Lions ownership discussion thread (Topics merged into here)

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CardiacKid
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almo89 wrote:
CardiacKid wrote:Perhaps the other local sports franchise the Lions should look to align with isn't the Canucks but the Vancouver Canadians. They would probably benefit from the baseball team's marketing and promotion success.
I haven't been to a Canadians game before, but I keep hearing how it's a great time even for non baseball fans. 1040 goes on from time to time saying how fans go to the Canadians game just to hang out and have a great time and most of them don't even know the names of the players. The Lions could use those types of fans at their games. Make it an event worth going to.
I read a great interview with a Canadian's marketing "guy" a couple of years ago where he discussed their approach to getting fans in seats. If I was to describe their philosophy with broad strokes it would be "out of the box thinking". IMO the Lions need to embrace this same approach; perhaps a Marketing and Promotions team doesn't need experience with a football team. Any sporting team will do....just as long as they think beyond what they regard as the "typical football fan".
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WestCoastJoe
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The_Pauser wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote: Not looking for debate, disagreement or detailed discussion of differing viewpoints.
Well considering the title of this thread is "Lions ownership discussion thread" perhaps this is the wrong thread for you? Everyone has their opinions and this is a message board where debates, disagreement, and detailed discussion of differing viewpoints takes place. Or do you only like this sort of discussion when people agree with you?

For the record, I agree with a lot of what you say. I do want an owner with deep pockets who is willing to invest in the organization; however, there are several options for this. The one owner who I do not want is Aquilini, and I can point to the Canucks organization as an example of a professional sports team that has become an unmitigated disaster under his watch. There are major concerns with the Aquilini family, mainly the fact that the family aren't all that big into sports. This is Frank's big interest; however, it's only all good as long as the franchise is making money. With the economics of the CFL, I highly doubt we'll see him freely spending the necessary funds on the team, and if he did I expect we would see some meddling like we are seeing with the Canucks. But hey, if meddling ownership is what you like then why the previous mocking of the Feterik ownership group in Calgary? You know...the ownership group that drove out a Hall of Fame head coach and the group that proceeded to absolutely destroy that Calgary organization until they finally sold the team? Do we really want to go through that? I know this fan doesn't.


:dizzy: Giving my head a shake, trying to clear it from the persistent, insistent interaction (disagreement?) sought by The Pauser.

"Hey, Buddy, you wanna argue? No? Aw, c'mon. Please." (Then let's see if some provocation works.)

To the points you try to make about Aquilini, or the Canucks, or Feterik, or ownership, I have no comment.

You are annoying, and you have annoyed me a little bit, like a little, annoying nephew. Congratulations. Have a good day. LOL

No further comment for The Pauser from the semi-retired WestCoastJoe, who has no interest in argument or heated debate, or disagreement, or even detailed discussion. Some limited discussion at times, yes, but mostly expressing points of view, and reading points of view.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Hambone
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Qman wrote:
CardiacKid wrote:Farhan Lalji quotes via Twitter:

"The team needs local ownership that is willing to invest more in a number of areas"
"It's his team and his $, but #BCLions desperately need him to sell in order to move forward"

Better watch out Farhan or you will get yourself blackballed and persona non grata at BC Place.
This is what my season tickets and grey cup tix have have financed recently

http://rec.mcmaster.ca/facilities
http://rec.mcmaster.ca/programs/david-b ... ion-centre
http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/student-lif ... ion-centre
I suppose you're going to tell us that somehow Braley skimmed $50 million in Lions profits in his first 10 years of ownership to totally fund his $50 million donation to McMaster's DeGroote School of Medicine. $15 million of that went towards the establishment of Canada's first stem cell library, $10 million to create a family health centre in downtown Hamilton and $25 million to fund research or capital in health sciences areas.
http://perspective.ca/sales/content/Hamilton-2009.pdf

Given how much red ink the Lions bled for the first 7 or 8 years of Braley's ownership he probably still hadn't broken even on his investment at the time of that $50 million donation. To be honest if he was skimming Lions' "profits" to donate to help fund medical research that ALL Canadians can hopefully benefit from I feel pretty good that I've contributed to that. The idea though that he's "robbing" the Lions to do these things I find far-fetched and totally unsubstantiated. You do know that he has this little company called Orlick Industries that is the true source of his wealth. If any Lions' funds are used in his philanthropic efforts they will be a mere pittance compared to the contributions Orlick makes.
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
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The_Pauser
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
The_Pauser wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote: Not looking for debate, disagreement or detailed discussion of differing viewpoints.
Well considering the title of this thread is "Lions ownership discussion thread" perhaps this is the wrong thread for you? Everyone has their opinions and this is a message board where debates, disagreement, and detailed discussion of differing viewpoints takes place. Or do you only like this sort of discussion when people agree with you?

