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Riders' fans create unofficial "Grey Cup 106 Bid Committee," annoy Ticats' fans

Riders' fans create unofficial "Grey Cup 106 Bid Committee," annoy Ticats' fans

WINNIPEGA group of Saskatchewan Roughriders' fans has added to the debate about future Grey Cup sites and the lack of transparency in the CFL's bidding process, showing up in town this week with a "Grey Cup 106 Bid Committee" logo on their limo. Here's a photo of the limo from Darrell Davis:

And the promotional logo from Marshall Ferguson:

As Davis and Ferguson both added later, this group isn't officially affiliated with the Roughriders and won't be making the bid, so fears that the league's already given another Grey Cup to Saskatchewan are a bit much at this point:

Also, it seems unlikely that actual bidding for the 2018 Grey Cup has even begun considering that we don't have a firm 2017 site yet. (It's widely expected to be Ottawa, but the 2016 Grey Cup's location was only officially announced at the end of September, so we're probably a ways from an Ottawa announcement.) Still, the idea of putting the Grey Cup in Regina again just five years after the Riders last hosted sparked plenty of controversy, especially from Hamilton, where the Ticats' new stadium was constructed with a deal that city councillor Sam Merulla said in September was supposed to include two Grey Cups in 10 years. 2018 is likely the earliest Hamilton can get a Grey Cup, and the odds on that one going there seem strong, but the idea that the league might give Regina another one instead sparked plenty of backlash.

It's somewhat silly to have a controversy about a group of fans who just created a logo to promote a specific agenda, but this controversy was fueled by the league's lack of transparency over future Grey Cups. There have been several problematic Grey Cup hosting decisions made recently, particularly giving David Braley three of four Grey Cups (including two in Vancouver in four years), and the lack of clear or consistent information provided by the league about bidders, timelines and how these decisions are made fuels plenty of controversy. Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge got a significant grilling on future Grey Cups during his state of the league address Friday, but didn't say much beyond "near future" for Hamilton:

The Grey Cup is a major sporting event, and should be treated as such when it comes to bids and transparency. Even organizations such as the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, both of which have been rocked by bidding scandals, provide consistent bidding timelines and lists of potential host cities to the public. The CFL doesn't do this, instead keeping Grey Cup negotiations secret (apart for leaks) until they announce where the next year's game will be held.

Yes, it's silly that fears of Hamilton losing a Grey Cup were stoked by just an unaffiliated group of Saskatchewan fans, but those fears were more believable thanks to the secrecy of the process. The league would be smart to be more forthright about who's bidding for each Grey Cup, what criteria their bids are being judged by, and when decisions will be made. That might help avoid future controversies like this.