COVID-19 : How it could impact Lions/CFL

[Toppy Vann]

Our provincial leadership has presented a somewhat unified response to the crisis, and has effectively mitigated the impacts on the health care system to this point. However, our economy is in total meltdown and there is no coherent strategy to deal with this, other than waiting helplessly for a vaccine.

China, on the other hand, pulled out the problem at its roots, and now its economy is booming. If you want a model for how to deal successfully with this pandemic, look to Asia. Our weak, individualist approach is not a model for anyone to be proud of.

The lack of a strategy and tactics is a result of our political system. If we had in place a universal basic income program all of this craziness in setting up new sources of money would not be happening. But every time a more liberal thinking govt tries experiments like this a more conservative gov't gets elected and ends this.

I 'm hoping that coming out of this pandemic will be a push towards a universal income scheme across the globe. Studies have long shown this isn't unaffordable with tweaks to current tax systems.

This is NOT socialism but capitalism. Check out the history of this!

I wouldn't go so far to suggest that the China economy is "booming" because it isn't.

China has a leg up on the rest of the world as their challenge is knocked down for now and they were able to cordon off Wuhan and pretty much all of Hubei Province as well as all travel in/out.

China has an added leg up in its shift to a digital economy as they're giving out digital coupons required to be spent in targeted ways unlike if they gave cash which would be banked. Friends and colleagues in China have for some few years been ordering and paying with their phones and most never get to an ATM.

I've invested some money in a Canadian block chain organization who are working on a digital platform that could eliminate cash and be available to even small mom and pop businesses. Credit cards would be toast.

[maxlion]

This has nothing to do with block chains or ubi. Countries like China, Vietnam, Korea understand that in times of crisis, individual interests need to be compromised for the common good. In BC, we’ve decided to prioritize personal comforts and conveniences over health and the economy. We will pay dearly for this lack of leadership.

[jwbavalon]

Canada's society is not like China, Vietnam, Korea where 1984 is in full swing. We still treasure individual freedom although Facebook and Google, to name a few, are pulling it away. Generally, I prefer the freedom but I agree in times of a pandemic it would be good for "the people in charge" to know where everyone is or has been. Cameras everywhere with constant facial recognition. Maybe that will be the lessons learned when this is all over.

Can we get back to football discuissions?

Great idea. Let's park the general COVID-19 pandemic discussion and get the focus back on how it affects the Lions and CFL.

Thanks,
Mods

[BC 1988]

Canada's society is not like China, Vietnam, Korea where 1984 is in full swing. We still treasure individual freedom although Facebook and Google, to name a few, are pulling it away. Generally, I prefer the freedom but I agree in times of a pandemic it would be good for "the people in charge" to know where everyone is or has been. Cameras everywhere with constant facial recognition. Maybe that will be the lessons learned when this is all over.

Can we get back to football discuissions?

Great idea. Let's park the general COVID-19 pandemic discussion and get the focus back on how it affects the Lions and CFL.

Thanks,
Mods

It's kind of out of sight, out of mind (I often don't look beyond The Roar Room), but "general COVID-19 pandemic discussion" could go down here:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29937

[maxlion]

...
Can we get back to football discuissions?

Great idea. Let's park the general COVID-19 pandemic discussion and get the focus back on how it affects the Lions and CFL.

Thanks,
Mods

It's kind of out of sight, out of mind (I often don't look beyond The Roar Room), but "general COVID-19 pandemic discussion" could go down here:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29937

Thanks, good suggestions.

[David]

Looking less likely that there will be any football in Vancouver for the foreseeable future. The gut-punch will if the Seahawks somehow manage to stage games, adding further enticement for Lower Mainland football fans to watch them...at the expense of the Leos (doubtful but possible. Remember, NFL season goes to January so they have more time to play with. Plus, they could play games in empty stadiums if need be. CFL needs gate revenue. A year of - minimum - could really erode the fan base).

Still, David Braley deserves kudos for doing things right so far.

Story here.


