The Montreal Alouettes have a new owner. On Friday, the Canadian Football League (CFL) announced that Quebecor Inc. President and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau acquired the team.
Pierre Karl Péladeau, a 61-year-old from Montreal, Quebec, is a prominent businessman and former politician serving as the leader of the separatist Parti Québécois. His estimated net worth is $1.9 billion in USD.
“I am delighted to be the new owner of the Montreal Alouettes, a team with a long history that has a significant impact on our community because it brings us together. I love sports and I am a proud Montrealer,” said Péladeau.
“This team that I saw rise to the top of the CFL and win the Grey Cup is our team; it’s the fans’ team. I want to bring stability and a long-term vision, which will allow us to put Montreal back at the top of Canadian football. I want to thank our fans for their continued loyalty. I would also like to thank the Commissioner of the League, Mr. Randy Ambrosie, and the members of the Board of Governors, for their trust.”
Quebecor is a Montreal-based media and telecommunications company that operates assets such as Videotron, Groupe TVA, Le Journal de Montreal, and Le Journal de Quebec. With the addition of the Alouettes, the company’s sports and entertainment division also owns and operates the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The Montreal Alouettes were founded in 1946 until its first demise in 1981. A second incarnation took place in 1982 as the Concordes before it was rebranded as the Alouettes but later folded in 1987. The current franchise are the former Baltimore Stallions when Jim Speros relocated the team to Montreal and Robert Wetenhall bought the team in 1997.
In 2019, Wetenhall surrendered the team due to a lack of success as the Alouettes missed the playoffs for four consecutive seasons and attendance dwindled. During Wetenhall’s ownership, the Alouettes appeared in eight Grey Cup championship games in a span of 14 years, winning three of them in 2002, 2009, and 2010. The Alouettes have won seven Grey Cup championships (1949, 1970, 1974, 1977, 2002, 2009, 2010) since their inception in 1946.
S and S Sportsco, a corporate entity owned by Sid Spiegel and his son-in-law Gary Stern, purchased the Alouettes in January 2020. Unfortunately, Spiegel passed away in July of 2021 and left a 75 percent stake in the franchise under the control of two anonymous lawyers. The lawyers elected to stop funding operations and later the team was taken over by the CFL last month.
“This is an exciting new chapter in the story of the Montreal Alouettes,” said Commissioner Ambrosie. “I’d like to thank the Als fans for their belief in the team, and I would especially like to extend my gratitude to the front office and staff for their patience and trust throughout this process. This outcome would not have been possible without the support of the league’s Board of Governors; the leadership of its Chair, Scott Banda; and our investment banking partner, Park Lane.”
With the addition of Péladeau, the CFL is back to having nine owners. The other owners include Amar Doman of the B.C. Lions, Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, Hamilton Sports Group, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, and boards who guide the league’s community-owned teams in Edmonton, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg.