For the record, I agree with a lot of what you say. I do want an owner with deep pockets who is willing to invest in the organization; however, there are several options for this. The one owner who I do not want is Aquilini, and I can point to the Canucks organization as an example of a professional sports team that has become an unmitigated disaster under his watch. There are major concerns with the Aquilini family, mainly the fact that the family aren't all that big into sports. This is Frank's big interest; however, it's only all good as long as the franchise is making money. With the economics of the CFL, I highly doubt we'll see him freely spending the necessary funds on the team, and if he did I expect we would see some meddling like we are seeing with the Canucks. But hey, if meddling ownership is what you like then why the previous mocking of the Feterik ownership group in Calgary? You know...the ownership group that drove out a Hall of Fame head coach and the group that proceeded to absolutely destroy that Calgary organization until they finally sold the team? Do we really want to go through that? I know this fan doesn't.


:dizzy: Giving my head a shake, trying to clear it from the persistent, insistent interaction (disagreement?) sought by The Pauser.

"Hey, Buddy, you wanna argue? No? Aw, c'mon. Please." (Then let's see if some provocation works.)

To the points you try to make about Aquilini, or the Canucks, or Feterik, or ownership, I have no comment.

You are annoying, and you have annoyed me a little bit, like a little, annoying nephew. Congratulations. Have a good day. LOL

No further comment for The Pauser from the semi-retired WestCoastJoe, who has no interest in argument or heated debate, or disagreement, or even detailed discussion. Some limited discussion at times, yes, but mostly expressing points of view, and reading points of view.
That's nice. And I find you annoying when you post something and then get all pissy when someone responds. That's what a discussion forum is. If you don't agree with my post or my response then you have the option to not respond to it.

"I'm gonna tell you this and make these claims but I don't want you or anyone to respond to me, I'm just going to say this in a forum where others discuss different ideas, but unless you agree with me then don't say anything at all." Oh well. Maybe time for gramps to retire.

:bang:
Roar you Lions roar!
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WestCoastJoe
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The_Pauser wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote:
The_Pauser wrote:
Well considering the title of this thread is "Lions ownership discussion thread" perhaps this is the wrong thread for you? Everyone has their opinions and this is a message board where debates, disagreement, and detailed discussion of differing viewpoints takes place. Or do you only like this sort of discussion when people agree with you?

For the record, I agree with a lot of what you say. I do want an owner with deep pockets who is willing to invest in the organization; however, there are several options for this. The one owner who I do not want is Aquilini, and I can point to the Canucks organization as an example of a professional sports team that has become an unmitigated disaster under his watch. There are major concerns with the Aquilini family, mainly the fact that the family aren't all that big into sports. This is Frank's big interest; however, it's only all good as long as the franchise is making money. With the economics of the CFL, I highly doubt we'll see him freely spending the necessary funds on the team, and if he did I expect we would see some meddling like we are seeing with the Canucks. But hey, if meddling ownership is what you like then why the previous mocking of the Feterik ownership group in Calgary? You know...the ownership group that drove out a Hall of Fame head coach and the group that proceeded to absolutely destroy that Calgary organization until they finally sold the team? Do we really want to go through that? I know this fan doesn't.


:dizzy: Giving my head a shake, trying to clear it from the persistent, insistent interaction (disagreement?) sought by The Pauser.

"Hey, Buddy, you wanna argue? No? Aw, c'mon. Please." (Then let's see if some provocation works.)

To the points you try to make about Aquilini, or the Canucks, or Feterik, or ownership, I have no comment.

You are annoying, and you have annoyed me a little bit, like a little, annoying nephew. Congratulations. Have a good day. LOL

No further comment for The Pauser from the semi-retired WestCoastJoe, who has no interest in argument or heated debate, or disagreement, or even detailed discussion. Some limited discussion at times, yes, but mostly expressing points of view, and reading points of view.
That's nice. And I find you annoying when you post something and then get all pissy when someone responds. That's what a discussion forum is. If you don't agree with my post or my response then you have the option to not respond to it.

"I'm gonna tell you this and make these claims but I don't want you or anyone to respond to me, I'm just going to say this in a forum where others discuss different ideas, but unless you agree with me then don't say anything at all." Oh well. Maybe time for gramps to retire.