DH

[DanoT]

The other day Dr. Henry used the PNE as an example of an event that will be cancelled. From that I concluded that the CFL season is also cancelled, although there is nothing to be gained by announcing it now.

My guess is that the CFL season and likely other sports as well will be postponed until a vaccine is developed.

[B.C.FAN]

Thanks for the link, David. I paid for my 2020 season tickets last fall. If it would mean the difference between having a season or not, I would be happy to let the team keep my money and play in an empty stadium this year. There probably aren’t enough season ticket holders in this market to make a difference but I wouldn’t underestimate the resourcefulness of CFL fans hungry to watch football, on TV or otherwise.

[SammyGreene]

Thanks David. Great read. This would have been a very difficult situation for new ownership. Grateful for the stability David Braley has provided. Until we see what this league looks like closer to normality in at least a year’s time I can’t see any more discussions on the sale of the club.

Listening to Dr Henry at her daily presser yesterday it doesn’t sound like “event type gatherings” will proceed until a vaccine is developed. She suggested a “12-to-18 month” time frame from now. Sure the hell hope it’s not more than a year.

So when does Ambrosie formally cancel the season?
Does a neutral site(s) condensed tournament format (round-robin games, plus playoffs) work just for the league to fulfill their $50 million per year deal with TSN? The only two teams capable of hosting such games with fans — based on current COVID numbers — would be Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. Then there is the cost of constant testing, keeping players quarantined and travelling back and forth each week.

It would be a massive effort with players taking a substantial pay cut and likely commence at the same time as the NFL season. But as you mentioned David, how much further would the Lions/CFL brand be hurt in this city with the product not being exposed for almost 2 years?

Glad to hear the Lions at least applied for the federal wage subsidy. That should take care of their Vancouver based staff and even most national players I assume. But they are also staring at potential season ticket refunds or the 2020 payments carrying over into 2021. No sponsorship money either.

So many questions during this unprecedented time.

[Hambone]

The other day Dr. Henry used the PNE as an example of an event that will be cancelled. From that I concluded that the CFL season is also cancelled, although there is nothing to be gained by announcing it now.

My guess is that the CFL season and likely other sports as well will be postponed until a vaccine is developed.

I think one has to look those two as being different circumstances. Come mid-August both might be in the exact same boat with cancellation of the CFL season being no longer avoidable. However the CFL has far greater flexibility to "play it by ear" well into the mid-summer before being forced into a cancellation of the season. It's a luxury the PNE doesn't have. As a 17 day event the PNE has countless moving pieces and parts, financial commitments and many small mom & pop vendors and businesses to contract in. Things like the dozens of entertainment acts for the PNE Concert Series need to be booked with deposits made now if not before now.

The PNE and things like Festival of Fire have no choice but to cancel now because of the tremendous financial risks they would take if they plowed ahead for another couple of months then had to cancel. As such I don't take announcements such as PNE cancellation to be iron clad evidence that everything will be locked tight until September at earliest. It may turn out that way but at this point the PNE and others like it are in a situation where they have to fish or cut bait. They have to either commit to being a go or declare a cancellation. They can't wait until June to see if the tea leaves start to show that they might be able to put together some form of their event.

[BC 1988]

The other day Dr. Henry used the PNE as an example of an event that will be cancelled. From that I concluded that the CFL season is also cancelled, although there is nothing to be gained by announcing it now.

My guess is that the CFL season and likely other sports as well will be postponed until a vaccine is developed.

I think one has to look those two as being different circumstances. Come mid-August both might be in the exact same boat with cancellation of the CFL season being no longer avoidable. However the CFL has far greater flexibility to "play it by ear" well into the mid-summer before being forced into a cancellation of the season. It's a luxury the PNE doesn't have. As a 17 day event the PNE has countless moving pieces and parts, financial commitments and many small mom & pop vendors and businesses to contract in. Things like the dozens of entertainment acts for the PNE Concert Series need to be booked with deposits made now if not before now.

