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http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Foot...9/5047156.html

Ottawa back in CFL Hunt

67's owner reportedly close to deal for expansion football franchise

By The Canadian Press


The CFL is close to completing a deal that would award a conditional expansion franchise to a group led by Ottawa 67’s owner Jeff Hunt, a report says.

The intention would be to have the team begin play in 2010, according to The Globe and Mail.

The deal, which has been in the works for months, was close to completion in recent days and the league had hoped to make an announcement in Ottawa this week

However, that plan was put off when the sides decided they needed more time to complete some details in a letter of intent for the CFL’s ninth franchise to be bought by Hunt and his partners, local developers Roger Greenberg, John Ruddy and William Shenkman.

The deal would be contingent on Hunt’s group securing an arrangement to utilize Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park, a complex slated for redevelopment after the southside stands were condemned last fall.

“We are in the middle of a confidential process and I can’t comment,” Hunt told The Globe.

While Hunt and the CFL still have some work to do, the major hurdles have been overcome and both sides are apparently confident the final details can be ironed out