They’re in the playoffs for the first time this decade and will host a divisional post-season clash for the first time in 11 years, but the Edmonton Elks have something more in their sights: a West Division title. All the Canadian Football League (CFL) club needs to do is win one of its final two regular-season games. Its next chance to clinch the division comes Friday at home against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7:30 p.m. MT). Head coach Mark Kilam told reporters Wednesday after practice at Commonwealth Stadium that, giving “a coach answer,” the 12-4 team is “focused on Friday night” and trying not to look ahead to the post-season. “We really are,” Kilam said. “We need to play well at home. It’s a big game with a desperate opponent.” The Blue Bombers (8-8) are battling the Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-8) and Calgary Stampeders (8-9) for third through fifth in the West, with the last-place team eliminated from playoff contention. The second-place B.C. Lions (10-6) are the only threat to the Elks’ hold on first place, with the Vancouver-based team holding the tie-breaker between them. It’s been a quick turnaround for the Elks, who spent the previous five seasons in or near the West Division basement and out of the playoffs. The team hired general manager Ed Hervey and Kilam before the 2025 season and showed progress despite missing the post-season. This year, the Elks are 12-4 heading into Friday’s game against the division-rival Blue Bombers. Elks president and chief executive officer Chris Morris credits the team’s purchase by Larry and Deb Thompson in 2024 with helping spark the reversal of fortunes. The Thompsons bought the Elks from the community-based ownership group that had controlled the club since it was founded in 1949. “When you look at the ownership and look at the investment they’ve made in the team from a dollar standpoint, giving football top priority and saying, ‘We’re going to build, we’re going to give the resources football needs to be successful ... (that) has been a major difference,” Morris, a former Edmonton offensive lineman who rejoined the team as its top executive after the 2024 season, said Wednesday. The turnaround on the field has been matched by an upswing on the business side. The Elks told CTV News Edmonton revenues are up 35 per cent from 2024, while the team ranks third in the CFL in average attendance at about 22,000 spectators per home game. The club also said 96 per cent of fans it surveyed are happy with the game-day experience at Commonwealth. The Elks said they have supported 146 community events and 101 non-profit organizations this year, helping raise more than $90,000. Players have also made 877 public appearances, including visits to the Stollery Children’s Hospital and appearances in support of Santa’s Anonymous. Another community initiative spearheaded by Deb Thompson and the team is the proposed Larry Thompson Centre at Clarke Stadium. The project would pair a 4,088-square-metre community and performance centre with a seasonal air-supported dome over the field next to the stadium and adjoining city recreation centre. The centre would give young athletes year-round access to football, flag football, soccer and rugby, along with free after-school programming for local families. Larry Thompson died last September from complications following surgery. “If you look at inner city Edmonton and where it stands from a socioeconomic standpoint, it’s down right now, and (Deb Thompson) wants to create a facility where kids can come, have after-school care where it’s free for them, parents have access to supports, call it the Larry Thompson Centre, and have a lasting legacy that helps buoy the Commonwealth neighbourhood for years to come,” Morris told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday. The Elks said the city has committed the land needed for the centre and applications are underway for provincial and federal funding. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Noah Rishaug and Nicole Lampa