The PNE and things like Festival of Fire have no choice but to cancel now because of the tremendous financial risks they would take if they plowed ahead for another couple of months then had to cancel. As such I don't take announcements such as PNE cancellation to be iron clad evidence that everything will be locked tight until September at earliest. It may turn out that way but at this point the PNE and others like it are in a situation where they have to fish or cut bait. They have to either commit to being a go or declare a cancellation. They can't wait until June to see if the tea leaves start to show that they might be able to put together some form of their event.

Good points. These major events have drop dead dates months in advance. The PNE is bravely trying bizarre "drive-thru" scenarios as an alternative way to at least say they can put on some kind of PNE event.

The CFL seems to be helpless to do anything but watch the clock tick down to their drop dead date (unlike other major sports which are either trying to finish interrupted seasons or plan for new seasons.) No plans involve having fans in attendance. They may say things will be normal, but the NFL is quietly doing the same:
https://www.profootballrumors.com/2020/ ... thout-fans

Yesterday Dr Henry clarified what sports activities could be allowed:

“I think there are ways it can be done, but we need to look at how do we do it safely so we’re not sharing water bottles, sharing food, we’re not coming together in ways. We respect those safe distances, but still being able to carry on. We are also thinking about the numbers of people that are involved and we may have to limit that for a period — for this summer, for the coming year — so that we don’t have large crowds watching games, for example.
“I think all of those things are things that I can give some parameters around, but I need those that are setting up those types of team sports to think about how we can do it in this new normal for now, recognizing that it’s not going to be forever, but it is going to be for this next season.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bonnie- ... ?auto=true

Of course, her comments mostly refer to amateur/recreational sports leagues, but "large crowds watching games" will not happen. I did see something last week among Trumps's ravings about plans to play College Football with graduated social distancing in stadiums--blocking out seats, but I don't know if there is any health authority support for such a plan.

[Sir Purrcival]

Thanks for the link, David. I paid for my 2020 season tickets last fall. If it would mean the difference between having a season or not, I would be happy to let the team keep my money and play in an empty stadium this year. There probably aren’t enough season ticket holders in this market to make a difference but I wouldn’t underestimate the resourcefulness of CFL fans hungry to watch football, on TV or otherwise.

But unfortunately, an empty stadium isn't the only source of difficulty in this new reality. There are an enormous amount of people required to play a CFL game. Besides the players, you have coaches, trainers, officials, camera crews and so on and so on. Unless there is a method to ensure their health and safety I can't see how they would make it work. If there is any kind of ban on groups, then a high contact sport like football where you literally have linemen going head to head is going to endanger what essentially are employees. If you think that at the moment sitting in a restaurant is considered to be unsafe, how would any contact sport be safe? No, unless they can find a way to lick this virus and ensure that all people, not just the fans can engage in a reasonably secure fashion then, professional sports as we know them are going to be dead in the water. If nothing else, consider the possible lawsuits and and health and safety citations that a professional sports organization or league would be open to if they tried to run games under the current scenario.

[Hambone]

There are an enormous amount of people required to play a CFL game. Besides the players, you have coaches, trainers, officials, camera crews and so on and so on.

At any given time during a game there is probably close to 200 people down at field level with all but the 24 players and 7 officials being outside the white lines. Obviously some like PR and injured players can easily be weeded out. No need for Felions (Yikes did I just say that?) and others organizing contests and in-game entertainment etc given there's nobody in the seats for them to entertain.

[DanoT]

I saw a thing on TV where Bettman and the NHL are talking about the fantasy (my word) of setting up to play a bunch of NHL fanless playoff games in Edmonton. Several nearby hotels to house teams.

I guess they have the $$ to do this but not enough virus test kits.

[Hambone]

I saw a thing on TV where Bettman and the NHL are talking about the fantasy (my word) of setting up to play a bunch of NHL fanless playoff games in Edmonton. Several nearby hotels to house teams.

I guess they have the $$ to do this but not enough virus test kits.

At first there were rumours about one neutral site to play all games. Latest is one neutral site per conference with Edmonton being considered for the Pacific Conference.
https://www.tsn.ca/four-nhl-cities-that ... -1.1469143