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CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Elks look to future by embracing past, including former team name
B.C. Lions' Deontai Williams (33) chases Edmonton Elks quarterback Tre Ford (2) during first half CFL pre-season action in Edmonton, on Friday May 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson EDMONTON — The winds of change blew through Commonwealth Stadium this winter, bringing in a new regime determined to return Edmonton's once-proud CFL franchise to its green-and-gold glory days. Part of that includes embracing the team's former name, 'Eskimos.' The club rebranded as the 'Elks' in 2021, following a broader movement among sports teams to move away from names considered racist or stereotypical, and amid pressure from sponsors who threatened to cut ties. The change proved divisive among Edmonton supporters. Regardless of which name Edmonton fans prefer, former players Chris Morris, now the team's president and CEO, and Ed Hervey, now general manager, have brought back the franchise motto: 'Once an Eskimo, Always an Eskimo.' A sign bearing the slogan has been restored above the entrance to the Elks' locker room. 'Eskimos or Elks, it is the 'Double E' and we want our fans and the community to understand we are committed to winning and being a part of the community,' Hervey said. And with that, both men are hoping the product on the field, headed by a new coaching staff led by Mark Kilam and an offence firmly in the hands of quarterback Tre Ford, will not only carry the team back into the playoffs but will lure missing fans into the stands. Despite the massive overhaul that began with the sale of the publicly owned franchise to Larry Thompson, Kilam doesn't see any problems with all the new personnel meshing into a winning product. 'It's not if you're vertically aligned, which we are, from ownership on down,' he said. 'When we have the same feelings about the way a professional football team should act, the way we think things should be run on a day-to-day basis, and the way we see things be played out on the field, it's pretty easy. 'There's a fresh, new vibe,' he continued. 'There's been a lot of roster turnover; there's been a lot of turnover on the admin side; obviously the coaching staff has been turned over. So we are the new era of the Double E and we're looking forward to setting that standard.' Doing that has to begin with a better start than the team has endured the last three years, when it began 0-5, 0-7 and 0-8 and suffered through a record 22-game home losing streak. 'It's huge, it means everything,' returning offensive lineman Jake Ceresna said of starting well. 'But even if we stub our toe early, just have faith in us and have our backs because we're going to turn this ship around.' The turnaround may have started last season when Ford got his chance at quarterback after the team started 0-7. The fourth-year Canadian sparked a dramatic turnaround that saw the Elks go 7-4 over their last 11 games. 'We want to just keep going from where we stopped last year,' said kick returner-running back Javon Leake. 'We've got the players, we've got the coaches, now we just have to go out and play.' The Elks are hoping Ford, 9-9 as a starter, will justify their faith in him, but traded for former Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo as a backup, just in case. Off-season roster changes have resulted in major revamping on both sides of the ball. Joining Ceresna on the defensive line are Robbie Smith and Jared Brinkman, members of Toronto's 2024 Grey Cup championship team. Behind them are linebackers Nyles Morgan and Nick Anderson along with a host of defensive backs led by Tyrell Ford and Royce Metchie. 'From the top down, this is probably one of the best defences, talent-wise, that I've been around,' said Ceresna. 'We look fast; we look terrifying.' But, he added, 'it's all talk right now. Now it's up to us as players to go out and prove it.' Offensively, Ford finds himself with a trio of top-notch receivers in Kurleigh Gittens, Jr., who led the team in receptions last year, newcomers Steven Dunbar Jr. and Kaion Julien-Grant and returnee Arkell Smith. 'He's explosive,' Kilam said of Smith. 'His body, he looks like he's had a great off-season, he's put some time in, he has some familiarity with Tre.' All-star centre Mark Korte returns and moves to left guard to make room for David Beard on an offensive line that allowed a league-low 29 sacks last season. The Elks led the CFL with 2,365 rushing yards in 2024 and are hoping the combination of Justin Rankin and Leake will offset the loss of Kevin Brown. With the number of major changes on and off the field, there was a high level of energy as the team prepared for its season opener June 7 in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions. 'This is a whole new squad, a whole new era, a whole new tradition,' said Leake. 'Everything is new. I'm excited to finally get out there and show the rest of the CFL.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025. John Korobanik, The Canadian Press
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Free game-day transit returns for Elks ticket holders
Edmonton Elks tickets will again double as a transit pass on game days this year. Pre-purchased, game-day tickets can be used as fare for park-and-ride, bus and LRT service two hours before and after a game, the city confirmed on Monday. As well, starting Friday, buses directly to Commonwealth Stadium will run from Eaux Claires, Lewis Farms, NAIT Lots A/B and D, and Naki Transit Centre. The Elks will play the B.C. Lions for a pre-season match on Friday. They will travel for their first regular season game against the Lions on June 1, then host Montreal on June 19.
