Dennis Skulsky stepping down effective April 1

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B.C.FAN
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SammyGreene wrote:Didn't see this coming. Certainly nothing in the way of hints but it sets up the sale of the franchise in the very near future. Chayka likely steps in the role for now. If Braley goes outside the organization it would suggest he might be sticking around for longer than just this season. My preference would be Scott Ackles.
I wish Skulsky well but this announcement is strange in a lot of ways. I can't see Braley wanting to get involved in the hands-on duties of the president in the marketing and promotion of the club, including media interviews and speaking engagements. I also can't see Braley hiring a new president if he plans to sell the team in the near future. Skulsky was under contract to the end of 2016, which would coincide with the original timeline for Braley to sell the team and would allow the new owner to appoint a president or extend Skulsky. Skulsky has said in the past that he would step down if he were part of a group negotiating to buy the team. I still wonder if that is the case here.

As for Scott Ackles, I doubt that he would consider the position without knowing who would be the owner in the next year or two. I spoke to him a few months ago about the prospect of him eventually returning to football but he seemed quite satisfied with his role as vice-president of a growing security company. He said he had no plans to get back into football at that time. He said he and Skulsky and Wally lived in the same area but he didn't see them often.
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Belize City Lion
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But who will now dress like an assistant coach and stand on the sideline posturing like an assistant coach? Oh, I know... actual assistant coaches.
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Belize City Lion wrote:But who will now dress like an assistant coach and stand on the sideline posturing like an assistant coach? Oh, I know... actual assistant coaches.
How long has it been since assistant coaches wore sports jackets and slacks on the sidelines?
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B.C.FAN wrote:
SammyGreene wrote:Didn't see this coming. Certainly nothing in the way of hints but it sets up the sale of the franchise in the very near future. Chayka likely steps in the role for now. If Braley goes outside the organization it would suggest he might be sticking around for longer than just this season. My preference would be Scott Ackles.
I wish Skulsky well but this announcement is strange in a lot of ways. I can't see Braley wanting to get involved in the hands-on duties of the president in the marketing and promotion of the club, including media interviews and speaking engagements. I also can't see Braley hiring a new president if he plans to sell the team in the near future. Skulsky was under contract to the end of 2016, which would coincide with the original timeline for Braley to sell the team and would allow the new owner to appoint a president or extend Skulsky. Skulsky has said in the past that he would step down if he were part of a group negotiating to buy the team. I still wonder if that is the case here.

As for Scott Ackles, I doubt that he would consider the position without knowing who would be the owner in the next year or two. I spoke to him a few months ago about the prospect of him eventually returning to football but he seemed quite satisfied with his role as vice-president of a growing security company. He said he had no plans to get back into football at that time. He said he and Skulsky and Wally lived in the same area but he didn't see them often.
I think Braley will for all intents hold the president title mostly in name only with any hands-on duties being at the macro level. He'd likely take part in things like league BOG meetings and such but won't be any more involved in the bulk of Skulsky's responsibilities than he was in the past. The part of Skulsky's duties outside the 25% mention will likely be delegated to Chayka, Pitbaldo, etc.

I agree with your take on Scott Ackles. I think he's content where he is. He had his taste of running a CFL franchise in Calgary and has done his time with the Lions. If he truly wanted to be a key part in the upper echelon of Lion management he'd already be gainfully employed by Braley in the senior part of BC's org chart.
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David
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Hambone wrote:
Belize City Lion wrote:But who will now dress like an assistant coach and stand on the sideline posturing like an assistant coach? Oh, I know... actual assistant coaches.
How long has it been since assistant coaches wore sports jackets and slacks on the sidelines?
I think he's referring to his road garb. He has 2 uniforms. The black suit with orange tie at home, and the coaches' sideline jacket on the road.

I agree that Skulsky's a very "fan friendly" guy, but an interesting blog from LU indicates that he's had some run-ins with the local scribes:
Lowell Ullrich wrote:....Others took issue with Skulsky’s panache for a guaranteed win promotion and regularly standing alongside his team for a half during home games, suggesting his time would be better served rubbing shoulders with the business sector. He also butted heads with more than one media messenger locally, and their bosses.


