CFL asks federal government for up to $150 million in financial aid due to COVID-19 pandemic

| American Football | 04/29/2020

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie has asked the Canadian government for up to $150 million because of COVID-19 ramifications on the league and its finances.

According to the Canadian Press:

The league’s proposal involves three phases: $30 million now to manage the impact the novel coronavirus outbreak has had on league business; additional assistance for an abbreviated regular season; and up to another $120 million in the event of a lost 2020 campaign.

In an interview with CBC sports reporter Devin Heroux at the end of March, Ambrosie said: “I can tell you without a doubt that a cancelled season would be devastating financially. Almost all your revenue streams go away at that point. But you have to account for that as a possibility.”

The 2020 CFL regular season was scheduled to kick-off on Thursday, June 11, but Ambrosie has stated the schedule won’t start before the beginning of July. Currently, the Grey Cup remains scheduled for Sunday, November 22 in Regina. 

With the unknown of the coronavirus, what-if scenarios remain fluid for the CFL. Part of the possible solution ideas has the league office asking Justin Trudeau and his government for help.

See the original article in 3 Down Nation.

3DownNation is a website dedicated to covering the CFL and Canadian football. Founded in 2015 by veteran CFL writer Drew Edwards while reporting for the Hamilton Spectator and initially the property of the Torstar corporation, ownership of the