By Jon Ward
Sporting goods stores in Centretown would be largely unaffected if the Ottawa Renegades football team went under.
The five sports stores in the area, Elgin Sports, Foster’s Sports, Tommy and Lefebvre, Sports 4 and On Deck, all say the Renegades play a minimal role in their businesses. Each is located within 2.5 kilometres of Renegades home field Frank Clair Stadium.
“It’s hard to say what will happen if the team folds,” said Justin Richardson, a manager at the Bank Street and McLeod Street Tommy and Lefebvre store. “But I don’t think it will really hurt anyone.”
Tommy and Lefebvre does not carry any football attire, but Richardson says football fans occasionally stop in to buy things like toques and gloves before cold games.
That is the only tie Tommy and Lefebvre has to the ailing Canadian Football League franchise, he says.
“Last year when the Grey Cup was in Ottawa, we sold a good amount of outdoor gear like raincoats and hats,” said Neil Rosenthal, Manager of Sports 4 at Bank St. and Slater St. “But the Grey Cup doesn’t come here often – during the regular season we don’t sell anything related to the Renegades.”
While Sports 4 and Tommy and Lefebvre do not sell many jerseys, Elgin Sports at Bank Street and Albert Street sells more jerseys than anything else. Recently, it stopped selling CFL jerseys altogether.
“We specialize in soccer, hockey and rugby replica jerseys,” said Jean Dextras, Manager of Elgin Sports. “We used to carry some Renegades ones, but sales were so bad we stopped carrying them.”
Dextras says the Renegades jerseys he carried were made by Puma, but were not custom as they did not have a name or number on the back.
He says when Elgin Sports sold CFL merchandise, baseball caps were the best-selling items.
“It’s kind of funny that baseball caps with the Renegades logo were selling better than their own jerseys,” said Dextras. “We’ve never really seen a lot of support here for the CFL.”
The Ottawa Renegades lost about $4 million US last season, and are expected to lose close to $6 million US this year. Poor season ticket sales, lack of a permanent ticket office and the loss of several key free agents are all blamed for the team’s poor financial records.
With training camp starting in mid May, Renegades majority owner Bernie Glieberman is willing to sell the franchise for $1 if he can save the 2006 season.
Financial company Golden Gate, a Canadian mortgage company based in Toronto, is reportedly looking into the franchise as a way to boost exposure for its brand name. Still, no deal is expected for at least another week.
If the team goes under, local sports bars and restaurants would feel it the most. The James Street Feed Company and the Pizza Pizza next to the stadium both get lots of business on home game nights.
Employees from both businesses say the team’s fate affects them but does not mean the difference between success and failure.
“I don’t think anyone’s hoping they’ll go under,” said Rosenthal. “But I don’t think any businesses really depend on the team.”