Ottawa council OK's Lansdowne Park plan

[go riders]

Positive news towards putting a team back in Ottawa!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/11/16/ottawa-lansdowne-plan-amendments.html

A plan to build shops and condos, renovate the stadium and expand the greenspace at Lansdowne Park has been approved by Ottawa city council with some conditions.

Council voted 15-9 Monday night in favour of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan from the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group.

The first phase of the public-private project would cost $250 million and include shops and an underground parkade on the 16-hectare property in the Glebe. More green space would be added and Frank Clair Stadium would be renovated for a potential Canadian Football League team.

[Saskfan in Winnipeg]

I wonder what they'll be called if they come back.

[Colin Unger]

Hopefully the Rough Riders!!!

I know Saskfans hate this idea but i'm oldschool.  Just like if the NHL returned to Winnipeg I would need them to be called the Jet's I need Ottawa to get their classic name back as well.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

A lot of it likely depends on how they'll be marketing the team and the philosophy that they are taking... presumably both would be the product of a lot of market research.

Rough Riders or even a reincarnation of the Renegades, would both have associations, both positive and negative, with the past.  A clean slate and a new name while still honouring some of the traditions associated with the old, may well be a better way to go... incorporating the previous logos in as a shoulder patch or something symbolic but meaningful for the older generations but with a fresh approach directed at the targeted audience... presumably the 18-45 demographic.

Whatever they call the team or how the uniforms come out, this will be an extremely tough task to market to a region where pro football has failed twice previously.  I have a lot of optimism about the group with their hands on the reigns, but know that winning football on the field right away is about the biggest element in a true resurgence taking hold.

[go riders]

Jeff Hunt was on the Fan590 with Bob McCown last week. Apparently, they have acquired the rights to the Rough Riders name from Horn Chen. However, they would not be named that. There is both positive and negative currency in the name (as Paul mentioned). They would use it for marketing purposes only, around retro themes, etc. IIRC, he also said the team would not be called the Renegades.

[Argonut]

He said they are "not inclined" to use it.

Me thinks they are doing the "good business" thing and waiting to hold a "Name the team" thing closer to the date and let the fans in Ottawa demand the name back. (Which all polls suggest they would)

[Saskfan in Winnipeg]

He said they are "not inclined" to use it.

Me thinks they are doing the "good business" thing and waiting to hold a "Name the team" thing closer to the date and let the fans in Ottawa demand the name back. (Which all polls suggest they would)

If the fans gave a damn about the name in the first place, they wouldn't have let the team die in the first place. The team also wouldn't have thrown away the name in favour of Senators back in the 1920s.

They had their chance. They don't respect the name or the history.

[Hambone]

If the fans gave a damn about the name in the first place, they wouldn't have let the team die in the first place. The team also wouldn't have thrown away the name in favour of Senators back in the 1920s.

They had their chance. They don't respect the name or the history.

I still refuse to blame the Ottawa fans for the team folding. They gave their fans a 25 year performance that made the Green Riders from the same era look like the 77-82 Eskimos; the ownership of Horn Chen and two doses of the Gliebermans. Nobody should be forced to endure that sort of thing for 10 years much less a generation.

As for the name change in the 1920s it was more the norm in that era, if not popular, to see teams of different sports within the same city adopt the same nickname. Perhaps the brief name change by the Rough Riders/Senators had more to do with that practice.

Ottawa had the NHL Senators and CRU Senators
Hamilton had the NHL Tigers from 1925-30 as well as the CRU Tigers. The Calgary team of that era was also known as the Tigers.
Pittsburgh's teams in MLB, NHL (1925-30) and NFL (1933-40) were all named the Pirates.
Brooklyn had the MLB Dodgers from the turn of the century until moving to LA. For 14 years from 1930 to 1943 they also had the NFL Dodgers. Across the river the New York football Giants came into existence in 1925 some 42 years into the MLB Giants' history. For 32 years the football and baseball Giants would co-exist playing mostly in the same Polo Grounds Stadium. 

