REGINA — It was something bold, something new and it would be hard to argue anything other than CFL Week was a huge success.

Engaging fans and media with the football league’s stars of today and tomorrow, CFL Week wound up on Sunday with over-the-top momentum that will ensure the event returns in 2018.

“There’s zero question we will be doing this again next year,” said Christina Litz, the CFL’s senior VP of marketing and content. “We’re feeling good about how the week went against the objectives we set. We want to take a critical look at everything and figure out how we can make it better. Most importantly, are we providing value to our fans with this?”

Getting sponsors/partners to buy into the CFL Week couldn’t have been easy. When trying to sell it, there was nothing to point to as evidence of what the week would become. What happened this past week in Regina will provide that proof.

“Mark’s is over the moon, a lot of the partners are just really excited about this and where it can go,” said Owen Welsh, the CFL’s director of corporate partnerships “It’s going to be a lot easier now that we have results, mostly just capturing the excitement through the week.”

The CFL has become a league that’s not afraid to throw something at the wall and see if it sticks. The league is constantly looking at ways to engage not only its hardcore fans, but those with a more casual interest.

“It goes back to a recogntion of how people are consuming sports right now and being reactive to it,” said Litz. “The lucky thing about working in a league like ours is, on one hand we’re small, but that also allows us to be faster, be innovative and get buy-in and support from our owners and board. This week is an example of that. In other leagues, I think something like this would be a much more difficult proposition to do.

“I have a digital background and I sort of think of it in that way. You have to get things out there, you have to try things. I love the term, “fail-fast.” You get out there and figure out what works and not get into this analysis, paralysis on a whole bunch of things. I believe our league has been really supportive of that kind of approach — progress not perfection. We’ve moving at a fast pace right now and it keeps it exciting. We often say in the office that the CFL has been social long before social was cool. It’s part of the league’s DNA.”

One relationship the CFL has built is with DraftKings, a fantasy sports company. Weekly CFL fantasy contests help engage a huge and growing market where fans can build their own lineups and score points based on players’ individual stats.

“We’re looking to find that next generation of fans, engage the casual fans we see coming to the CFL in droves around playoffs and Grey Cup,” said Litz. “When we were looking at what we needed to do tactically, one area we believed we underindexed a bit was in the area of fantasy sports.

“The year before Draft Kings, we built and launched our own Pick’Em fantasy game which is a way for casual fans to get involved on a weekly basis without requiring a whole bunch of knowledge of the league. DraftKings provided a deeper experience for fans.”

The partnership with DraftKings has resulted in attracting increeased interest from football fans south of the border.

“The appetite for football in the U.S. is almost insatiable,” said Litz. “Football fans in the U.S. want to be engaging with football beyond the NFL schedule. DraftKings saw an opportunity with that. Our schedule is somewhat complementary to the NFL season so we’re seeing a lot of pickup from the U.S. fans.”

Having CFL games available on TV in the U.S. is also a big plus.

“We’ve had a great relationship with ESPN in bringing our games to Americans,” said Litz. “We see it as opportunity. Our focus right now from a strategy point of view is still growing the Canadian fanbase on all fronts. The good news is because of social media, because of digital, because of content, because of ESPN’s involvement, because of Draft Kings’ involvement with our league, it’s becoming a bigger and bigger opportunity for us which we’d be foolish not to pay attention to.”

TICATS QB GETTING ANTSY FOR GAME AGAINST EX-ROOMIE

The past two seasons, Hamilton Tiger-Cats QB Zach Collaros hasn’t been healthy enough to play against the Ottawa Redblacks in one meaningful game after another.

He wants the opportunity to face Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris, his former teammate and housemate.

“I think about it every day,” he said during a player availability at CFL Week where he got to hang out a bit with guys such as Ricky Ray, Jon Jennings, Drew Willy, Matt Nichols and Harris … and talk football. “I’m excited about this season. I have a lot more to prove. As a competitor, that’s the kind of attitude you need to have. It’s what’s been instilled in me since childhood, never take the opportunities you’ve been given for granted.

“I watch film every day and trying to pick up things. I’ve been watching the NFL a lot lately, watching in particular Drew Brees and Tom Brady and trying to pick up things from them.”