DH :cool:
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cromartie
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Hambone wrote:
Belize City Lion wrote:But who will now dress like an assistant coach and stand on the sideline posturing like an assistant coach? Oh, I know... actual assistant coaches.
How long has it been since assistant coaches wore sports jackets and slacks on the sidelines?
Longer than it has been since a club President wore player gloves at a uniform design announcement.
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http://3downnation.com/2016/02/29/15531/

From Lowell Ullirich ...
What the changes at the top might mean for the B.C. Lions

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Lowell Ullrich // 1 Comment

If it indeed does take a considerable amount of spin-doctoring dexterity to purposely lose in the news cycle word about a big change at the top of the B.C. Lions food chain, they performed brilliantly announcing the imminent exit of Dennis Skulsky.

If you didn’t want the masses to focus on the fact that the president and CEO of the CFL team the last six years is stepping down to take on a more unstructured role of vice-chairman, you do what the Lions did Monday. TSN 1040 first reported the news two minutes before the expiration of the sleep-inducing NHL trade deadline.

In one rather deft move, the Lions not only briefly stole the news cycle at the exact same moment a radio audience was tuning in to find out the Vancouver Canucks were again doing nothing, but to some may have signalled a rise to a belief that football in the Lower Mainland can be salvaged.

Others may also wonder whether owner David Braley has just cleared the decks to sell the franchise by allowing a buyer to install their own person at the top. Skulsky’s contract, according to published reports, is up after the upcoming season, which might enable a more seamless regime change if the time has finally come for Braley to pull the trigger on the ownership move he’s been reluctant to make for more than a decade. At some point, the line of ownership groups who have been reportedly interested in making a deal to acquire the Lions over the years might have done enough waiting.

There’s also been speculation in the wake of the announcement that Skulsky (above) is not merely ascending into semi-retirement but moving to one side so as to be part of his own ownership acquisition group.

According to the club at least, Skulsky’s reasoning for the move effective April 1 is purely for personal reasons.

“The past couple of years have been challenging for me with some family health issues, the passing of my father, all of which is a reminder that life is very precious,” Skulsky said in a news release. “After 43 years of fulltime employment, the time has come to step back and spend more time enjoying life with my wife, family and grandchildren.”

By any balanced assessment, Skulsky’s work since formally joining the Lions would make him a polarizing figure.

Braley waited nearly two years for Skulsky to leave his previous post as a newspaper executive, then handed him the onerous task of marshaling the franchise through the move from B.C. Place Stadium to temporary digs at Empire Field and back.

Despite that challenge club revenues were on a solid incline for several years, according to Skulsky. Detractors said they were too high, as coffee-row discussion centred for a time around ticket prices, with the Lions responding with a $25 entry point for the 2016 season as early as last October.

Others took issue with Skulsky’s panache for a guaranteed win promotion and regularly standing alongside his team for a half during home games, suggesting his time would be better served rubbing shoulders with the business sector. He also butted heads with more than one media messenger locally, and their bosses.

It doesn’t take a football savant to suggest the Lions have a big job ahead, though no bigger than the Canucks these days to be truthful. The biggest issues for either team would go away simply by playing host to a playoff game.

Nonetheless, with Braley only able to take the pulse of his franchise from a distance, it’s fair to ask where the Lions would be had the owner not tabbed Skulsky after the passing of Bob Ackles to serve the Lions in a manner far greater than co-founder of the Waterboys business advisory group. The list of presidential candidates was not exactly stretching around a city block. The list of enthusiastic leaders willing to often dress in orange is even shorter.

Now Braley must do it again at a time when the list of candidates is still slim and the Lions at a crossroads, with Skulsky leaving after an extrmely steep attendance drop in 2015 and Wally Buono staying on for another two seasons in an all-or-nothing attempt to resurrect the on-field product.

Best thing for all of them now is the fact most in these parts seem to be currently preoccupied with Dan Hamhuis.
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SammyGreene
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B.C.FAN wrote:I wish Skulsky well but this announcement is strange in a lot of ways. Skulsky has said in the past that he would step down if he were part of a group negotiating to buy the team. I still wonder if that is the case here.
Skulsky, like Buono, has one year left on his contract. As the sale process begins, Skulsky likely will step aside from his role as team president, as he is widely expected to help lead one of the potential buyers groups.

