Victoria Football Team Sacked By Downtown Hotel

VICTORIA - For the Victoria Rebels, success on the field starts at Spring Camp. The team lures more than a hundred prospects from across the country to town, looking for that diamond in the rough to take the team over the top.
But when Defensive Lineman Brett Waine arrived from Edmonton Tuesday night and tried to check into the Traveller's Inn at 1850 Douglas, he was told the team's 25-room reservation didn't exist, and the hotel was closing its doors.

The team's Management, who made the reservation in January and put down $3000 couldn't believe what they were hearing the day before camp. "We phoned the hotel and got no answer, and faxed the room list and got no answer, so we went down there and found a bailiff behind the front counter" says Team President Roger Wade.

And they also found notices on the door, detailing a writ of seizure and sale from the Canada Revenue Agency. The property is among eight Traveller's Inns which went into bankruptcy last year, owned by Victoria's John Asfar.

But like they coach their players to do when they're trailing in the 4th quarter, Rebels' Management didn't quit. With 110 young football players and their families to house in 24 hours, Wade got on the phone and found his team's saviour. "Howard Johnson Inn and Suites on Elk Lake Road near Commonwealth Pool is going to step up to the plate and help us out in a big way" says Wade.

Howard Johnson has offered up 22-rooms through Sunday night for the $4000 the team had left to pay Traveller's Inn. That's less than $25/room, a fraction of the regular price, and a loss for Howard Johnson. "What goes around comes around and a big piece of our business is sports tourism" says Hotel Manager Dan Brady.

The team has been advised by the CRA that its $3000 deposit is unlikely to be returned, a big deal for a junior football club on a tight budget. But come Thursday night next year's potential talent will storm the practice field, and later, when it's time to hit the sack, they'll have all they need...somewhere to rest their aching bodies.

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