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Alouettes: the childhood dream of the Lenkov brothers
Simon-Olivier Lorange La Presse July 19 2019
On a shelf of Jeffrey Lenkov's office in Los Angeles, two football helmets.
One of them is decorated in the colors of the Northern Illinois University Huskies, where the 54-year-old earned his law degree. On the other side, the blue and red triangular logo displayed by the Montreal Alouettes during the 1970s and 80s.
"Is not this the most beautiful logo of the sport? Exclaims the Laval native.
The Alouettes were the favorite club of Jeffrey Lenkov and his brother Peter during their childhood in Laval. Whether by nostalgia or, as they claim, by unconditional fervor that has never decreased, the two men are now about to afford the club of their childhood.
The Lenkovs now fly the group that negotiates exclusively the purchase of the Montreal team, owned by the Canadian Football League (CFL).
The duo is little known to the Quebec public. The eldest, Peter, 55, is a producer and scriptwriter in Hollywood. His name is associated with successful series like 24 (in French, 24 hours chrono ) and CSI: NY . Graduated from Concordia, he returned to his alma mater punctually to give lectures.
Jeffrey is a litigation lawyer and specializes in entertainment and sports law at Manning & Kass. He is the only one of the two brothers to have agreed to give us an interview, his first to a francophone media.
He has a lot to say about his love of the Alouettes as well as his roots - a part of his family still resides in the region, he loves to ski at Tremblant, his children attend summer camps in Ontario and Quebec. He says he goes around "often" in the Belle Province.
But the oyster closes when questions about the purchase of the team emerge.
Who makes up his group of investors? "Experienced people who know how to operate a sports franchise. Did he have French-speaking associates? "It is vital to have Francophone and Anglophone components, to present a diverse group. What is his experience as an entrepreneur? "My status as a lawyer prevents me from talking about it. "
Even when asked to describe his brother and business partner Peter, his response is surprising: "I would rather not talk about my family, whether it's my brother, my sister or my children. "
Good.
"We do not own the team yet, I do not want to skip the stages," he says. I grew up in the middle class, and now I have the chance to buy the club I've always loved. This team counts for me and for many people. I want to do things right, to devote myself to 100%. We will talk about myself when everything is settled. "
Note.
Complex sale
The secret jealously cultivated Jeffrey Lenkov on his steps to acquire the team is reminiscent of the smoke screen that hides the sales process from the beginning.
For months, the Wetenhall family, longtime owner of the Alouettes, denied that the team was for sale. Buyers were indeed in the ranks last spring, and were racking their weapons.
Three groups, led by ex-footballer Éric Lapointe and entrepreneurs Clifford Starke and Vincent Guzzo respectively, have submitted bids.
At midnight minus one, a fourth group, that of the Lenkovs, appeared. And this is the one who is now the only one to talk to the CFL.
Starke and Guzzo said they had the feeling that the dice were stacked. In an interview with La Presse earlier this week, both spoke of a "waste of time".
Guzzo was momentarily associated with Danny Maciocia, head coach of the Carabins of the University of Montreal, but a conflict erupted between the two men. The movie theater giant nevertheless persisted with an offer after having properly analyzed the financial situation of the team.
Starke brought with him Brad Smith, son of former Alouettes president Larry Smith, and followed the advice of the father himself. After the refusal of a first offer, he counter-attacked.
"But they preferred the guys from Hollywood ... My cousin has already won three Emmy awards, maybe I should have involved him more," ironically Starke, obviously angry, on the phone.
Letters of nobility
The two disappointed buyers confirmed that the team was in a very bad financial situation after having access to the club's books. Starke expected one to two seasons of losses before returning to profitability.
This is not exactly a surprise, knowing that the Wetenhall have claimed losses of 25 million in the last three seasons alone.
Vincent Guzzo said he found several "inconsistencies" in terms of the team's operations.
"They settled one by sending Kavis Reed, but I saw others," he told us, referring to the dismissal last Sunday of the Director General for nebulous failures "of an administrative nature."
Unsurprisingly, Lenkov did not want to comment on any of the Alouettes' past management allegations, nor did he want to comment on the crisis the team is currently facing.
What he wants is to restore the credibility of a formation that has just missed the playoffs of the CFL four times in a row.
"I've known Nelson Skalbania's time, I know how much it has affected fans," he recalls, referring to the unfortunate acquisition of Birds in 1981 by American multi-billionaire Skalbania, who will put the franchise bankruptcy.
"The team has suffered enough," says Lenkov.
In his eyes, however, things have been on track since Khari Jones inherited the position of head coach in early June. He now shares the duties of General Manager.
Fans to win back
If the Lenkovs acquire the club, they will write at the very top of the list of tasks a simple goal to define but complex to achieve: fill up as quickly as possible of the stands that have been left to lose.
"It's a question of respect for the fans: if they are offered a good product in the field and an experience worthy of the price they pay, they will come back. " - Jeffrey Lenkov
The Montreal public has been used to homeowners who were far from Montreal and even to a general manager - Jim Popp - who, during his two decades with the Alouettes, has always kept his principal residence in North Carolina.
"The operations must be done locally," said Jeffrey Lenkov. Doing business remotely is very difficult. So, imagine managing a sports team ... "
As owner, he would be closely involved in the activities of the club. "It's a vital business in the community, and if there is my name on it, I can only get involved personally. "
Nevertheless, nuance he, "a thinker has already said that people who are successful know surround themselves with the best".
For now, the Lenkov brothers are still at the stage of "due diligence", which is a thorough examination of the club and its workings, with the aim of concluding the transaction in the coming weeks. Both will attend tomorrow's game against the Edmonton Eskimos. Jeffrey will land in town today, while Peter is already compulsively publishing footage of his stay in the metropolis on his Instagram account.
Many times, Jeffrey Lenkov repeats that he does not want to rush anything, that he intends to go through the steps one by one.
But the success of the club, they can not wait, he concludes.
"We do not have a plan of ten years or five years. We want a team that will be excellent quickly. That's what I spend my time. Nothing else. "
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