|
| |
::SPORTS NEWS::
LE Newsletter - February 2, 2012
|
| |
Bob Nicholson Steps Down As President Of Toronto Argonauts
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Richard Ouzounian
(Jan 30, 2012) Bob Nicholson has stepped down as president
of the
Toronto Argonauts.
Chris Rudge,
the chairman of the 100th Grey Cup festival, will assume the
position of executive chairman and chief executive officer of
the CFL club.
Owner David Braley made the announcement Monday, stating in a
release Nicholson had resigned to pursue other opportunities.
Rudge, the 66-year-old former head of the Canadian Olympic
Committee, told the Star’s Daniel Girard that while he
obviously wants the team to win a championship promptly, he’s
not convinced that that’s what it will take to get more fans out
to games.
“I would suggest that if we go 11-7 or 10-8 and we had a lot of
exciting games, everybody here would say it’s a tremendous
success,” said Rudge, who grew up in Malton. “And that’s what we
have to achieve first of all.”
“I think (fans would) much rather see us .500 at home with an
average score of 38-34,” said Rudge. “And I think that we’ve put
the elements in place to try and achieve that this year with the
kinds of personnel we have on the coaching side and with
(quarterback) Ricky Ray.”
While Rudge said he’ll be “hands on” with the business side of
the Argos, his role will be more to get rid of obstacles to the
team’s success.
Among them, he said, is the need for a new practice facility
players “consider their training home not a place where they
have to go to train.” The Mississauga facility, a series of
permanent trailers which will be replaced for this season, have
long been considered inadequate for the team.
Nicholson was in his second tenure as Argos president, returning
to the franchise in May 2009.
He had previously served as the team’s president from 1995 to
1999, with the Argos winning consecutive Grey Cup championships
in 1996 and ’97.
Nicholson had previously served as the team’s president from
1995 to 1999, with the Argos winning consecutive Grey Cup
championships in 1996 and ’97.
In an interview with the Toronto Star at the end of last
year, Nicholson acknowledged last year’s 6-12 season was a
disappointment.
“We felt we had made some good strides last year and we were
clearly looking to build on those,” he told the Star’s
Chris Zelkovich.
“Unfortunately, we took a step back this year. It’s something
for us to pause and reflect on - how we’re going to improve to
build a successful franchise, not only for 2012, but a base that
will allow us to be a successful franchise for years to come.
He disputed suggestions that Argos were becoming irrelevant, as
some have suggested.
“This is a tough marketplace to compete in. First and foremost,
we have to have a credible football program. We clearly have
some challenges ahead in putting a team on the field that can be
a Grey Cup contender year in and year out.
“That’s the first step. We continue to have to tackle the
challenges of the southern Ontario market. We have all of our
league partners behind us in trying to develop strategies and
marketing plans to build a stronger base than currently exists
for the CFL and the Argonauts.” |
|
| |
|
::ENTERTAINMENT NEWS WITH A CANADAN TWIST::
