It appears the Canadian Football League will not be returning to Ottawa anytime soon.

Discussions between the league and a group led by former player Bill Palmer about returning professional football to the nation's capital for the 2008 season have ended, the CFL announced Tuesday.

Ottawa's Frank Clair Stadium hasn't hosted a CFL team since the Renegades franchise folded last summer.
(Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

"Several parties have recently expressed strong interest regarding a franchise for Ottawa, and we have decided to concentrate our efforts on these new opportunities," commissioner Mark Cohon said in the statement.

"The CFL remains committed to the City of Ottawa, and we remain determined to return a franchise to the nation's capital only at a time and under circumstances that will ensure strength and stability in the long run".

Negotiations between the league and Palmer's group — one of three consortiums to express interest in an Ottawa franchise — had been ongoing for the past several months.

Palmer confirmed last month that his group had reached an agreement in principle with the CFL, contingent on a deal with the City of Ottawa regarding Frank Clair Stadium.

But the group's efforts to complete a deal with the league fell apart largely because the sides couldn't make the economics of operating a franchise work.

Palmer's group is expected to officially withdraw this week.

Palmer would revive Rough Riders: report

The CFL has sought to return a team to Ottawa since last summer, roughly three months after the Renegades franchise — operated by former Rough Riders owners Bernie and Lonie Glieberman — folded after a four-year run.

In October, a group that included Ottawa 67's owner Jeff Hunt withdrew its name from consideration. Frank D'Angelo, president and CEO of Steelback Brewery, has also expressed interest in bringing a team back to the city, but never got very far in the negotiating process.

That left the league trying to hammer out a deal with Palmer and his U.S.-based partners.

Though he played for the Rough Riders, Palmer is perhaps more famous for being the father of quarterback/reality television star Jesse Palmer, who has played in the NFL and CFL, and appeared on the U.S. show The Bachelor in 2004.

Bill Palmer had reached an exclusive agreement with former Rough Riders owner Horn Chen to revive the name, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

With files from the Canadian Press