[thistleclub]

From Friday's National Post:

Cohon is seen by some as a lightweight due to his boyish face and his preternatural smoothness, but the list of accomplishments is starting to pile up.

And since he was back where he started, Cohon listed off the successes. TV ratings have doubled in five years; Hamilton and Winnipeg will have new stadiums in the next two years, while Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Montreal and B.C. have seen stadium upgrades. Ottawa will come back with its own stadium in 2014, and Cohon is already musing about the viability of a 10th team in either Moncton, Halifax, or Quebec City.

“Logically, could we get to a 10th team?” Cohon said. “I have to look at it, and say, would revenues increase, because it becomes dilutive because you have to share TV revenues, sponsorship revenues across another team. But often, does that raise the boat for the entire league, does it change the perception of the entire league, allow more sponsors. Now we could be across this country.”

It’s a relatively grand vision for this old league, but the revenue tide keeps rising, and since Cohon de-linked revenues and player compensation in the last collective bargaining agreement, he said six of the eight teams are either breaking even or making money. (He all but confirmed Hamilton and Toronto are the other two, saying, “We know we have work here in southern Ontario.”)