:bang:
I do not like discussing anything with you. Sorry. I never respond to your comments, unless you drag me in by quoting me. If you quote me in the future, I will try to ignore it, or more likely just say no comment. Banging your head? Not recommended.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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The_Pauser
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
I do not like discussing anything with you. Sorry. I never respond to your comments, unless you drag me in by quoting me. If you quote me in the future, I will try to ignore it, or more likely just say no comment. Banging your head? Not recommended.
That's fine, that's your prerogative. I treat this like a discussion board, which it is. If you wish to treat this as a personal blog where nobody is allowed to respond to what you post, that's up to you. I find active discussion to be conducive to a higher level of thinking though, as people can generally come up with good ideas collectively. YMMV.
Roar you Lions roar!
Qman
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Hambone wrote:
Qman wrote:
CardiacKid wrote:Farhan Lalji quotes via Twitter:

"The team needs local ownership that is willing to invest more in a number of areas"
"It's his team and his $, but #BCLions desperately need him to sell in order to move forward"

Better watch out Farhan or you will get yourself blackballed and persona non grata at BC Place.
This is what my season tickets and grey cup tix have have financed recently

http://rec.mcmaster.ca/facilities
http://rec.mcmaster.ca/programs/david-b ... ion-centre
http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/student-lif ... ion-centre
I suppose you're going to tell us that somehow Braley skimmed $50 million in Lions profits in his first 10 years of ownership to totally fund his $50 million donation to McMaster's DeGroote School of Medicine. $15 million of that went towards the establishment of Canada's first stem cell library, $10 million to create a family health centre in downtown Hamilton and $25 million to fund research or capital in health sciences areas.
http://perspective.ca/sales/content/Hamilton-2009.pdf

Given how much red ink the Lions bled for the first 7 or 8 years of Braley's ownership he probably still hadn't broken even on his investment at the time of that $50 million donation. To be honest if he was skimming Lions' "profits" to donate to help fund medical research that ALL Canadians can hopefully benefit from I feel pretty good that I've contributed to that. The idea though that he's "robbing" the Lions to do these things I find far-fetched and totally unsubstantiated. You do know that he has this little company called Orlick Industries that is the true source of his wealth. If any Lions' funds are used in his philanthropic efforts they will be a mere pittance compared to the contributions Orlick makes.
Again i didn't say any of those things and you will note that I didn't list any of worthy causes (health centres, hospitals, etc) Braley has donated too which you provided only a short list. Only the athletic facilities.

I just stated the following
1. the lions have generated $20m+ in profits in last five years
2. Braley has CHOOSEN to donate to build new hamilton area ATHLETIC facilities (not talking hospitals and medical centres), instead of a similar reinvestment in the lions faciilty
3. During that time most of the other western teams have made significant investment in their facilities

I will point out again:
I realize that Braley is the saviour the the club and without him there wouldn't be a club.
I realize that it is his risk capital, and he can do with in what he pleases


... BUT i can still complain about it
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Hambone
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Qman wrote:Again i didn't say any of those things and you will note that I didn't list any of worthy causes (health centres, hospitals, etc) Braley has donated too which you provided only a short list. Only the athletic facilities.

I just stated the following
1. the lions have generated $20m+ in profits in last five years
2. Braley has CHOOSEN to donate to build new hamilton area ATHLETIC facilities (not talking hospitals and medical centres), instead of a similar reinvestment in the lions faciilty
3. During that time most of the other western teams have made significant investment in their facilities

I will point out again:
I realize that Braley is the saviour the the club and without him there wouldn't be a club.
I realize that it is his risk capital, and he can do with in what he pleases


... BUT i can still complain about it
I'd be happy to read about the profits if you can provide detailed evidence of them as well as evidence that he withdrew the money from the books of the BC Lions Football Club for personal use which as the owner is his prerogative.

As for the Lions facility they don't own it. They rent it from the City of Surrey. They originally owned it when it was first built but sold it back to City of Surrey in 1991. They've been leasing it there ever since. In May of 2015 the Lions requested extending the lease, which was set to expire 12/31/2016, for another 5 years until 12/31/2021. In the lease agreement the Lions are responsible for property taxes and routine maintenance. City of Surrey is responsible for structural repairs and capital replacements. The document linked covers it. In the appendix are details of the Lions involvement in the Surrey community which seem to contradict the theory that when Bob Ackles passed so too did many of the good community efforts he promoted. Of note is how many of these programs started after Bob left us. In that regard the Lions never dropped the ball on reaching out to the community but rather have continued to run with it and expand it.
https://www.surrey.ca/bylawsandcouncill ... 5-R069.pdf
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
Qman
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Hambone wrote:
Qman wrote:Again i didn't say any of those things and you will note that I didn't list any of worthy causes (health centres, hospitals, etc) Braley has donated too which you provided only a short list. Only the athletic facilities.