CTV News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Ghost of Gizmo: Leake hoping to be special teams star that has eluded Elks
Edmonton Elks' Javon Leake (22) escapes a tackle by Calgary Stampeders' Ben Labrosse (29) during first half CFL football action in Calgary, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh There was a time, ages ago, when fans in Commonwealth Stadium rose and roared in unison as Henry (Gizmo) Williams picked his way through a horde of defenders to return another kick for another touchdown. Now there is only the ghost of Gizmo. Since Williams retired in 2000 — having set more than 20 CFL records for punt and kick returns, including 31 return touchdowns — it's been a mostly fruitless search for a long-term returner to give some punch to the Edmonton Elks' return game. In the last 10 years Edmonton has had only one return touchdown — in 2023 by Deontez Alexander, who played only two games for the team. The latest to try is Javon Leake, who last year had the fastest recorded speed by a ball carrier in professional football. He had some success last season, but never reached the end zone. 'I'm back at returner and I've got a point to prove this year,' said Leake, who joined the team last year and can only imagine the feeling of a return touchdown. 'Man, here with coach (Mark) Kilam and knowing the returner who was here, Gizmo, it's going to feel amazing.' While it is one of the most exciting plays in football, returning a kick for any substantial gain, let alone a touchdown, takes a co-ordinated and efficient effort by lot more players than just the one with the ball. 'There are a lot of things that have to go right,' said Kilam, a highly respected special teams coach before assuming the head coaching job with the Elks this winter. 'Twelve guys have to do their job.' It starts with the returners first step and becomes successful when everyone involved executes properly. That first step, said Leake, is important in creating misdirection for the kicking team. 'Just selling it, making the defence go one way, just setting up your return, setting up your blocks,' Leake said. 'It's a lot of points that go into it, but the important one is that first step.' Then he counts on his teammates to execute their blocks correctly to create the hole he needs to break through the initial wall of defenders. 'Then me trusting my guys that they're blocking down the field and then just hitting it, the vertical.' Elks linebacker Josiah Schakel says the blocking team has to know where the returner is headed so they can block the defenders away from the direction of the play. 'You're reading the returner,' he says. 'If he decides to go one way, you're trying to flip your block the other way.' And when everybody does their job, says Leake and Schakel, it can be electrifying for fans and teammates. 'There's nothing better,' said Leake. 'The whole crowd goes crazy; the sideline goes crazy. I feel like there's no better play than a missed field goal return, or a regular punt or kick return.' 'Coach Kilam always talks about the best play in the CFL, the missed field goal return,' added Schakel. 'That's a 10-point swing. That's why the fans get excited. You can watch it, when someone begins to return a field goal, the fans start raising as they realize, 'Hey, this is going for a touchdown.' ' And, he adds, there's personal satisfaction as well. 'Man, when you get a great block and you know you're won that battle, you feel good inside and you're readying to go for the next play.' And when, or if, Leake or a teammate does return a punt, kick or missed field goal for a touchdown, it will be, said Schakel, 'amazing.' 'I feel like the whole team will light up if we start returning kicks. That's just going to change our game. We're a three-phase team so if special teams can contribute to scoring that's going to help the whole team.' No decisions have been made on who will be returning kicks for the Elks, largely because Kilam hasn't had the opportunity to really study the players. Something, he said, is tough to do in practice. 'Returners is a position you really have to get into the game to really get the evaluation,' Kilam said. 'Until that point, we're learning the rules, fielding the football, understanding where to go, but it's definitely a position, when the lights come on you see who's got it and who doesn't.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2025. John Korobanik, The Canadian Press
CBC
15-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Football field at Commonwealth Stadium now named Play Alberta Field
The Edmonton Elks announced Thursday that the football field at Commonwealth Stadium has been officially named Play Alberta Field. In a new release, the CFL team said the new field naming rights are part of a broader multi-year agreement with Play Alberta. Play Alberta is a regulated online gambling platform run by the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC). The news release said the field naming deal was approved by city council earlier this year. The Elks will retain the revenue from the field naming rights as part of the organization's licence agreement with the City of Edmonton. Commonwealth Stadium will still retain its current name, as it is owned and operated by the City of Edmonton. The Elks's home opener will be against the Montreal Alouettes on June 19.
CTV News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Edmonton Elks announce financial partnership with Play Alberta that includes field naming rights
The Edmonton Elks have announced that the field at Commonwealth Stadium will now be known as Play Alberta Field. The naming rights to the field are part of a broader multi-year agreement between Play Alberta and the Edmonton Elks, which makes Play Alberta the official sports betting partner of the club. 'We couldn't be more excited to expand our partnership with Play Alberta. This partnership is about more than just putting a name on the field – it's about building something meaningful for our fans and our community,' Elks president and CEO Chris Morris said in a news release. The Elks' home opener will be Thursday, June 19 against the Montreal Alouettes.
