial assistance that began with $30 million initially, more in the event of a shortened season and up to $150 million in the event of a cancelled campaign.
"I regret that.… I do wish we hadn't thrown that number [$150 million] out," Ambrosie said. "We never asked for $150 million, at least I don't feel we did.
"What we did was aggregate what we thought was the worst-case scenario … and we said, 'In the end our problem could be as big as $150 million,' but that became the number."
Ambrosie had stated the CFL collectively lost around $20 million last season. With no football in 2020, a source familiar with the situation said the league will lose between $60 and $80 million this year.
Ambrosie said he was at a loss to explain why the CFL and government couldn't come to a suitable financial arrangement. But two league sources said the $30-million request fell through when the assistance couldn't be provided to the league under the terms it sought.
The sources were granted anonymity because the league and government haven't discussed certain financial figures publicly.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/cfl-cancel-season-pandemic-1.5689252
