CFL changes Grey Cup plans for 2020 due to pandemic
Finalist with best regular-season record to host 2020 game — if there is a season
The 2020 Grey Cup game is up for grabs.
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced Wednesday during a virtual town hall meeting with season-ticket holders across the league that the 2020 Grey Cup game, originally scheduled for Nov. 22 in Regina, has been moved to 2022 due to the COVID -19 pandemic.
The 2021 Grey Cup game will continue as planned in Hamilton.
“The pandemic has had a drastic effect on travel, tourism and the economy,” Ambrosie said in a prepared statement.
“It has become increasingly clear that we won’t be able to host a traditional Grey Cup and Grey Cup Festival, certainly not with the size and scope that has become customary.”
However, the Saskatchewan Roughriders could still play host to the 2020 Grey Cup game under new plans revealed by Ambrosie.
The site of the 2020 Grey Cup game, if it takes place, will be determined by a “win and host model,” meaning that the finalist with the superior regular-season record will receive home field privileges.
“This gives all nine CFL teams a shot at hosting the Grey Cup in this unprecedented year,” Ambrosie said. “We’re also considering moving the Grey Cup into December, as we explore every option that will allow us to play as many games as possible in 2020.”
Craig Reynolds, president and CEO of the Roughriders, understands why the decision to postpone a Regina-based Grey Cup game to 2022 had to be made.
“We started looking at options once the COVID crisis broke,”
Reynolds said during a conference call. “(Wednesday) is a disappointing day and most of it is around the excitement that I know our fans had and our province had around hosting the Grey Cup.
“It seems like forever, but it wasn’t that long ago when we had our official launch. We started talking about some of our official events and we had a lot more to talk about. I sensed real excitement in the province amongst our fans, and not being able to deliver on that right away is disappointing.”
Grey Cup tickets haven’t gone on sale to the public, but Reynolds said 17,000 ducats had already been purchased by season-ticket holders.
The Riders announced Wednesday that a $50 per seat deposit will be applied to seats for the 2022 Grey Cup game.
The balance will be refunded to the original method of payment at time of purchase. This will be done automatically in four to six weeks without any action required by the ticket holder.
Ambrosie also announced that the earliest a shortened 2020 season might begin is in September.
CFL training camps, which were to start last weekend, have already been postponed.
The 2020 CFL season was slated to kick off June 11, but that date had been pushed back to July 1 at the earliest.
“We are not announcing or promising a return this fall,” Ambrosie said.
“We are just letting our fans know this remains one of the remaining possible scenarios for 2020. A cancelled season is also possible. Again, it’s too soon to make a sure call at this point.”
Among the reasons Ambrosie listed for postponing the start of the season were the restrictions on travel, border crossings and large gatherings in some provinces until Sept. 1.
“We know there’s a great deal of interest in whether we might play with or without fans, or with social distancing rules in place,” Ambrosie said.
“We’re examining all possibilities with both public safety and financial viability in mind. It’s just too soon to speculate on what a return to play in September might look like.”
Riders season-ticket holders were to be contacted via email Wednesday with several options available related to the announcement of a shortened season.
With thousands of accounts needing to be processed and the ticket office still closed, the team felt email was the best method to contact season-ticket holders.
Postponing the start of the 2020 season until September has resulted in the cancellation of Touchdown Atlantic, a CFL regular-season game set for July 25 between the Riders and Toronto Argonauts. Ambrosie said the league will be in contact with fans who had purchased tickets for the sold-out game in Halifax.
We’re also considering moving the Grey Cup into December, as we explore every option.