There won’t be any BC Lions games on Radio NL this season as the CFL has pulled the plug on the 2019-20 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will be the first year that the Grey Cup won’t be awarded since 1919. The league was planning to host a shortened six-game regular season followed by playoffs in the hub city of Winnipeg, but the league was unable to solve a number of issues in an effort to try and salvage a season.
“Our league governors decided today it is in the best long-term interests of the CFL to concentrate on the future,” commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement.
“We are absolutely committed to 2021, to the future of our league and the pursuit of our vision of a bigger, stronger, more global CFL.”
The CFL was not able to secure $30-million in financing from the federal government, noting it was required to hold the season. That’s as Ambrosie says the league lost more than $20 million last season.
“Even with government funding and a new CBA, our owners and community-held teams would have had to endure significant financial losses to play in 2020,” Ambrosie said.
“Without it, the losses would be so large that they would really hamper our ability to bounce back strongly next year and beyond. The most important thing is the future of our league.”
The CFL also needed to get the approval from the Public Health Agency of Canada, but Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, did not have a timeline on when that decision could be made, despite saying last Friday that he was encouraged by the CFL’s plan.
Unlike other major sports leagues in North America, the CFL relies on gate-receipts – which is a major problem when fans aren’t allowed in the stands because of public health restrictions.
The Lions – who also hold training camp in Kamloops – are expected to return next year after what would have been the 11th consecutive year of the team holding camp in Kamloops was cancelled because of COVID-19.
– With files from The Canadian Press
The #CFL announces that there will not be a shortened season played this fall.
FULL STATEMENT | https://t.co/iq4JNXU20p pic.twitter.com/OE4R4AHZdQ
— CFL (@CFL) August 17, 2020