I just stated the following
1. the lions have generated $20m+ in profits in last five years
2. Braley has CHOOSEN to donate to build new hamilton area ATHLETIC facilities (not talking hospitals and medical centres), instead of a similar reinvestment in the lions faciilty
3. During that time most of the other western teams have made significant investment in their facilities

I will point out again:
I realize that Braley is the saviour the the club and without him there wouldn't be a club.
I realize that it is his risk capital, and he can do with in what he pleases


... BUT i can still complain about it
I'd be happy to read about the profits if you can provide detailed evidence of them as well as evidence that he withdrew the money from the books of the BC Lions Football Club for personal use which as the owner is his prerogative.

As for the Lions facility they don't own it. They rent it from the City of Surrey. They originally owned it when it was first built but sold it back to City of Surrey in 1991. They've been leasing it there ever since. In May of 2015 the Lions requested extending the lease, which was set to expire 12/31/2016, for another 5 years until 12/31/2021. In the lease agreement the Lions are responsible for property taxes and routine maintenance. City of Surrey is responsible for structural repairs and capital replacements. The document linked covers it. In the appendix are details of the Lions involvement in the Surrey community which seem to contradict the theory that when Bob Ackles passed so too did many of the good community efforts he promoted. Of note is how many of these programs started after Bob left us. In that regard the Lions never dropped the ball on reaching out to the community but rather have continued to run with it and expand it.
https://www.surrey.ca/bylawsandcouncill ... 5-R069.pdf
Eskimos don't own their purpose built $108M practice facility, neither to riders or bombers.
The whitecaps don't own their facility at UBC, still contributing lots of $ to it ... and they are losing C$5million a season.

Fact is most of these facility are dual-use partnerships with governments. Just like Braley's pet projects in hamilton. ie. he's contributing say $5milion of $30m project.

- one good project i think they could invest in is put a indoor field house overtop of tom binnie field. Then lions could practice indoors when its raining. Lions can use it during football season, and youth soccer can use it over the winter and spring for soccer.
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CardiacKid
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I initially wondered if Dave Sidoo was a relation to Jab Sidhoo, the gentleman who was a long term supporter of the Lions since day one. But a recent Google search of Mr. Sidhoo confirmed the spelling of his last name for me; so I will assume there is no relation. But it would have made a great story..... Almost like Bob Young and his brother.
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David
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Great column here on Dave Sidoo. When I met him in a local coffee shop a couple of months ago, I found him to be friendly, down-to-earth, and very approachable. It's tough not to root for a guy like this - he's worked for everything he has; he hasn't had anything handed to him and he gives back to the community. I think he'd make a great owner of the B.C. Lions. :thup:

http://vancouversun.com/sports/football ... ts-in-life


DH :cool:
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TheLionKing
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Good article on Sidoo. The more I read about him, the more I'm impressed with him.
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WestCoastJoe
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David wrote:Great column here on Dave Sidoo. When I met him in a local coffee shop a couple of months ago, I found him to be friendly, down-to-earth, and very approachable. It's tough not to root for a guy like this - he's worked for everything he has; he hasn't had anything handed to him and he gives back to the community. I think he'd make a great owner of the B.C. Lions. :thup:

http://vancouversun.com/sports/football ... ts-in-life


DH :cool:
Very nice article by Ed Willes, David. Thanks for posting that.

Impressive. Makes me proud of UBC and of our community. This is the Canadian way. Integrate and we get people like this man, David Sidoo. :thup:

IMO we, as Lions' fans, would be blessed if he succeeds in becoming the owner of the team. One can hope. C'mon, David Braley, one of your many contributions can be an attractive price for the team you have carried for all these years. LOL Let's get it done.
Sidoo won’t say how much he’s poured into the (UBC) program, but it’s comfortably in the seven figures. As for the payback: “I was standing on the sidelines (before kickoff at the national championship game in Quebec City) with Manjy and some of the seniors came up to me,” says Sidoo. “They said, ‘Thanks for changing our lives.’ I started crying. Manjy started crying.

“Those are the things you don’t forget.”
He thinks of his father, Mall Singh, who emigrated to Canada from the Punjab, worked the sawmills on Annacis Island and instilled in his son the virtues of family, community and hard work.

He thinks of Frank Smith, his coach at UBC, who put his arm around his young player after his father passed away and told him, “You’re going to play professional football and take care of your family.”

And he thinks of his own family: his wife, Manjy, who he met at UBC; his two sons, Dylan and Jordan; and the foundation — Sidoo Family Giving — he’s established in their name.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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Some pix ...
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John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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B.C.FAN
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According to Rick Dhaliwal of News1130 Sports, David Braley is looking to take a bigger role for himself this year in running the Lions. Dennis Skulsky has given up the presidency but will remain with the club at Braley's urging as vice-chairman, working two to four days a month. Braley is acting president and could end up in that role full-time, but he is also interviewing for the vacancy.
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