REGINA—The CFL says business is better than ever and wants monolithic Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to join the party.

And what does MLSE think of this?

Not so fast, says Tim Leiweke, not so fast.

Specifically, says MLSE’s chief executive officer, it’s not primarily the sports conglomerate’s call on whether the Argos should join Toronto FC as a tenant at BMO Field on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, which is very much what CFL commissioner Mark Cohon would like to see happen.

“I wouldn’t put a line in the sand and say (the Argos) have to be downtown but it would be great if that came to fruition,” said Cohon on Friday in his state-of-the-league address at the 101st Grey Cup.

Cohon said there was “definitely lots of interest” from nearby municipalities in becoming the new home of the Argos after they move out of the Rogers Centre in 2017, although he wasn’t willing to name any of them.

He was, however, more than happy to toss the names of MLSE and BMO Field out front and centre, which seemed to throw the pigskin into Leiweke’s lap.

“The city drives this issue, not us,” said Leiweke in an interview from South Carolina. “We don’t own the stadium.”

The city’s a little busy these days putting out brush fires in the mayor’s office, so nobody’s quite sure what municipal politicians feel about this matter.

For MLSE, it’s a piping hot potato. The long-suffering fans of Toronto FC absolutely detest the notion of their home stadium — built at a cost of $62 million — being renovated to fit the needs of a CFL franchise.

After years of losing and growing fan disenchantment, Leiweke is listening to TFC supporters, which means saving the Argos isn’t on his priority list.

“Our first focus has been and continue to be how we fix BMO Field for soccer,” he said. “That has to be highest priority. We have to make it better than it is for soccer. We can’t ask our fans to sacrifice their views or their environment.

“Our soccer fans get mad at us when this football thing comes up, and we are not going to declare war on our fans.”

So this becomes an interesting little dance. The CFL is looking to MLSE to save the Argos, MLSE is catering to its soccer customers and talking about a roof for BMO Field, which might cost $100 million and would have to be paid for by MLSE.

If the city were to push for a plan that would include a CFL team and agree to pay for a big chunk of the costs, that could change the dynamic.

“It’s not going to be inexpensive, and how the heck do you pay for it?” said Leiweke of making BMO Field work for soccer and football. “We will already end up spending a helluva lot of money on players (this winter). It’s a matter of pulling something off that most people think we can’t.”

Here in Regina, the costs of a new $278 million stadium scheduled to be opened in 2017 are largely going to be borne by the taxpayer, with the Roughriders kicking in about $25 million, the province putting in $80 million and the city taking out a $100 million loan.

But that’s with a community-owned football team that holds great meaning to the province and is both successful and incredibly popular right now.

Interestingly, Leiweke isn’t saying MLSE has no interest in sharing the stadium with the Argos or even in buying the team from current owner David Braley, who has said he wants to divest within three years.

“It depends on the stadium and where this city’s head is on the stadium,” said Leiweke. “Depending on that, I’d have to go back to (MLSE owners) Larry (Tanenbaum), Bell and Rogers and see where they are.

“But again, it’s the city’s stadium. If the city and CFL decide it’s a conversation they want to have, we’re obligated to be part of that conversation.

“Is this a conversation with a foregone conclusion? Absolutely not. Is there a solution that works at BMO? It can’t be at sacrifice of TFC fans.”

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Guaranteeing lucrative Grey Cups might be one way for the league to entice MLSE to get into bed with the Argos, but we’re into an era where all nine CFL clubs want to host the big game and will insist on a fair rotation. As well, the collective agreement with the players is expiring, and with the new TV deal in place and new sponsorships, players are going to be looking for a sharp increase in the league’s $4.4 million salary cap and perhaps an increase in the size of rosters.

“We have to resist the temptation of going back to the old reckless ways of the CFL,” said Cohon, an early indication that the league’s owners aren’t going to be opening their wallets too wide.

So we’ll see. We’re in the early days of the CFL courting MLSE. Who is going to pay for the wedding is the elephant in the room.

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