THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 4, 1995 TAG: 9512040117
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: [Harry Minium]
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
Larry Smith is entering his fifth year as commissioner of the Canadian Football League, a league to which he has brought much change. During his first season he installed a salary cap and in his second pioneered expansion into the United States. During the recent CFL meetings in Toronto he helped push through a series of budget cuts intended trim the league's growing losses.
Today he makes his first trip to Norfolk to inspect Foreman Field and gauge public and private support for the Pirates, who have moved from Shreveport to Hampton Roads. The Pirates have begun a season-ticket sale for next season, but their move has yet to be approved by the league.
Born and raised in Quebec, Smith starred for eight seasons with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes. He went into private business in 1983 and by 1991, when hired by the CFL, was senior vice president of Labatts Limited of Canada. He spoke with staff writer Harry Minium in Toronto. A portion of that interview follows:
What do you hope to accomplish during your trip to Hampton Roads?
The main reason I'm going is to try to get a better understanding of the market and to look at the stadium facility. I want to try to get an idea of whether the market will support the CFL. We've obviously had some markets that haven't supported the CFL, and we have to find some markets that will. It looks like (Hampton Roads) could, but we have to do some due diligence. It's great for the Gliebermans (team owner Bernie and president Lonie) to say how keen they are on the marketplace, but some of us have to see it ourselves.
The CFL hasn't succeeded in many American markets. Do you think the Canadian game eventually will succeed in the U.S.?
I do. If the (Cleveland) Browns hadn't moved into Baltimore, well, we were doing very well in that market. We still might. There's been no decision yet to move from Baltimore. We just have to be very selective in those markets we move into in the States, more selective than we've been. In the past we thought we could succeed anywhere the NFL wasn't. In some areas we underestimated the effect college football would have on us. We've learned from our mistakes.
Many in Hampton Roads question the stability of the CFL and are concerned about committing to a league that might not have an American presence in the future. What will your message be to area leaders on this question?
The message is quite simple. The league has existed for 104 years and is going into its 105th year and will be around for many more. The issue is finding the right American partners who will be committed for more than a year, who will be committed to developing the product over a long-term basis. We need to make sure the local management of a club is strong. If we can get the right commitment to build the teams in the right marketplaces, and multiply Baltimore by five, six, seven times or 10 times, we could have a very successful presence in the United States.
Pirates owner Bernie Glieberman and team president Lonie Glieberman have suffered a lot of negative publicity over the years. They've had CFL franchises fail in two cities - Ottawa and Shreveport - and some in both cities are critical of their management of the teams. What is the CFL's perception of the Gliebermans, and do you think they can be successful in the CFL?
The Gliebermans at the board level have been excellent partners. They've been very supportive of league policy. I think the move into Shreveport was a bit of an impulsive move at the end of the day. That was a move they initiated themselves. If they had to do it over again, they wouldn't have done it. The difficult thing is that once you've made your bed, you've got to sleep in it. feel they've done more research about Norfolk than they did in the previous situation. They are very confident about the Norfolk market.
They have not made a formal application for relocation, something that appeared to frustrate some owners during the CFL meetings. How do you feel about that?
They have communicated to us their intention to move to this area. Lonie told me he will be making a full presentation at our next meeting and will be showing me what they'll present when I'm in Norfolk. . . . Perhaps he felt it was better not to present that information (to the league owners) until after I'd seen the market.
Foreman Field's playing field is 30 yards shorter than the CFL's standards and can't be expanded to fit the CFL mold. Will the stadium be acceptable to the CFL?
Without having seen the stadium, I can't say. That's one reason I'm anxious to get down there. We have made exceptions in the past in some stadiums, but that's no guarantee there'll be an exception this time.
Why try to expand to the United States?
The United States is a huge market when compared to Canada. If we had the same percentage of the scale of that market as we do in Canada, we would be at a whole different level. The challenge for us is to maximize our ability in this market, and if we can be successful in gaining a sizable portion of the market south of the border, which is our plan, the benefits would be great.
Most of your teams lost money this season and at least one, probably two, won't play next year. What got the CFL into this trouble, and will the cuts put most of your teams in the black?
A decade ago, we had $11 million in television revenue. All of the owners took the money and spent it on salaries. Then Toronto signed the Rocket (Raghib Ismail) and we created the marquee concept and costs continued to inflate. Then we put in caps trying to figure out how do we balance salaries vs. revenue. In the interim time, television revenue dropped 60 percent. We never found the right size, the equilibrium point. We are going to find that point, because once we have that point in place, then you're going to create value for your franchises. When you're making money, your franchises become more valuable, and people will approach us more easily about expansion.
. . . We know the game is good. We also feel the moves will ensure that most teams make a profit next season. Whether we can sell the game in the States or not is still a question we all recognize is unanswered. But the fact is that our Canadian markets are getting stronger. We want to get (back) into Montreal. We want to grow the business. We're not going to be a static league. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Commissioner Larry Smith will be in Norfolk today to look over
Foreman Field and look into the area's ability to support the CFL's
Pirates.
KEYWORDS: CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE INTERVIEW by CNB