CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie Won't Rush Sale Of Alouettes

The CFL is searching for a buyer for the Alouettes after former Owner Bob Wetenhall sold the franchise to the league, but Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said that they "won’t be rushed into making a decision on the club," according to Frederic Daigle of the CP. Ambrosie said, “Our goal in this process ... wasn’t to find a fast solution, but to find the right solution.” He added that there is "no deadline this time around." Ambrosie: “We want to do it right, we want to take our time and make sure we answer all of their questions and they answer all of ours." Ambrosie said that when Andrew Wetenhall -- Bob’s son and the team’s lead governor -- met with the league’s BOG in November to "discuss the problems with the club, it wasn’t necessarily with an eye on selling the team, but to find solutions." However, as the situation "evolved, so did the solution of selling the franchise as potential buyers began to materialize." Ambrosie "wouldn’t identify the groups" who had expressed interest. But he said that the Alouettes' next owner will have "strong ties" to Montreal (CP, 6/3).

UNLUCKY HOUR: In Montreal, Stu Cowan writes the timing to buy the Alouettes at this point is "terrible." A new ownership group "would most likely want to bring in their own people to run things on and off the field, and it’s way too late to do that" for '19. There is also a "question of how much debt would have to be taken on." Ambrosie "didn’t rule out the possibility of a new owner taking over before the end of this season" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 6/4).