If I Could Interview CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon...

As anybody who regularly reads CFL articles on Bleacher Report knows, I am the blog’s only feature writer for the league.

In that capacity, it’s my duty to think of one article a week during the off-season and two when the CFL starts playing.

One thing I would love to do for CFL articles is to conduct interviews with people involved with the league and, of course, at the top of the list is CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon.

The Commissioner often answers questions at the CFL’s website, where everyone who asks gets one question answered.

That’s not good enough for me.  I want a full-scale interview.

I’m an old hand at it.  I used to conduct phone interviews for the Ontario Provincial Government about corporation sports activities for employee fitness.

I’ve also been on the other end of the spectrum when I was a guest commentator/co-host on a sports phone-in show on television in Ajax, Ontario, where I would have to answer a caller’s question and debate with him in front of the whole town.

So this week’s Bleacher Report article is about my (imaginary) interview with CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon listing the possible questions I’d ask him.

Of course the conversation could go in different directions depending on his answers, but these are the kind of things I’d like to find out:

                                           ****************

Good afternoon, CFL fans.  Welcome to Bleacher Report’s first multimedia CFL article.  My guest is CFL Commissioner, Mark Cohon.  Welcome to the show, Mark.

Mark, what is your view of the overall state of the CFL?

Last winter, at the NHL All Star game, Commissioner Gary Bettman stated that the Phoenix Coyotes needed capital.  Then at the end of the NHL regular season came the Coyote crisis, which still hasn’t been resolved.  Are there any current CFL franchises in need of further investment?

Are all the current franchises financially solvent?  Do they all make money?

Are there any initiatives being pursued by the CFL to increase revenues?

The current economic situation in Canada is not good right now, Mark.  Record numbers of people are using food banks and unemployment is high.  These things can erode the CFL’s fan base.  I know the CFL’s funds are limited, but is there anything the CFL can do or is doing to improve this situation?

Depending on his answer, I might then ask:

Speaking of initiatives, what current activities does the CFL do to increase fan support across Canada?

I noticed at the CFL’s website, that the CFL is involved with Football Canada, the Canadian Amateur Football Association.  What is Football Canada and what do they do?

How is the CFL involved with Football Canada and what does Football Canada do for the CFL?

Mark, I’ve written several articles for Bleacher Report suggesting (in my opinion anyway) some relatively inexpensive ways the CFL might increase its popularity.  I’m going to throw one at you right now.  To increase its popularity at the grassroots level, would the CFL consider starting a national punt, pass, and kick competition in Canada like the NFL does in the United States?  Currently, only the BC Lions have such a program.

Would you have any idea how much such a program would cost to fund?  Do you think you could find sponsors for it in Canada?

One thing that was brought up last year which I think would decrease interest in the CFL in Canada is a reduction of the non-import ratio. 

Don’t you think that reducing the number of Canadians who can play in the CFL would have a harmful effect on the game’s popularity, particularly at the university level?

Why was this issue raised and who raised it?

Do you think that the CFL’s non-import quota should be increased?  Would that encourage more Canadians to become involved with the league?

Another way I’ve suggested to increase interest in the CFL is to get more involved with the CIS.  What is the CFL’s relationship with the CIS?

Are there any new initiatives by the CFL you’d like to see implemented that would increase the league’s involvement with the CIS?

Many Canadian universities don’t have football programs.  Do you think if the CFL got more involved with the CIS and worked with them to encourage Canadian university football, it would cause more Canadian universities to start football programs?

There may be a couple of problems in the CFL that seem detrimental to encouraging Canadian university football.  First, I’ve heard that some people think that the CFL should recruit more of its head coaches from the Canadian universities like the NFL does from American ones.  What’s your opinion on this and if it is favorable, what can the CFL do to encourage this?

