Preliminary discussions underway for a second junior football team in PG

While the Prince George Kodiaks season is still two months away, rumblings of a new junior football team setting up shop in P.G. is gaining momentum.

Leading the charge is volunteer firefighter and longtime football official Steven Ameer-Beg who is part of a group that consists of two B.C. Lions players, a local lawyer, accountant, a retired member of the RCMP and an individual who is employed by Northern Health.

If approved by the BC Football Conference, the plan is to welcome additional members to the board.

Rumblings of a new franchise forming in the city were first mentioned on the Football BC News Facebook page.

In an exclusive interview with MyPGNow.com, Ameer-Beg mentioned the corporate backing for a new team is already taking off.

“The last time I talked to my contact we had around $700,000 lined up in sponsorships to go through and the community itself is the biggest reason why we are doing this.”

Ameer-Beg, who grew up in Northern Saskatchewan, in a community called Martensville, just outside of Saskatoon, stated reinvesting in the city you live in is a big deal to him.

“My parents always told me to give back what you have received. Give back twice as much as what I have ever received. Being with the Ferndale volunteer fire department and a referee with the BC Football Officials Association (BCFOA) I like to give back to the community that has given to me, and I feel that if I was in a bind, the community would help me if I needed it.”

While its very early days, Ameer-Beg has held preliminary discussions with the BC Football Conference Commissioner Tyler McLaren with another meeting slated for July 8th to go over the next steps.

While skeptical at first, Ameer-Beg stated McLaren has warmed to the idea of another franchise in the northern capital.

“At first, he was kind of skeptical, but then after a while he realized what the plan was. He did agree that we can continue on as planned, and he gave me some good pointers on what to expect if we ever do go to the board of directors. He is going to give me an outline of what the directors are going to typically ask, and I want to make sure we have everything in line before we go to the board of directors within the BCFC.”

Ameer-Beg’s goal is to have the new team start playing in 2027 or 2028 once all the cheques and balances are figured out.

“If it wasn’t for the community, this wouldn’t be a possibility. I am going to make sure everything gets done but also efficiently and it’s done the right way. I don’t want to do it sloppily; I don’t want to do this rushed – it will take time but with the people that I have in place I feel we can get things started up here very soon.”

“You can’t be honest without being transparent. I know that the plan was with the two people I have been in contact with is to have quarterly meetings within the community and that we would show our financial audits and show where the money has been going.”

As for what the football landscape would look like with the possibility of two teams co-existing, Ameer-Beg isn’t backing down to that challenge of working a little harder to find players and is willing to keep an open dialogue with the Kodiaks.

“I’m willing to take that risk and challenge because without it, there is no big reward. If you have two passionate fan bases and even a friendly rivalry, that is going to bring a lot of money and potentially a lot of new players.”

Second in command

Another prominent name joining the fold of the proposed junior football program is longtime coach Michael Rositano.

Rositano spent 27 years on the sidelines for a variety of teams across the province including the DP Todd Trojans and Duchess Park Condors.

He stepped down from coaching due to health reasons back in 2017 but is reenergized and wants to rebuild what he believes is a broken grassroots and development system due to just three area high school programs and no minor football program currently in Prince George.

“I have been involved with minor football and junior football since the late 1980’s as a player and then as a coach beginning in 1991 in minor football. I’ve been around for a long time. All I want to see to happen in Prince George is reviving the youth football in Prince George properly.”

“What I see my role is (on the proposed new junior team), I would see myself as a technical director of operations for the program. So, let’s get a head coach, let’s get player development on par with the rest of the league and make sure the coaches have training.”

“Let’s get all the stink away from what has been going on and that’s build up from the grassroots up and if a new team is what we need, then a new team is what we need.”

The only topic Rositano and Ameer-Beg seem to differ on is the viability of having two junior programs in the Prince George-area, which only has a population of roughly 100,000 residents if you include neighboring communities outside of city limits.

Rositano believes at least long-term; having two teams may not be feasible.

“I think this team might take the place of the Kodiaks if they end up folding as a program. I don’t want to see the kids lose a place to play; we want to provide them with a place to play. How can you (the Kodiaks) go forward with all of this happening and nothing being addressed publicly.”

“There is only one scenario in Canada that has a second team and that is the Edmonton Huskies and the Edmonton Wildcats. I think they have struggled to have numbers, and they are a big city. Prince George wouldn’t be able to handle that – there is not enough resources or coaches to handle that.”

Rositano is also interested in holding a Northern B.C. Football Summit in Prince George to have all groups sit at the table to figure out a way to move forward.

We get three to five inquiries per year: BCFC Commissioner

McLaren noted while any additional interest in junior football across the province is a good thing, he did caution the inquiry by this new group is in it’s infancy stages.

He also voiced his support for the current Kodiaks program after a drama-filled offseason.

“Our support is behind the Kodiaks and there region just like it is with all seven of our teams across the conference. Anytime you put a new in short proximity from another you have to take into account the team that is currently there if it is going to have any impact positive or negative on an existing franchise, you have to take that into account.”

“Obviously with the changeovers and all of the positive things going on with the Kodiaks, assuming that is where things are going and they have a successful season and continue to be there with the passion for the Kodiaks, then it leads reason to believe there is a case for something to happen in the north.”

McLaren confirmed his initial meeting with Ameer-Beg earlier this spring as well as a second information sessions slated for July. He cautioned the new group there are many steps that need to occur before a second franchise in PG is given the green light.

“It takes two to three years at least to get all of your ducks in a row to get a team on the field. But I think, a lot of it, if it ever got to a point where it got beyond past initial discussion, we will look at how is the community supporting the Kodiaks and if the answer is resoundingly well then there is the potential for something else to happen.”

Prince George Kodiaks president Nicolas Fricke did say the team is awaiting feedback from the league on the matter before speaking publicly.