David Braley believes football will matter to people in the Greater Toronto Area again.
His Toronto Argonauts have a 3-9 record and have averaged fewer than 20,000 fans a game at the Rogers Centre this season, after averaging fewer than any other team in the CFL in 2010 (22,069).
But the Argos owner is in the early stages of a business plan similar to one that helped him build up his other club, the B.C. Lions. So he's not daunted by the task of selling football to fans in Southern Ontario, a market cluttered with sports, entertainment and the lure of nearby cottage country.
"I think Southern Ontario is one of the easier markets to develop," Braley said. "Sure, there's lots of competition here, but that's okay – there are also millions and millions of people."
A few years into Braley's ownership of the Lions, the late Bob Ackles, former president and CEO, created a booster club called the Waterboys, made up of B.C. business leaders. They helped draw sponsors and build the team's brand. They began with five members in 2003. Today, the group, whose membership has included former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, has 523 Waterboys.
Lions games drew an average of 16,000 to 23,000 fans a game from 1997 until 2003. As the product grew on the field and two Grey Cups resulted, the Waterboys membership blossomed, and so, too, did the attendance. By 2005 the team began cracking 30,000 per home game regularly, reaching their best average in 2008 with 34,083 fans a game.
Braley decided to try Ackles's booster-club idea with the Argos this year, calling on two long-time friends to help. Chris Rudge, former CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee and current CEO of the 100th Grey Cup Festival, got involved along with high-profile Toronto lawyer Ralph Lean, known for his fundraising prowess in political campaigns as well as his Rolodex of business clients.
Rudge and Lean established the Double Blues.
Lean enlisted 50 Toronto business executives to buy Argos season tickets and join the club. In exchange for helping to create interest in the team, the members would get VIP access to the team and could mingle with business professionals in the Double Blues suite.
"We want this to be a Who's Who of the business community," Lean said. "Those kind of groups have stayed away from the Argos for a long time, but we're starting to get them back."
Lean brought in business owners ranging from a local recycling company to one of Toronto's most successful night clubs.
He enlisted Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke and hockey agent Don Meehan, who regularly brings NHL players to the suite. He also got politicians such as former Ontario premier Mike Harris, and John Tory, former leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party.
"Ralph doesn't ask, he tells people they are going to be involved – but I was happy to help promote the team," Harris said. "This is just the humble beginnings of the Double Blues. I think next year, we could really make this thing mushroom."
The group tries to bring others of influence to the suite, such as Raghib (Rocket) Ismail and other members of the 1991 Grey Cup Argos, and Canadian Olympians such as bobsled gold medalist Heather Moyse and skier Brian Stemmle.
"Sure, it's a challenge, but we're going to get there," Rudge said. "In my corporate career, I specialized in helping build up businesses, and in a few years, there is going to be a lot of growth in interest here."
The next goal for the Double Blues is to have the members each recruit five colleagues.
"As soon as the presidents of some of these companies are sitting in the stands, it's amazing how much of the management of the companies also start showing up," Braley said. "I have proven it works in British Columbia, and I see the same thing happening here."