Stern says league ownership in the best interests of Alouettes
Published
On the day the Canadian Football League announced it has taken over operation of the Montreal Alouettes, former minority owner Gary Stern said the league shepherding the Alouettes into the hands of a new owner is in the best interests of the franchise.
Stern bought the Alouettes in January of 2020 along with his father-in-law, Sid Spiegel, who passed away before the start of the 2021 season. That left three quarters of the team’s ownership with Spiegel’s estate.
Stern said that dynamic led him to conclude continuing as an owner was no longer feasible.
“An estate runs things for siblings, but they had something put in their laps that wasn’t their decision to buy,” said Stern. “I now had a new set of rules going forward with the Alouettes, and people had to figure out where they wanted to take the club, if they wanted to take the club, and what they wanted to do.
“At that point we thought maybe it’s best to find a buyer or one of us buy it all. It took more time than any of us anticipated, so in fairness to the CFL let’s put it up for sale. We did that with the CFL, and it was an orderly process.”
The transition to league ownership ends months of uncertainty around the franchise, which deepened in late summer when Stern announced he was stepping away from day-to-day operations of the club but would remain the 25 per cent owner.
Stern appeared to still have influence on club decisions however, including the departure of club president Mario Cecchini in December, the same month Stern stated publicly that he was seeking local investors for the club.
“Bringing Mario back as interim president makes sense to me,” Stern said Tuesday. “Everyone is doing the right things. I have nothing but the best wishes for the club, the fans, the players and the coaches. I’m just sorry it took so long.
“We didn’t abandon the team …it just took more time that we thought, and I apologize for that.”
The CFL was urgently looking for new ownership when Stern and Spiegel connected with the league late in 2019. A sale was arranged in roughly a month’s time.
However, the pandemic forced the league to cancel its 2020 season, forcing the new owners to eat unexpected losses.
“We don’t regret in any way being part of this for three years,” Stern said. “And in my own way, I wish I was still part of it.”