Jeff Hunt is a Canadian businessman who owns the Ottawa Redblacks football club from the Canadian Football League and Ontario Ontario Ottawa Hockey League hockey club. He started a carpet cleaning company called Canway. His company was on Profit Magazine 100 seven times in the 1990s.
Video Jeff Hunt
Background information
Jeff was born April 17, 1964 in Stephenville, Newfoundland. His parents are Alexander (deceased) and Dorothy Hunt. He is the oldest of the two other brothers, Alex and Sheryl Hunt. Throughout his childhood, Hunt moved to Newfoundland every few years because his father was in the RCMP. He studied at Memorial University of Newfoundland for a year before moving to Ottawa, Ontario at the age of 20 with his family. Here, Jeff started his carpet cleaning business.
Hunt started production of his carpet cleaning business, which he called Canway, in 1984. Within a span of 13 years, the business grew to more than 250 locations in Canada and the United States. In 1997, Hunt sold his business, and the following year he bought Ottawa 67s.
Maps Jeff Hunt
OHL hockey
In 1998, he bought Ottawa 67 and has seen five quintuple of his presence. When Hunt buys 67, the previous owners of the team have spent only $ 25,000 per year on marketing costs. Hunt will spend that amount every week once he becomes his new owner. The goal with 67 is to provide an NHL caliber experience, from games and music to concessions and promotions. The goal is to create an enthusiastic fan experience for the whole family and connect teams with communities.
One of the highlights of his ownership was in 1999, when he led a team effort to host the 1999 Memorial Cup tournament. Despite the fact that in 1997 the tournament had been held across the river in Hull, Quebec, he was able to convince the Canadian Hockey League to hosted the event in the city of Ottawa and assured his team a place in the tournament. Series 67 did not disappoint, as each series game was sold out at 10,550 seats of the Ottawa Civic Center. Series 67 will continue to win the Memorial Cup.
Hunter's junior hockey career began in a high tone, and after some rough seasons it was not long until his team made it to the final again. In 2001, 67 people made it to the Memorial Cup held in Regina, Saskatchewan. They had luck in round robin tournaments, winning only one game, but Hunt traveled out to support his team despite their defeat. The 67 made it once again in 2005 in making it to the Memorial Cup Final in London, Ontario, while unfortunately meeting with a devastating loss to Rimouski Oceanic, captain at the time by Sidney Crosby.
Football CFL
Hunt is a big fan of CFL football, he is the season ticket holder of Rough Rider and has attended eight Gray Cups. In 2006, Jeff Hunt was part of the Golden Gate Capital group which is considered the leading candidate among the three offers to earn a CFL expansion franchise for Ottawa. The group resigned after a prominent group member was diagnosed with bowel cancer. In September 2007, Hunt confirmed that he was part of a group of local investors to talk to the CFL about bringing the Canadian Football League back to Ottawa. The partners aspire to take over Lansdowne Park, home of Frank Clair Stadium, and operate football, hockey and sports entertainment from there. The goal is to renovate the stadium itself, and add luxury suites and state-of-the-art amenities.
On March 25, 2008, Hunt and his colleagues earned an expansion franchise. The team is expected to play at the Frank Clair Stadium if the stadium can be renovated and has been given the conditional right to host the 2014 Gray Cup match. A A $ 7 million fee is reported to have been paid. Having initially announced to start playing in 2010, the start date is pushed back to 2012, then 2013. However, the team started playing in 2014.
Although starting the project for a new CFL team started in 2008, an official court decision was not made until September 2012 that the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group gave official green light to begin construction. The partners face many years of appeals to the Ontario Court, which prevents them from starting their vision. A local group caused these obstacles from the Glebe area of ​​Ottawa, called Friends of Lansdowne, who strongly opposed the new plan. The group purchased rights on behalf of Ottawa Rough Riders from the last owner of Rough Riders, Horn Chen. To name Rough Riders in his new team, the group must seek approval from the Roughriders of Saskatchewan. When the request was denied, the group chose to call a new Redblack franchise.
Lansdowne redevelopment plan
Hunt, along with partners Roger Greenberg, John Ruddy and Bill Shenkman set in 2006 to bid on expanding the CFL franchise as well as the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. The partners work together to form the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment group. Their vision for the new Lansdowne Park includes a reconstructed art football stadium, a soccer field to host the anticipated football team, as well as large shopping centers including restaurants. The rebuilding plan also includes housing and condominiums for people to rent and buy directly on the site. The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group meets with various obstacles, the group called the Friends of Lansdowne who tried many times to appeal to the court to stop the plan. Despite efforts by Friends of Lansdowne, Ontario's Court of Appeal dismissed their allegations of procurement violations and granted permission to partners for a $ 300 million contract to rebuild the stadium. Construction on the project is completed in early 2014.
Success
In Hunt for 14 seasons with the team, he has reached the Memorial Cup Finals three times, won the Bobby Orr Trophy three times, and has won seven league divisions (Leyden trophy). He worked 11 seasons with head coach and hockey legend Brian Kilrea. Hunt spoke at Kilrea's retirement ceremony in 2009 and both are still good friends to this day.
Under Hunt ownership, the team has seen several National Hockey League alumni including Brendan Bell, Logan Couture, Zenon Konopka, and Brian Campbell, among others.
References
External links
- Ottawa 67s Official website
- New franchise announcement in Ottawa
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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