ALBERTA: WHERE CFL SALARIES DONT CUT IT Wanted: A comfy couch for Edmonton Eskimos
KATHERINE HARDING
With a report from Canadian Press
June 26, 2007
EDMONTON -- Edmonton Eskimo fans are well known in the Canadian Football League as diehards, and now they've taken their support to a new level: house-hunting.
The professional sports team received several phone calls yesterday from people offering up accommodations after a local newspaper reported that 20 newly minted Eskimo players couldn't find housing.
"It's a difficult situation and people are stepping forward with options and opportunities," said Dave Jamieson, the team's director of marketing and communication.
He said the situation shows that even professional football players "aren't immune" from Edmonton's acute housing crisis, which was sparked by Alberta's oil-and-gas boom. The city's rental-market vacancy rate is at a record low, and some monthly rents have jumped by hundreds of dollars. More National Stories
Money is an issue for these young football players, and renting is their only option.
The starting salary for a CFL player is $37,000 and the average wage only $50,000 - compared with the National Hockey League average of $1.7-million (U.S.). Most CFLers have jobs during the off-season to supplement their unguaranteed football contracts.
Mr. Jamieson said the Eskimos' unprecedented homeless problem was exacerbated by the fact that the team's training camp started later this year and players missed the traditional turnover date for many apartments in the city: June 1.
"All of these players didn't know they had made the team until Friday night," he said. "Saturday was our first day off and that's when they had to go out and find a place."
Eskimo wide receiver T.J. Acree, 24, said he's stunned by Edmonton's high prices and expected "a little break" coming from Vancouver, where he played for the B.C. Lions the past two seasons.
The native of Boise, Idaho, is hunting for an apartment not only for himself but for his wife and young son. "I found a one-bedroom for $1,200. That's a lot. We don't get paid as much as NFL players, that's for sure," he said.
Ray Martin, a New Democratic MLA and a vocal critic of the provincial government on the housing issue, said the Eskimos' rental woes show how acute and far reaching the problem has become.
"We are in a crisis," he said, adding almost every community in the province is struggling to house the newcomers streaming into Alberta. When people can't find housing, some have resorted to campers and even tents.
The housing issue dominated the spring sitting of the legislature and has become a political headache for Premier Ed Stelmach's young government.
The Premier refused calls to enact temporary rent controls and instead favours doling out millions worth of rent subsidies to the needy.
Mr. Jamieson is hopeful that all 20 homeless Eskimos will be housed before Thursday, when the team meets the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in its opening game of the regular season. "We want them to focus on the task of playing professional football," he said.
Until they land a place, the affected Eskimos - who are looking to rent for the league's six-month season - are staying at a local hotel that the team used during training camp.
Meanwhile, the club is working with landlords and screening accommodation offers pouring in from the public to find matches for the players.
But Mr. Jamieson is also confident that some of them may score a place on their own.
"Our players are very resourceful," he said. "They are all young and they've come from college programs, so trust me, they are no stranger to maybe crashing on a futon for a few days."
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