Travis Lulay’s Hail Mary completion to force overtime in the CFL’s west semifinal in Regina November 14 didn’t do anything for owner David Braley’s 2010 spreadsheet.
But it means 2011 will be a better year.
These are now Lulay’s Leos after Casey Printers struck out. Lulay bears a slight resemblance to Dave Dickenson, and he is an effective spokesman for the team.
But the big question will be how long he’ll be tossing the pigskin at Empire Field versus BC Place Stadium.
BC Pavilion Corp. chairman David Podmore says fall is the anticipated reopening. He’ll know better in March, he says.
Stadium certainty couldn’t come soon enough for Braley, who added Toronto Argonauts’ owner and Conservative senator to his resumé in 2010.
Braley said the Lions lost three sponsors and 1,000 customers representing 1,600 to 1,800 season tickets when they moved outdoors to Empire Field because of the BC Place renovations. Costs were cut in 2010, but he still hopes the club will break even.
“I don’t know if we’re going to be $100,000 one way or the other,” Braley said.
He expects the fans who stayed away in 2010 to return in 2011 when the club returns to BC Place with its new roof and red-and-grey seats.
He pledges to sell one or both teams by the time he’s 75 in six years. Surprisingly, he says Dueck GM auto dealer Moray Keith has not kicked the tires and made an offer he can’t refuse. Braley plays it coy and won’t say who has shown interest.
Keith co-chairs the 2011 Grey Cup committee with Lions’ president Dennis Skulsky and already has a stake in the Langley Chiefs and Chilliwack Bruins.
The Vancouver Whitecaps probably thought renaming BC Place’s west end zone the “south side” was enough to pry open the wallets of the loyal Southsiders supporters club.
But it does not appear to be so simple. The chanting (and sometimes enchanting) lager-loving loudmouths who made life difficult for opposing goalkeepers at Swangard Stadium are balking at the price the Caps want for end zone season tickets in 2011.
The Caps have not published an Empire Field seating chart, but the one for BC Place shows the end zone seats are not the cheapest. Corners are $316 plus HST.
If the Southsiders want season tickets behind the goal, they’ll have to dig deeper and pay $494 plus HST. That’s a big increase from the $270 at Swangard. The Seattle Sounders, by comparison, are charging US$436 at Qwest Field for its end zone.
Just when you thought Steve Nash Inc. was an unstoppable juggernaut comes the first blemish against the all-Canadian sports hero.
His “shock and awe” announcement November 14 is a dent in the brand. The day after the birth of son Matteo, Nash admitted he would divorce wife Alejandra.
The 36-year-old, two-time NBA most valuable player is earning $10.31 million in 2009-10 as he nears the twilight of his hoops career.
So he has diversified with a formidable off-court business and philanthropy mini-empire.
He co-owns Women’s Professional Soccer with former Yahoo president Jeff Mallett. The duo also forms one half of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ ownership group.
He plays charity basketball and soccer games to raise funds for his foundation, his name is on the marquee of the former Fitness World chain and he is a partner in Consigliere venture capital and Meathawk Productions.
Nash is also a cornerstone client of BDA Sports Management of Walnut Creek, California.
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