Here is a sampling of some of the questions and answers that emerged out of the Stampeders Fan Forum at the Red and White Club on Mar. 14. The session pulled together Stampeders officials, including head coach/general manager John Hufnagel and president/COO Lyle Bauer, and 200 Stamps fans and featured a general information session in addition to the Q&A.

Q: How are you going to beat the Riders in the playoffs this year?

Coach Huff: First, to host the Western final at McMahon Stadium and have nothing but red in the stands. That’s No. 1. No. 2 is to score one more point than they do. No. 3 is when there’s a loose ball in the end-zone and there’s five red jerseys and only one green jersey, make sure a red jersey falls on the ball.

Q: What’s the status of returning Ottawa to the CFL?

Lyle Bauer: Actually, Ottawa is moving along quite nicely. They are in the process right now of getting the final approval for a new stadium on the 40 acres that they have for development there. You may know that the canal side (of the existing stadium) has been torn down and they’re putting a stadium of approximately 25,000 seats as well as condo and retail developments around the stadium in probably one of the most beautiful parts of Ottawa. They’ve been granted the conditional franchise. They’ve paid their money, which is a very good thing, and they hope to be playing in 2013 if everything falls into place in terms of construction.

Q: What is the status of Jesse Lumsden?

Coach Huff: At this time, it’s all hearsay because I have not personally seen Jesse but the conversation that his therapist is having with our athletic therapist, Pat Clayton, is that things are going well. Right now, the forecast is sometime around September, he may be ready to play. Obviously, he won’t be here in training camp as far as an active participant. I believe Jesse is coming into town by the end of the month and we’ll visit and we’ll see what future he may have with football. I know he wants to play and I’d like him to play for the Stampeders.

Q: With the NFL lockout, has the CFL looked at expanding the agreement with the NFL Network and the U.S. networks to get more exposure?

Lyle Bauer: We did broadcast, I think it was 20 or 25 games, on the NFL Network last year. It’s not a big money-maker for the CFL but we will be increasing the number of games in the U.S. which is very good for our brand and also recruitment.

Q: Has the Stamps’ Store looked into getting into the 21st century by spreading our brand, which as far as I’m concerned is the greatest brand in the country, and going on-line?

Lyle Bauer: We’ve been working (very hard) to get an on-line store and I believe we are getting ready to launch on May 1. That was a bone of contention with fans and we’ve been working very, very hard to get that done.

Q: Do you anticipate playing Drew Tate more this season?

Coach Huff: I don’t plan on using Drew Tate more often. I plan on using him as a short-yardage quarterback, assuming he’s the best one to do it, which I believe he is. As far as putting him in there when the game is still on the line? No, I’m putting in my best quarterback and right now my best quarterback is Henry Burris.

Q: With the increased interest in Atlantic Canada and the Touchdown Atlantic program, what are the odds of putting a CFL team there?

Lyle Bauer: Atlantic Canada has been a market that has been looked at for many years, going back to the Atlantic Schooners (a proposed franchise in the 1980s that never materialized). What they’ve done now is that they’ve had one successful game and now the province has put up the money to make the temporary stands permanent, which really helps. It brings the attendance up to about 20,000. You may see an agreement which would have or maybe three games out there, like if Ivor Wynne Stadium (upgrading is not completed in time for the CFL season) and the Ticats might have to play a few home games in New Brunswick. The other piece of the puzzle is always ownership. There may be an opportunity to put together a community franchise or perhaps something similar to what we have here with some great community leaders joining in a partnership.