Elks Could Consider Private Ownership As Financial Struggles Continue

Summary

• Edmonton Elks are a community owned team in the Canadian Football League
• The Elks have suffered financial losses for four consecutive years
• CEO Rick LeLacheur says the Elks could consider change in ownership structure

The Edmonton Elks is one of the more popular teams in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and has been around since 1949. The Elks operates on an ownership structure that is community owned but that could soon change due to the club suffering significant financial losses.

Edmonton Elks Continue To Lose Money 

For any professional club to be successful, they need to play well and make money on a consistent basis. The Edmonton Elks have suffered financial losses for four consecutive years and reported an operating loss in 2022 of $3.3 million. Those losses also correspond with the struggles that the Elks have faced in recent years as the one successful franchise hasn’t made it to the CFL playoffs since 2019.

Those struggles have put a lot pressure on the Elks and CEO Rick LeLacheur to do something to turn things around. 

In a statement, LeLacheur said

The impacts of the COVID pandemic, football operations decisions, and subsequent struggles on the field have all contributed to a difficult financial situation. We are going to need a capital investment on the club going forward, because it’s going to take us a couple of years to get out of these losses we’ve been accumulating on an annual basis.

Edmonton Elks Could Look At Private Ownership

The Elks have announced that they have put together a committee that will examine its current ownership structure and see if that needs to be changed in light of the ongoing financial struggles. The review committee will consist of 5 members which includes previous board members Bruce Bentley, Diane Brickner, and current board members Darryl Boessenkool, Brent Hesje and Tom Richards.

LeLacheur is a non-voting member on the committee who has confirmed that private owners have expressed interest in taking over ownership of the Edmonton Elks but he did not divulge any names.

LeLacheur said

I’ve told them they just have to wait. We’ve had no negotiations or anything like that. But it’s a great community for sports, it’s a great community for football and I think there’s going to be a fair amount of interest whether it’s a group or an individual.