Riders expect $10M loss after CFL cancels season

After several failed attempts at securing federal financial assistance and just as many delays, the Canadian Football League has officially pulled the plug on the 2020 season.

The final nail in the coffin came over the weekend when the federal government denied the CFL's request for a $30-milllion interest-free loan.

On Monday morning, the league announced its decision to abandon plans for an abbreviated bubble season in Winnipeg and focus all it's efforts on 2021.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said losses would have been so large it would hamper the league's ability to bounce back next year and beyond. 

Saskatchewan Roughriders president Craig Reynolds called it a sad and disappointing day.

"A couple things I've heard consistently over the summer, it's how can I help from our fans and that they really miss football," Reynolds said Monday afternoon following a meeting with the team executive.

"It's disappointing and it's sad to know that we're not going to have Roughrider football in 2020."

The Riders president hopes season ticket holders will not ask for refunds, opting instead to leave their money with the team and defer to next season.

Reynolds admitted the organization has been operating with zero revenue for quite some time.

"We've done our best to manage costs, we are certainly accessing government programs, but we absolutely have to look at our business. We will be working with the CFL at looking at the business model."

There have been layoffs, including Riders store staff and in the ticket office.

"Every single member of our organization have taken significant pay reductions, we've had reduced work weeks, we've closed two stores." 

An all-staff meeting is planned for Tuesday, when Reynolds will outline what the season's cancelation will mean for employees.

There have been ongoing efforts on a wage subsidy program for players who have not collected a CFL paycheque since last November.

Reynolds said the club will lose in the neighbourhood of $10 million this year and its stabilization fund will be completely exhausted.

"It's certainly the biggest financial crisis we have ever faced in our history."

The last time the CFL didn't play out a season was 1919 on the heels of the Spanish Flu.

There have been challenges in the past, but not like this, said a former Riders' president and CEO.

"I don't have a lot of envy of what they are going through right now," said Jim Hopson, who oversaw the Riders from 2005 until 2014.

"We have to find a way to play next year. It's one thing to lose a year but to lose another would really be insurmountable." 

Hopson said it will take a tremendous amount of co-operation with coaches, players and fans.

"Another big piece, how do you stay engaged with the fan base for a year without football?"

Even if the CFL can financially jump start the league, there's still a question of whether COVID-19 be a thing of the past by June 2021. If not, will health authorities allow fans to gather in stadiums?

Reynolds said the only certainty is that the business model has to change.

What that means, he's unsure, but likely a reduced salary cap and revenue sharing.

"We're going to take a really deep dive into our business model, in some cases reinvent the league in ways that we need to."

Reynolds says planning for the future begins tomorrow, but it's hard to plan when you don't know what the future has in store.