The other problem has been around for decades, and endlessly debated, and that is the Canadian quarterback situation.  It seems to me that the CFL is discouraging fans in Canada by saying that Canadians are not good enough to play that position and possibly the other glamour position, running back.  You don’t find that in hockey.

Depending on his answer, I might then ask:

That’s why I think the CFL should get more involved with the CIS.  There seems to be a standard here that Americans attain and Canadians don’t.  How can the standard of Canadian quarterbacking be raised if nobody knows what it is?  Why are Americans considered better at that position?

What can the CFL and CIS do to make Canadians the equal of American quarterbacks?

Mark, I’d like to move on to the situation in Ottawa, but before I do, I noticed something at the CFL’s website that caught my eye.  The new temporary stadium for BC this year will seat 27,000, yet only cost $14 million.  In this era of billion-dollar stadiums, why is the cost so low?

This stadium is called a temporary stadium.  What’s the difference between a temporary stadium and a permanent one?

What makes a permanent stadium so much more costly?  Hamilton wants a much smaller-sized stadium for the 2015 Pan Am games that will cost $150 million and Quebec wants a new arena that will cost $400 million.  Is the public being taken for a ride?

Would you have any idea how much it would cost to convert a temporary stadium to a permanent one?

Depending on his answers to the above questions, I might then ask:

The people you’ve hired to build this new stadium are building one bigger than the projected ones in Ottawa and Moncton, at a relatively small cost and in only a few months time. 

Why didn’t you take these people to Ottawa and Moncton and let them make a pitch?  You might have got Ottawa started on schedule this year and possibly a new permanent franchise in Moncton.

Government funding for sports facilities is unpopular except for events like the Olympics and the Pan Am Games.  But cheap, comfortable stadiums like the one in BC might be the way to attract private investors for expansion.  What is the CFL’s position on this direction?

Let’s move on to the Ottawa situation.  The new team was supposed to be started this year.  Are you disappointed with the delay?

When will Ottawa rejoin the CFL?

What was the cause of the delay?

Depending on his answer, I might then ask:

There seems to be a lot of opposition to rebuilding the stadium which indicates a loss of status for the CFL in Ottawa.  One reason I think that’s happened is that the city hasn’t had a competitive team for almost three decades.  But I see how Ottawa supports the Senators, so I’m optimistic the fans will come back if they get a competitive team.  Do you think that is the case in Ottawa?

What can the CFL do with both the upcoming expansion draft and the regular draft that can get Ottawa, and for that matter any new expansion team, competitive quickly?

Mark, this brings up a topic that is very popular at both the CFL’s website and on Bleacher Report, CFL expansion.  A lot of fans would like the CFL to move beyond its 8-9 team format.

Mark, the three largest Canadian cities without a CFL team are Quebec with over 700,000 and London and Kitchener with populations nearing half a million.  All three also have good football programs at the university level.  If they got CFL size stadiums and good ownership, I think they are big enough to join the CFL as permanent members right now.

You are playing a regular season game in Moncton this year.  If the game goes well, do you think it will attract investors who would like to make Moncton a permanent CFL city?

Has anybody already privately approached you about Moncton getting a permanent franchise?

Has the CFL decided on Toronto’s opponent for the game?

One deterrent to Moncton getting a franchise is that 10,000 of the seats are classified as temporary.  But you have your stadium builders from BC...

Moncton by itself would seem to be too small to have a permanent CFL franchise at this time.  But if it was marketed as a provincial regional team for New Brunswick like Regina is for Saskatchewan, do you think a permanent franchise could survive?

Is the choice of Moncton for this game a mistake?  Should the CFL have chosen bigger cities like the three I mentioned before, markets that have more chances of survival, in cities that have populations that would make them more suited for joining the CFL immediately?

Mark, what about expanding this concept and playing more regular season or exhibition games in non-CFL cities?

What about adding one more exhibition game on the condition that it is played in a non-CFL city?  That would mean at least four games in potential expansion sites each year.

