Montreal Alouettes finds new owner to lead team into the future

The Montreal Alouettes are seven-time Grey Cup winners, but the last decade for the team, who can date its history back to 1946, has been barren of silverware. Montreal’s lack of Grey Cup wins since 2010 could be about over.

 

The Montreal Alouettes were sold in early March, and it could lead to new investment in the team. The Alouettes’ recent struggles have not gone unnoticed by CFL fans. Although Montreal made the playoffs with a 9-9 regular season record, the team lost in the division finals to eventual Grey Cup winner, the Toronto Argonauts. The team’s success in the playoffs came just before the CFL had to step in.

 

CFL football fans are anticipating the 2023 campaign, which kicks off in just a few months. Fans are debating whether the Alouettes can return to the playoffs. CFL fans can get the latest football promo code to bet on the games all season long and wager on the teams they believe will go all the way.

 

Montreal was owned by S and S Sportsco, a company owned by Canadian steel magnate Sid Spiegel and his son-in-law Gary Stern in January 2020. However, in July 2021, Spiegel died, and his 75% ownership stake moved into his estate. Stern retained the other 25% of the franchise. Spiegel’s death came without ever seeing the team play as owner.

 

Spiegel’s 75% stake was left in the care of two attorneys, who have remained anonymous. The steel magnate’s estate decided to stop funding the Montreal Alouettes, leaving the team in limbo.

 

The CFL overseeing the Montreal Alouettes was nothing new. In May 2019, Montreal’s long-standing owner Robert Wetenhall gave up the franchise. The CFL took control of the team for a year before finding new owners.

 

Quebecor Inc began negotiating with the CFL over the purchase of the Alouettes near the turn of the year. The company, which is based in Montreal, is a telecommunication and media organization. It already owns the Quebec Remparts and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

 

Pierre Karl Péladeau is the president and CEO of Quebecor Inc. The businessman and former politician is a Montreal native with an estimated worth of USD 1.9 billion. Mario Cecchini oversaw the team as president under the CFL’s interim ownership. He won’t return to the Alouettes for next season. Instead, Cecchini is moving to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as its commissioner. He will replace Gilles Courteau, who stepped down as commissioner after 37 years in the role.

 

Despite the negotiation of the Alouettes’ sale to Quebecor, the team has worked on building for the 2023 CFL season. The new campaign will begin on June 8. In mid-December, Montreal hired head coach Jason Maas. The head coach will be joined by Anthony Calvillo, Noel Thorpe, Mike Lionello, Greg Quick, and Luc Brodeur-Jourdain.

 

Maas is a former Montreal quarterback and a two-time Grey Cup winner as a player. However, his three Grey Cup wins came during spells with the Edmonton Elks. Maas was the quarterbacks coach for The Toronto Argonauts when the team won the Grey Cup in 2012. He most recently worked for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as offensive coordinator from 2020 to 2022.

Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.

Comments are closed.