The CFL announced Friday that it had taken ownership of the Montreal Alouettes.
The sale ends Robert Wetenhall's 22-year ownership of the club, which originated as the Baltimore Stallions in 1994. The CFL said it has been involved in the Alouettes' day-to-day operations for months and will look to bring in "new, long-term and highly focused ownership" to take over the club.
“We want to reassure Alouettes’ players, coaches, staff and fans that this is part of an orderly, step-by-step process that is entirely devoted to putting in place a new foundation for the Alouettes’ and the CFL’s success,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement. “Our conversations have led to significant interest by new ownership groups and we are confident in the process we initiated many months ago.”
The club is the third incarnation of the Alouettes, with Montreal's original CFL franchise using the name from 1946-81 and a short-lived rebrand of the Montreal Concordes existing in the 1980s. The current Alouettes relocated from Baltimore in 1996 and won three Grey Cups after the Wetenhall family took control of the club in 1997.
Montreal businessman Vince Guzzo has been mentioned as a potential new team owner, but a TSN report earlier this week said Guzzo's interest in the Alouettes is on hold. Other names have surfaced in recent months, but Guzzo's is the most prominent so far.
The Alouettes are scheduled to open their 2019 season June 14 in Edmonton against the Eskimos. The team, which dropped a 45-20 preseason decision to the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday, plans to operate as usual this season.
Premier test terminé. On revient fort d’une expérience de plus, la semaine prochaine, à la maison.#ToujoursGame #Montréals
— Alouettes de Montréal (@MTLAlouettes) May 30, 2019
First test done. Coming back stronger and smarter, next week, at home. pic.twitter.com/thEWSqOoKR
“We are ready to welcome our fans to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium and to live the 2019 season with them and all of our stakeholders," Alouettes president and CEO Patrick Boivin said. "We look forward to welcoming a future owner and working with them and the CFL for many years of future success. Our operations and financial capability are intact through this season and we are operating business as usual.”