Playing more regular season or exhibition games in non-CFL cities would be a way of gauging the market both for the CFL and potential investors.  Look at what is going on in Quebec right now.  Quebecor is fronting an NHL bid and a new arena.  They are doing this because they know the market for the NHL there is based on Quebec’s past NHL experience. So more CFL games in non-CFL cities could be just as valuable.

I’ve heard of two names mentioned with Quebec expansion but I’ve also heard that the CFL doesn’t regard them as financially viable.  What makes a viable CFL expansion investor?

Should new investors for CFL expansion be expected to pay for the building of new stadiums or the refurbishing and expansion of old ones?

The CFL’s expansion stadium policy is stated at 25,000 minimum.  How flexible is the CFL’s position on this?

We’ve seen rich investors like Jim Balsillie and now Quebecor make active pitches for an NHL franchise.  The Thomson family is rumored to be involved with a Winnipeg bid.  These seem to be the type of investor the CFL is looking for.  Does the CFL make any attempts to network with these type of investors?

Depending on his answer, I might then ask:

Should the CFL take more active steps to network with this type of investor?

                                                 Or

Are there any names you can give out that the CFL has had talks with regarding CFL expansion and with what city?

Are you satisfied with the CFL’s size right now?

How many teams should the CFL have right now?

How many teams should the CFL have by 2020?

Which new Canadian cities would you like to see the CFL have franchises in right now and a decade from now?

It is said that the Ottawa situation and the failure to expand cost your predecessor, Tom Wright, his job.  Are there any dangers for you in these matters?

The 2011 census will be important for the CFL for its future development.  Will the results of the census influence the CFL on what direction they should take in regards to exhibition games, expansion, and other policies?

Besides Canadian expansion, there have been calls for the CFL to return to the United States.  Before we discuss this topic, Mark, the CFL had a good relationship with the NFL when Paul Tagliabue was the NFL commissioner.  What is the CFL’s relationship with the NFL today and your own with NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell?

Does the NFL continue to aid the CFL under Goodell like it did under Tagliabue?

Are there any policies the CFL would like to see the NFL change?  Are there any improvements that could be made?

Are the Buffalo games in Toronto a threat to the CFL?

Do you see Buffalo moving to Toronto permanently?

How can the CFL improve its image among Canadian fans in comparison to the NFL?

Back to American CFL expansion, I’m going to give you a hypothetical case, Mark.  Last year, a Los Angeles group received the go-ahead to build a new luxury stadium.  This group has said it doesn’t want an expansion team but an existing one and has targeted seven NFL cities, including Buffalo. Let’s suppose the Bills get chosen and the NFL has little inclination to return in the immediate future.  Would the CFL consider expanding to Buffalo if a competent investor made a pitch for a team?

Let’s take this idea even further.  The Bills are gone and the NFL won’t return.  The entire area of upstate New York is almost completely barren of professional sports teams.  Would the CFL consider an entire New York State division with teams in Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, and Syracuse, with possible expansion to Hartford and Providence? 

Have any American investors made the CFL a pitch for a team based in the United States, and if so what cities?

What is your view on possible American CFL expansion?

In any case, would the CFL consider playing exhibition games in the United States in order to gauge the market?

Is the CFL taking any steps to increase its popularity in the United States?

What are the CFL TV ratings and its TV contract in the United States like at present?

I think I’ve covered all the topics I can think of for this interview, Mark.  I’m sure other fans would like other things raised, but for me at least, I think you’ve provided enough information for CFL fans on Bleacher Report to keep them talking and writing articles about the CFL for a long time.

I’d like to thank you for appearing on the show and may I extend an invitation of booking you back here a year from now to see how things have progressed on these topics and many new ones that may arise.

Thank you for taking part in this Bleacher Report interview.

There you have it, CFL fans, an interview with CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon on the present state of the CFL and its future development.  I hope many of you will take note of his answers and write some interesting articles and comments on our blog in response.