“At that time the decision will have to be made, whether I’m interested in staying or being part of an ownership group,” said Skulsky on Wednesday, after Buono spoke.

Like his management team, Braley wasn’t happy with the Lions 2015 season. “I’ve very disappointed – 7-11 is not very good.”
This bit from a Globe and Mail story last November certainy backs up what B.C. FAN is suggesting and I agree. Of course, all it would take is a question from the media to confirm this is the case. But as LU wrote, the timing was very odd — right during the NHL trading deadline frenzy as if the Lions wanted it to go quietly unnoticed.

Skulsky bleeds orange and has always been very accommodating to season ticket holders. That said, he's had a good run at it and, I for one, hope the potential new ownership group comes in with entirely different leadership and fresh ideas to reach out to the younger demographic the club desperately needs moving forward.
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SammyGreene wrote:
B.C.FAN wrote:I wish Skulsky well but this announcement is strange in a lot of ways. Skulsky has said in the past that he would step down if he were part of a group negotiating to buy the team. I still wonder if that is the case here.
Skulsky, like Buono, has one year left on his contract. As the sale process begins, Skulsky likely will step aside from his role as team president, as he is widely expected to help lead one of the potential buyers groups.

“At that time the decision will have to be made, whether I’m interested in staying or being part of an ownership group,” said Skulsky on Wednesday, after Buono spoke.

Like his management team, Braley wasn’t happy with the Lions 2015 season. “I’ve very disappointed – 7-11 is not very good.”
This bit from a Globe and Mail story last November certainy backs up what B.C. FAN is suggesting and I agree. Of course, all it would take is a question from the media to confirm this is the case. But as LU wrote, the timing was very odd — right during the NHL trading deadline frenzy as if the Lions wanted it to go quietly unnoticed.

Skulsky bleeds orange and has always been very accommodating to season ticket holders. That said, he's had a good run at it and, I for one, hope the potential new ownership group comes in with entirely different leadership and fresh ideas to reach out to the younger demographic the club desperately needs moving forward.
The tsn morning show seemed to indicated that sale of the team is bascially done (they know who it is), and had to approve the wally extension. Sounds like it was a few of the "waterboys" by the hints. I think an investor group would be very positive for the lions, then you have several people/groups out their pushing tickets and lions out into the community. I'd even support the canucks taking a piece, like the flames did with the stamps in early 2000s. More people with equity and vested interest in the team, better it will do.
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Qman wrote:
SammyGreene wrote:
B.C.FAN wrote:I'd even support the canucks taking a piece, like the flames did with the stamps in early 2000s. More people with equity and vested interest in the team, better it will do.
the farther away from the lions the aquilini family is, the better
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Interesting article.

True confessions: I had to google the name "Dan Hamhuis" as I'd never heard of him before.
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One of the positive attributes that Braley has brought to the Leo's is that he is an interested owner, but does not appear to be very "hands on", seemingly preferring to let the managers manage and the coaches coach. In some quarters he has been criticized for being hands off, but I would prefer that approach to an owner that gets their fingers into the pie, something that the present Canucks owners are seen as doing....
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Dusty wrote:One of the positive attributes that Braley has brought to the Leo's is that he is an interested owner, but does not appear to be very "hands on", seemingly preferring to let the managers manage and the coaches coach. In some quarters he has been criticized for being hands off, but I would prefer that approach to an owner that gets their fingers into the pie, something that the present Canucks owners are seen as doing....
I concur. Hire good people and let them do their work.
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Dusty wrote:One of the positive attributes that Braley has brought to the Leo's is that he is an interested owner, but does not appear to be very "hands on", seemingly preferring to let the managers manage and the coaches coach. In some quarters he has been criticized for being hands off, but I would prefer that approach to an owner that gets their fingers into the pie, something that the present Canucks owners are seen as doing....
thats the other positive of the investor group ... if everyone has a 10-15% you have vested interest in marketing the club, but not high enough equity stake to want to meddle on the football side.
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Lions4ever wrote:Interesting article.

True confessions: I had to google the name "Dan Hamhuis" as I'd never heard of him before.
:thup:

Only fair, since the average Canucks fan knows the name of the girlfriend of the third string goalie for their Abbotsford farm team but doesn't know who Wally Buono is.
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