Toronto Elks

The Toronto Elks are a Canadian professional American football team based in,. The Elks compete in the (NFL) as a member club of the  (NFC). The team plays its home games at RBC Stadium in Toronto. The team is headquartered at the Athletic Center in Toronto's  district.

Founded alongside the Vancouver Warriors in 1990 as part of the NFL's expansion into, the Elks have competed in NFC East since their beginning. Since the, the Elks have been the only Canadian-based team in the league, as the Warriors relocated from to  and became the Sacramento Warriors. The franchise is currently owned by David Jongejans, who bought the team from majority owners in 2010; this makes it the only major league team in Toronto to not be owned by.

As with most expansion teams, the Elks struggled in their early years, mainly due to competition from the more established 's and, but the team's fortunes began to improve with the formation of the Raging Elks defense in 1994, and the acquisition of quarterback Abraham Hooper in the  led to the Elks setting numerous league-attendance and winning records. The Elks have the fourth-highest regular season and combined winning percentage among NFL franchises who have not won a. The Elks have long been considered a launching pad for CFL and players' transitions into American football and the NFL.

Toronto NFL Partners (1990–2001)
The Toronto Elks was founded on March 1, 1988, when Toronto NFL Partners, a consortium led by, was awarded one of two Canadian franchises for the National Football League, the other being a franchise that went to Richard Melbourne's Melbourne Sports Group. Both teams participated in the special 1990 NFL Canada draft, with the Elks hiring legendary Auvray Wolves coach Tom Rowberry as their head coach.

The Elks played their first preseason game in August 1990 against the at  in. The game was originally set to be played at the SkyDome (now the ), which would become the Elks' home venue, but it was moved to Exhibition Stadium due to scheduling conflicts with a indoor exhibition race.

The Elks played their first regular season game on September 9, 1990 at the SkyDome against the Columbus Stallions. They surprised the Stallions, winning 3–2 with a 30-yard touchdown pass from little-known wide receiver Ben Matossian.

Corus majority-ownership era (2002–2008)
On March 10, 2002, the Elks announced broadcasting company had entered in an agreement to acquire the Elks for CAN$1.32 billion, with the  acting as a financier and minority-owner. The NFL approved the bid on April 3, 2002.

David Jongejans era (2010–present)
Immediately following the firing of Marlowe on November 6, 2009, Corus Entertainment CEO Doug Murphy announced that the team would be sold to shortline railroad mogul David Jongejans. Jongejans' assumption of ownership was approved a couple of weeks later by the NFL team owners, and Jongejans took over full ownership on January 4, 2010.

Pier Berrien years (2010–2014)
On January 10, former player and longtime CFL and NFL offensive coordinator Pier Berrien was named head coach of the Elks.

The Elks started off their 2009 preseason with an exhibition game against the in  at the. Branded as NFL à Montréal, the Elks won the matchup 12–10 in front of a capacity crowd.

Winston Allard years (2018–2021)
At the start of the, the team moved into RBC Stadium, their new home venue.

Due to travel restrictions imposed by the Canadian government in response to the, the Elks were unable to host games in Toronto and played their home games for the at the  in.

On September 6, 2021, the Canadian government allowed the Elks to return to RBC Stadium for the first time since December 2019, requiring spectators to show a proof of COVID-19 vaccination to attend.

Facilities
For the first decade of their existence, the Elks played at the in, which they shared for much of their time there with 's  and the 's.

In 2016, construction commenced on the Elks' own stadium, then named Ontario Stadium, in Toronto's neighbourhood. The Elks played most of their home games from 2016 to 2018 at either in Toronto or  in, returning to Rogers Centre whenever a larger capacity and/or more favorable playing conditions for home games were needed. RBC Stadium opened in July 2019, with the team moving in in time for the. The new station, like the Rogers Centre, has a retractable roof. Large panes of glass allow natural grass to grow, augmented with heat lamp structures wheeled out across the field during the off-season.

During the, the team played their home games at the Carrier Dome (now the ) in due to travel restrictions imposed by the Canadian government in response to the.