CFL 2.0 to player safety: hundreds out for Commissioner visit

From CFL 2.0 to player safety to the current broadcasting schedule, it was all on the table as Commissioner Randy Ambrosie stopped in Regina as a part of his annual road trip to different CFL cities.

Ambrosie’s trip to the Queen City was the second stop on his second annual road trip which is used to connect with fans in all the CFL markets.

Since taking over as commissioner of the league back in 2017, Ambrosie said his excitement in the role has only grown.

“Every time you get another experience in this league it just makes what we’re trying to do more compelling,” Ambrosie said.

He said he answers a wide variety of questions while on these trips including officiating and their CFL 2.0 strategy.

“I love it because there’s always something you hear that you didn’t know before, there’s always an idea that’s shared that you weren’t thinking about and it causes you a moment of reflection.”

After meeting with media, Ambrosie took to the stage and answered a variety of questions from a few hundred of Rider Nation.

CFL 2.0

One of the things Ambrosie wanted to speak about was the league’s current CFL 2.0 strategy. The league has been pairing up with professional football leagues from many different nations including Mexico and Germany.

During a presentation at the forum, Ambrosie noted this strategy isn’t just an international one, but that it can be used to bring back fans in their biggest cities. He said Toronto’s population is over 50 per cent first- and second-generation Canadians who don’t have strong ties to the CFL or Grey Cup. While he wishes every market could be like Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Winnipeg, that’s just not the case.

He said they’ve looked at how other leagues, such as the NBA and NHL, have branched out into international markets and the success that they have had.

“Why don’t we become the epicentre of international football?”

Ambrosie said during his playing days, he and others often wondered why the CFL game wasn’t bigger than it currently was.

“We should find a way over a time with more success to pay our players better.”

There will be discussions during upcoming CBA negotiations over how players from Mexico and other countries will be designated in terms of ratios.

He noted international leagues have already reached out to them about providing them with Canadian talent for their own leagues. Part of the CFL 2.0 strategy is to build partnerships with U Sports programs as well to open up their talent pools as well.

Ambrosie said smaller university programs are struggling to compete with the larger schools due to their smaller talent pools. With CFL 2.0, there is an interest to bring international players to U Sports programs.

CBA negotiations

One of the major things that will be facing the league in the coming months is the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations between the league and player’s association.

There has been some concern that the league is focusing too much on CFL 2.0 and not enough on the upcoming talks, which could put the start of the season in jeopardy if a deal is not in place.

But Ambrosie said that is not the case.

“I think we can walk and chew gum at the same time, trust me we’ve been doing all the prep that we’ve needed to do to be ready for CBA discussions.”

He said the league spoke to the player’s association and they had indicated they wouldn’t be ready until late February or early march for CBA negotiations.

“You just can’t sit there once you know it’s going to take a while so you do your work.”

He said the league is shooting to ensure the season starts on time.

“We’re going to shoot for a very constructive, productive discussion with the players, I’m really excited to share with them the vision for where we think we’re going to take the CFL.”

He said they can’t predict an outcome but all parties are going into talks with the greatest of intentions and the hope of a positive outcome.

Growing concern over player safety

One of the concerns a fan brought forward was over player safety and head shots in the league. Riders fans are all too aware of how head shots can affect a team – quarterbacks Zach Collaros and Brandon Bridge both were on the receiving ends of one in back-to-back games.

Ambrosie said they are very concerned about player safety and it will be a talking point during their league meetings. He said they want to find ways to officiate head collisions in the future.

He said they have been tough on head shots with their players, saying the league heavily fined and suspended their players when the situation called for punishment.

Ambrosie said concussions and head shots are not just CFL issues, but issues that all sports are dealing with as well.

There is also a concern when it comes to youth football with more and more parents choosing to not sign their kids up to play the sport due to injuries and concussions.

“That worries me because this sport makes kids’ lives better,” he said.

He said he has challenged the rules committee this offseason to come up with ways to make the game safer.

“We want to try to be leaders in the world of sports, we are working hard at it, but we are not perfect.”

Playoff, television schedules

Two different Riders fans brought up the topic when it comes to scheduling games – one in the playoffs and the other with the current broadcasting schedule on TSN.

One man asked if the league would consider holding the Grey Cup on a Saturday instead of Sunday.

Riders President and CEO Craig Reynolds, who was also on the panel, said the league is looking at the possibility of holding more playoff games on Saturday.

Ambrosie said TSN has offered a Saturday playoff strategy during the upcoming season. Ambrosie also asked the crowd if they would like to see the Grey Cup moved to a Saturday as well, but a majority said they would be opposed to it. He said there haven’t been any discussions when it comes to moving the Grey Cup to a different night.

But how about during the regular season?

One woman wondered why there were so many days during the season where three games were played on the same day. She also brought forward an issue where TSN switched from one playoff game to the other with only four minutes remaining.

Ambrosie said a central concern he’s heard from fans is that there’s never any consistency as to when games are being played.

He said they want to make a commitment to playing a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night schedule, where there will be no Sunday night games after Labour Day. By making the schedule more predictable, Ambrosie is hopeful it will help attract more fans to the game.

Commitment to expansion franchise

One fan was worried over the lack of movement when it comes to getting a stadium built for the Atlantic Schooners.

Ambrosie said this is much different from the last time an ownership group wanted to bring football to Atlantic Canada – saying this current group actually has money to make it a reality.

He said the ownership group has already committed about $60 million to try and make the Schooners a reality.

Ambrosie said the league has been getting a lot of first downs when it comes to the franchise, but said it won’t matter unless they reach the end zone. Ambrosie stated he has confidence in the group to get everything in place.