In my opinion anyway, the dream appears over for Frank. Maybe Halifax is next?
CFL passes on D'Angelo
DAVID NAYLOR
Globe and Mail Update
Frank D'Angelo's dream of owning a Canadian Football League team in Ottawa appears to be over.
The energetic food and beverage entrepreneur confirmed yesterday that the CFL has notified him it does not wish to negotiate with his group for a possible expansion franchise in Ottawa.
"We had a meeting a couple of weeks ago, and for whatever reason this is what they've chosen," said D'Angelo, the president and chief executive officer of Steelback Brewery. "We're saddened, because we put a lot of money and time into it, but what am I going to do? I'm helpless. I think we were the right people."
D'Angelo's group was one of three that had expressed interest in relaunching a team in Ottawa after the four-year-old Renegades franchise was suspended last April. Another bid, by Golden Gate Capital of Toronto, was withdrawn last month when one of its primary backers was stricken with cancer.
The remaining bid comes from a group of U.S.-based investors and is led by former CFL player Bill Palmer. His son Jesse is the backup quarterback of the Montreal Alouettes.
The league had been seeking a $3.5-million franchise fee for a new Ottawa club, a steep figure considering the history of the market. The Ottawa Roughriders folded in 1996 after more than a century of operation in 1996, while a team resurrected under the name Renegades six years later went down amid millions of dollars in losses.