Clifford Starke made his final pitch for purchasing and owning the Montreal Alouettes.
“Randy Ambrosie has his process and I’m going to respect that. On multiple occasions we moved forward and showed our capability as well as our credibility and now it’s in the hands of the league and we’ll see what happens, he has to run his process,” Starke said on TSN 690 radio in Montreal.
“On our side, we’ve done as much as we can, it’s now up to the league and Randy to lead the process. And we’ll be patient on the sidelines.”
Turns out the Montreal business man had imposed a deadline on the CFL of July 2 to decide whether his plan would be accepted.
Former Montreal Alouettes president Larry Smith had publicly backed Starke in his bid to buy the team. Smith was the eighth commissioner of the CFL, a post he held from 1992 to 1997, oversaw the Baltimore Stallions relocation to Montreal and served as Alouettes president during two separate stints.
“To me, Larry Smith is there and would do what’s best for the organization and the province. You have to realize that his whole life has really been around the Alouettes. He’s been a great influence,” Starke said.
“He walks around Quebec and the respect level he has among the community is just unbelievable. If Larry’s needed to come in and help in any way possible, I think his heart’s in the right place and he’s invaluable.”
Canadian Football Hall of Fame running back Eric Lapointe joined Starke’s group. He played the last six seasons of his CFL career for the Alouettes and believes the franchise can thrive in La Belle Province.
“Eric Lapointe’s a Hall of Famer, he’s unbelievable. Both Larry and Eric just bring positive energy to the entire situation those two should definitely be involved whether it’s with me or another group. Eric’s a winner, if I had a blank cheque and it wasn’t me and it was him I would definitely back him,” Starke said.
The 35-year-old Starke is the chairman of Hampstead Private Captital. He wanted to bring the team back to the community, rebuild the franchise and win football games.
“The goal is let’s see what happens with the process, we want to own the team as fast as possible,” Starke said.
“We have a short term strategy to rebuild that put people in the seats and create some great energy and bring the right people back into the fold in Montreal. Montreal expects a winning team and guys like Larry Smith and Eric Lapointe provide that.”
The Alouettes have lost millions recently, according to CBC Radio Canada reporter Michel Chabot: $50 million since the Wetenhall family owned the team, including $25 million for three years. In 2018 alone, losses would have reached $12.5 million due to a revenue decline of approximately $6 million and an increase in expenditures of more than $6 million.
“The whole losing money thing, trust me it’s a quick, easy rebuild to bring this back to success,” Starke said.
“The fact that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Wetenhall’s, great for them, class acts as well, did a great job, but they owned the team 20-plus years, won three Grey Cups. If I’m able to takeover and lead the path, I’d be privileged.”
But the CFL chose to go in another direction, away from a strong native Montreal group.
