Breaking news on the Renegades

According to Glen Kulka on the Team 1200, he said he got a call last night from one of the parties involved in taking over and he says its really good news…local ownership.

excellent, but have they been named officially?

Who cares!

Lets get a team first then worry about the name!

Grain of salt with anything Kulka says.

League has imposed confidentality agreement on all prospective bidders.

They won't be pleased if that has been violated.

Besides, I can't see why anyone connected with new ownership would give scoop to Kulka unless the one who did it is an ex-player and someone Kulka knows.

the local owner group mate! are they officially the owners or not???

dude, lay off my juice!

that’s better, but I need something more like a link to a news article.

Great news if true. but I think I will wait until the press conference before I celebrate.

McMahon kn ows nothing of what he posts.

BTW: Team report says Bill Palmer, ex-Rider and father of Jesse, is connected to one of bids.

Maybe Cuddles Glieberman won the huge 6/49 jackpot and wants back in for the third time?!

Nevermind that. We need to ask the important questions. Have they chosen a mascot yet? :lol:

The Gades, who name is not in question, one believes it it will still be used next year, does, or did, have a beaver mascot in 2002.

Yes, Ruffy was their mascot.

That was sort of a peace offering to fans/media who wanted (for whatever reason) to name the team "Beavers" originally. They even had giant carved wooden beavers on either side of the "Beaver Lodge" EZ section.

For someone who did so little on the field but bring disrespect to the whole league for his personal problems, he gets quoted in the news an awful lot...and almost always negative news about the CFL (Ottawa journalist love him because he will say anything so they can substantiate their jabs about the CFL).

I wouldn't believe anything that useless tub of lard had to say. If he is sure Ottawa will be back in '07, Ottawa fans should be worried... :roll:

Well, according to reports, Jeff Hunt, owner of the Ottawa 67's has been offered a job with the Golden Gate Company. This group was interested last year and this move can only mean one thing. He is offered the job to become team president when the Gades come back, and from the reports, he is seriously considering it.

Sweet!

Here is the article...

67's saviour Hunt wooed to revive Renegades

Matthew Sekeres
The Ottawa Citizen

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

When Jeff Hunt purchased the Ottawa 67's in 1998, attendance was sagging and the Ontario Hockey League club had basically capitulated to the NHL Senators for the attention of city sports fans. In less than one year, however, Mr. Hunt doubled attendance and today, he has fashioned one of the most stable, and successful, franchises in major junior hockey.

Now, Mr. Hunt is seriously considering a new challenge: the Canadian Football League. The Citizen has learned that Mr. Hunt, known as one of the best sports marketing minds in Canada, has been offered a job by Golden Gate Capital Corp., one of at least three groups pursuing an Ottawa CFL franchise. Mr. Hunt would presumably take over the lead operational role in Ottawa, likely with the title of club president, and would be the chief spokesman for the business side of the franchise.

"I'm wavering somewhere between soul-searching and thinking 'what would I do'," with a football team, Mr. Hunt said when reached yesterday. "I don't want to put odds on it. We're still in the process of talking, but obviously this week, things are heating up because of the deadline."

The CFL has asked prospective ownership groups to submit a written expression of interest by Friday. The submissions are to be detailed, according to Calgary Stampeders president Ted Hellard, chairman of the league's franchise committee, including plans for a management team.

Yesterday, Anthony Primerano, a former chief of staff to three cabinet ministers, who is leading the Golden Gate bid, refused to comment on his pursuit of Mr. Hunt. The wooing dates back several months, however, and has tempted the Newfoundlander, who has declined previous CFL overtures.

"I was very impressed with the calibre of individual I met with and their approach," said Mr. Hunt. "Obviously, the potential to play some role in a successful football revival in Ottawa has intrigued me. As you know, I've had some firm ideas of what happened in the past."

In April, Mr. Hunt wrote an op-ed piece for the Citizen in which he revealed strategies for marketing the now-defunct Renegades. He advocated appealing to young families, including cheaper tickets for children, and to mothers -- a stark contrast to the testosterone-filled marketing efforts of both previous football ownership groups.

"I personally found it frustrating to watch what went on. I was a season-ticket holder for years," said Mr. Hunt. "Football deserves a better lot than what it has had. And the fans deserve a better product than what they have gotten."

Securing Mr. Hunt, 42, would be considered a grand slam, not just for Golden Gate, but also in the eyes of the CFL. His credibility in the city is rock solid and his ticket-selling aptitude is unquestioned.

Attendance went from 2,200 to 5,000 per game in Mr. Hunt's first year with the 67's and has climbed every year since. Last year, the team averaged 8,800 per game. He was also part of the team that put together a successful bid for the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships.

Mr. Hellard has said that the franchise committee is more concerned about who would operate the new Ottawa team, as much as it is who would finance it. In this case, Mr. Hunt's only role would be operational; he has not been asked to invest.

"The question is: How do I marry it with keeping my focus on the hockey team?," Mr. Hunt said. "Right now, I wake up thinking about the 67's, and I go to bed thinking about the 67's. But I guess this is D-day week. I have to decide whether I formally get involved with these guys."

The Renegades were officially "suspended" by the CFL in April. Almost immediately thereafter, the league struck a franchise committee with the specific goal of returning to Ottawa, preferably for the 2007 season.

At least two other groups have also signed confidentiality agreements with the league, suggesting that they are also interested in a franchise.

One group comprises eight to 10 American investors and is fronted by former CFL player Bill Palmer, the father of Ottawa-raised quarterback Jesse Palmer, who is currently with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. The other is led by Toronto food-and-beverage entrepreneur Frank D'Angelo.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2006

I say cut D?ngelo, and come to an agreement with the Golden and Palmer groups to form one strong ownership for Ottawa.

No, as stated in the Renegades forum, that would involve too many owners.

As for Jeff Hunt's possible invovlement, that w/b a slam dunk from all kinds of angles. Trick is whether he wants to or can devote time necessary during this OHL season to getting the football team up and running. Then there is also the planning for Ottawa hosting of the World Junior Hockey championship that he and Melynk won recently.

Hey, how about this? Someone posts a "Breaking News" thread about Ottawa situation and it's actually accurate --- with citation, an actual article and everything.

McMahon, are you paying attention?