| Date | Game | Time | Cdn TV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 24 | Edmonton @ Winnipeg | 4p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 28 | Hamilton @ Toronto | 11a | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 29 | Montréal @ Ottawa | 7:30p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 30 | Saskatchewan @ Calgary | 4p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 30 | BC @ Edmonton | 4p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 4 | Ottawa @ Hamilton | 7:30p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 5 | Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan | 9:30p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 5 | Calgary @ BC | 10p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 6 | Toronto @ Montréal | 1p | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All times Eastern. TSN broadcasts are available on ESPN+. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Just preserving what would have been the 2020 CFL preseason schedule for the history books. There are no new CFL games anytime soon.
The chain of announcements on Wednesday felt like falling dominoes. The season, if there is one, won't start until at least September. Regina will host the 2022 Grey Cup instead of having the honour in 2020.
The 2020 Grey Cup, if the season is played, will be held in the stadium of the higher seed among the Grey Cup teams. There will be no 2020 Grey Cup Festival.
The 2020 version of Touchdown Atlantic — the first regular season game ever in Halifax — is postponed.
CFL Commissioner Randy Ambroisie told a House of Commons standing committee on finance earlier this month that the most likely scenario for the CFL is a cancelled 2020 season.
"Ours is a big brand but not a wealthy business," Ambrosie told the committee. "Unlike large U.S.-based leagues, our biggest source of revenue is not TV — it's ticket sales."
There is the ask for help from the Canadian government ranging from $20 million to $150 million as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The discussion has shifted a bit to a possibility of hub cities. We submitted the idea of playing in the Maritimes in a limited 9-game, 8-week schedule.
If CFL plays in 2020, have all the games in the Maritimes
2019 CFL preseason schedule
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
I want to, before I leave this plain of existence, sit at Varsity Stadium and watch a 11 am Toronto Argonauts preseason game. The Boston Red Sox play a 11 am baseball game on Patriots Day. That would be so cool.
If the CFL needs to double up on games in a hub site, unusual starting times might need to be a reality.
Right now, this is fun and speculation. American players would need to come up — assuming the border is open to them — and do a 14-day quarantine. Cities would have to allow a game with zero fans. The league would have to decide if that is financially viable. The conversation has been slightly more upbeat than the fatalistic words from Ambroisie.
TSN has been running classic CFL Encore games. Surprisingly, ESPN+ isn't running any of those games. Astonishing that ESPN+ doesn't carry more CFL coverage from pregame coverage to Wired, the weekly show on TSN.
The NFL might be able to play this fall where ticket sales aren't as crucial, the TV money is better, and they can play later in warmer climes. BC Place is the one guaranteed indoor stadium where the CFL could play late. Olympic Stadium in Montréal still has a roof issue and the CFL might not literally fit into Rogers Centre anymore.
The regular season was scheduled to start June 11, 2020. We wonder when the next regular season CFL game will be.
photo credit: CFL
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