The other side of the coin
Alouettes: "The Lenkov brothers have no plan", according to Éric Lapointe
Simon-Olivier Lorange La Presse July 20 2019
While everything indicates that the brothers Jeffrey and Peter Lenkov seem about to acquire the Montreal Alouettes, former footballer Éric Lapointe can not explain the enthusiasm of the Canadian League in front of this group of potential buyers.
He himself led a group that tried to own the team last spring, Lapointe claims to have been approached by the Lenkovs in April.
E-mail exchanges led to telephone interviews. But according to him, these discussions with them were anything but productive.
"They have no knowledge of the Canadian League," says the athlete turned wealth manager at the end of the line.
La Presse yesterday published an interview with Jeffrey Lenkov in which the lawyer based in Los Angeles explained that the Alouettes were an integral part of his childhood memories in Laval. According to him, he has always continued to follow the activities of Birds, like his brother Peter, producer and screenwriter in Hollywood. The duo today leads a group involved in exclusive discussions with the Canadian Football League (CFL) to get their hands on the Montreal club.
Tense conversation
Mr. Lenkov assured La Presse that he had surrounded himself with "experienced people who know how to operate a sports franchise", but did not specify what strategy he intended to adopt to bail out the coffers of a team abandoned by well supporters.
At the beginning of June, a telephone conversation with the Lenkovs left Eric Lapointe speechless.
"We spoke up to 1 am with an investment firm, we were two on the call from my side, we tried to make them talk about their plan, but they had nothing ... When I say no plan, it's zero plan, "says the former offensive midfielder.
"They were doing name-dropping, they even started Celine Dion's name in the conversation. I heard nothing that would bring people back to the stands. " - Eric Lapointe
Jeffrey Lenkov then invited him to attend the Alouettes' inaugural game in Edmonton on June 14. But Lapointe declined.
"I did not see what I would do there. Why continue a conversation that is not going anywhere? He wonders.
Contractor Clifford Starke was also on the line to acquire the Alouettes. His offer was not selected by the CFL. What was not his surprise when the Lenkovs contacted him to include him in their group of investors.
"It lasted 5 minutes, I did not even understand why we were talking to each other," Starke told La Presse . I wanted to be the majority shareholder, period. "
In an email to La Presse , the CFL stated that "all individuals or groups who have sent letters of intent [to buy the Alouettes] would have been good owners and good partners for the league." "We evaluated their offers against a series of criteria", we continue, without defining these criteria, and "determined that the best offer was that of the group with which we work today".
Lapointe still believes
Disgusted by a sales process they considered biased by Lenkov, potential buyers Vincent Guzzo and Clifford Starke said they no longer wanted to buy the Alouettes.
Éric Lapointe does not see things the same way. He continues to hope that the CFL will break the exclusivity of the Lenkov brothers.
"Logic tells me I should forget about it, but I tend to be illogical sometimes," he says.
"There are so many beautiful things to do with this team. " - Eric Lapointe
Lapointe joined the Alouettes in 2001 as a free agent. He hung up his boots in 2006 but has been a club ambassador ever since.
"I see things today in the same way as 18 years ago. I keep the desire to do something exceptional with the team and the people of the province. "
Jeffrey and Peter Lenkov will attend the game today between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Alouettes at Percival Molson Stadium. The duo is still at the heart of a process of reviewing the finances and operations of the team, on their way to a deal with the CFL.