With Ottawa city council last week voting in favour of the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park, football fans in the Nation’s Capital can once again begin preparing for their own CFL franchise. 

With the ninth CFL team slated to join the league as early as 2014, football fans across the country will have plenty to time to rehash Ottawa Rough Riders and Renegades memories.

That includes current Calgary Stampeders players Justin Phillips and Obby Khan, who are both Ottawa natives. Khan, in fact, started his career with the Renegades and Phillips was in the stands to watch.

 “When I just started getting into football is when the Renegades started up,” said Phillips. “I remember seeing Dan Crowley as the quarterback and then, later on, Kerry Joseph.”

Phillips remembers the excitement Ottawa had for its professional football team.

“The atmosphere at the games was a lot of fun as a kid growing up,” he said. “Playing football, it was great to go and watch the professionals.”

Phillips sees no reason why an Ottawa franchise won’t be a success.

“I don’t know what was going on or what there downfall was in years past,” he noted, “but it seems this time they have a solid ownership group, something I know from playing here (in Calgary) is very important.”

Phillips remembers little of the Rough Riders franchise that once reigned supreme in Ottawa, but he has been tutored about their importance to the city.

“My parents told me they used to go to the games with my uncles,” he said. “There always was a rivalry between each side of the stands, seeing who could be louder.”

Khan distinctly recalls the original Ottawa CFL franchise.

“I remember the Rough Riders well,” he said. “I was at the last Rough Riders game — to grow up in that town and then go back and play for the Renegades was very special.”

Khan sees this latest Ottawa franchise as very different from the previous edition.

“With the right ownership and management,” he suggested, “there’s no reason it won’t work. That city absolutely loves football. The fans are very passionate throughout Ottawa and the region with Gatineau, into Hull. Football will be great for the region.”

Khan expects this ownership group to learn from the previous owners’ mistakes. That, along with the rising popularity of the league, should help make this team a success.

“Last time, it was marketed strictly to Ottawa, not to Francophones, which is a huge part of Ottawa and the region,” noted Khan. “That along with the way the CFL has blown up, I think it will be amazing.

“The location of that stadium is the greatest location for a stadium in the CFL. The plans they have for the new stadium will be a gem.”