[Argonut]

He said they are "not inclined" to use it.

Me thinks they are doing the "good business" thing and waiting to hold a "Name the team" thing closer to the date and let the fans in Ottawa demand the name back. (Which all polls suggest they would)

If the fans gave a damn about the name in the first place, they wouldn't have let the team die in the first place. The team also wouldn't have thrown away the name in favour of Senators back in the 1920s.

They had their chance. They don't respect the name or the history.

They didn't let it die. There was a strong grass roots effort to save the team that was told by Tom Wright their efforts were not needed or wanted. Jeff Hunt was also in the mix back then but got road blocks at the league level. Obviously he bided his time and a few years later ... there HE is.

Now as for the 1920's. My understanding is that they dropped the name for just a few years and because of rampant illiteracy in Saskatchewan ... they stole the Ottawa name because they weren't capable of inventing their own ... and ended up spelling it wrong when they did. (Most Rider fans don't know the name was intended to be 2 words and not 1)

[Saskfan in Winnipeg]

Nobody should be forced to endure that sort of thing for 10 years much less a generation.

You mean like missing the playoffs for 11 years straight?

[Hambone]

You mean like missing the playoffs for 11 years straight?

Kinda tough to blame that with the old playoff format. In 1977 both finished at 8-8. That was good enough for 4th in the West but 2nd in the East. In 1981 the Green Riders missed the playoffs at 9-7 while the Ottawa Riders finished 2nd at 5-11. In only 4 their final 13 years of existence before the first fold would the Rough Riders win more than 4 games. To show how much difference being in one division versus the other meant for making playoffs in those 11 years you talk of the Riders won 58 of 180 games. In the Ottawa Rough Riders' final 11 years they would win only 49 of 198 games but that was enough for 4 playoff appearances including a 1993 appearance with a 4-14 record. As many years of suffering as Saskatchewan fans may feel they endured only 3 times in the final 20 years of CFL football in Ottawa did the Rough Riders/Renegades win more games than the Rough Riders.

But to put it perhaps in the best perspective Jim I was only 22 years old with not even a remote hint of grey the last time an Ottawa CFL team produced a winning record (better than .500). That was 30 years ago this season. I think that trumps your 11 year playoff-less streak. ;-)

[Saskfan in Winnipeg]

I guess you got me on that one.

My hair isn't turning grey - it's turning platinum.

[Green is the Colour]

Hopefully the Rough Riders!!!

I know Saskfans hate this idea but i'm oldschool.  Just like if the NHL returned to Winnipeg I would need them to be called the Jet's I need Ottawa to get their classic name back as well.

The name "Roughriders", or any variation of it, now clearly belongs to the Saskatchewan franchise.  The branding that has occurred with that name, including the gargantuan merchandising that is done by the team in relation to the rest of the league, all but guarantees that there will be no other franchise with a name even closely resembling it.  Saskatchewan and the CFL would have to be absolutely nuts to go down that road.  Having said that, this is STILL the CFL so anything's possible.

[Esk Reporter]

The name "Roughriders", or any variation of it, now clearly belongs to the Saskatchewan franchise.  The branding that has occurred with that name, including the gargantuan merchandising that is done by the team in relation to the rest of the league, all but guarantees that there will be no other franchise with a name even closely resembling it.  Saskatchewan and the CFL would have to be absolutely nuts to go down that road.  Having said that, this is STILL the CFL so anything's possible.

Are you serious??  Although the Ottawa franchise disappeared, the name did not.  It belonged to Horn Chen until he sold it back to the current group.  It still exists and should the new ownership group want to use it, there is really nothing that the league or the Riders can do about it...

[Saskfan in Winnipeg]

I would think the CFL Board of Governors could set restrictions on what the name could be as part of the franchise agreement. I don't think they would disallow "Rough Riders", as much as I don't like that thought.