Ottawa CFL franchise announces RedBlacks will be team’s nickname
Posted Jun 8, 2013 04:28:18 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Ottawa’s worst kept secret is now official.
The new CFL expansion franchise is named the Ottawa RedBlacks. The announcement came at an informal press conference at the Ernst & Young Centre on Saturday afternoon.
Former Ottawa CFLers Russ Jackson and Tony Gabriel made the announcement on stage and said the name comes from Ottawa’s history as a lumber town as well as the sports colours associated with the city.
All players from the National Capital Amateur Football Association as well as over 30 CFL alumni were also on stage for the announcement.
CFL commissioner Mark Cohon was also on hand for the announcement and said the new team is part of a new identity for the league which will open new stadiums in Winnipeg, Hamilton and Ottawa, over the next two years.
Cohon also mentioned that Gabriel was his idol growing up.
“My first day on the job, I was being interviewed by a reporter from Saskatchewan and I told that story that he’s my idol and people still don’t talk to me in Saskatchewan today,” Cohon said.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson also spoke and thanked his colleagues on City council for making the team possible.
“They’ve been true believers from day one, lots of ups and downs, lawsuits and everything else” Watson said.
The official schedule for the Red Blacks will kickoff in the summer of 2014, and Watson noted 350 workers are working at Landsdowne park to make sure the project is finished in time for next season.
