Quote:
|
So let's suspend our disbelief for a moment and assume that MLSE gets the Bills before 2020. Where are they going to play given that by then there will be a natural grass baseball playing surface in the Rogers Centre that cannot be sullied by the presence of football players? Or is the NFL exempt from that policy?
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
That said it is unfair to characterize The Architect in this way as he is far from a wannabe American and is actually a strong supporter of the CFL. Wannabe Americans exist all over Canada, not just in Toronto. |
Quote:
But they can dream on, because if Jim Kelly can raise the cash there's no way he won't be awarded the team. But if it goes to auction it could be awarded to the highest bidder but I can't see the Toronto group being a popular choice in this "fight" |
According to one of the articles posted there's already plans for a 2nd stadium with private money. Not to mention there are plans for a 2nd stadium regardless due to the potential 2024 Olympic bid.
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
If it were a matter of just acquiring a franchise, then I think Toronto would be in a great position to get a NFL team. But the cost of a new NFL stadium is absolutely backbreaking... when you consider the cost of new NFL stadiums and higher construction costs in Canada, I can't see a facility getting built for under $1 billion, minimum.
US cities are getting new stadiums mainly because the municipal/state governments are giving in to the usual pro sports extortion of "build us a stadium or we'll move". However, governments in Canada are a lot less inclined to subsidize that sort of thing... a subsidy for a NFL stadium be a non-starter for the feds, and it's doubtful that the political will is there for the province and city to subsidize it. So MLSE is pretty much on its own when it comes to paying for a stadium (apart from indirect subsidies like maybe transit or road improvements). Would the NFL in Toronto be lucrative enough to prompt a billion-dollar plus stadium construction project? |
Quote:
|
Quote:
In any case , with the CFL on a fairly decent assent in popularity again, it could make the whole situation interesting. I know of a fair number of people who have dropped Rogers over the last while... If a permanent plan comes forward that really does treaten the CFL, there could be a bit of a backlash (stronger in some parts of the country than others of course). If everything went as planned and Toronto got an NFL team, it would be 2020 at the very earliest, which is a lot of time for change to occur (there'd be another CFL media contract before then, and this next one already basically tripled from the previous). Kind of odd timing for the announcement though, no? Grey Cup Weekend? Really? |
Think of those groups like Bread not Circuses who protested funding for an Olympic bid and how much grief they caused. Multiply that by ten to get the amount of special interest groups that would get behind this to protest funding a stadium for the biggest sports and money making business in the world.
It would be political suicide for the Federal government to give any money to something that would benefit the NFL. Not just patriotic or CFL reasons, but the fact that such a profitable business should be able to fund this thing themselves. Edit: just read the above post and funny we both used the term political suicide, because that is exactly what it would be, on many levels. Would Quebec then want money to bring back the Expos? |
Quote:
|
^ It isn't necessarily political suicide to build a publicly-funded pro sports stadium. Investors Group Field is essentially that... the province fronted almost all of the money in the form of a loan that will be paid back over decades.
That said, it is more politically expedient to justify the expense for a beloved century-old community-owned public institution that had a decrepit home, as compared to building one for a new MLSE business venture that wants something more profitable than the 25-year old facility that only recently lost its new stadium smell. |
Quote:
Personally, it doesn't bother me if the NFL comes to Toronto. But why Rogers and MLSE have to go out of their way to spite the Argos and the CFL is beyond me... the Argos are no threat whatsoever to their ambitions and could easily co-exist with a NFL team. Yet for some reason that isn't good enough for them. For that reason, I will not spend another dime on anything owned by Rogers or MLSE if I can help it. |
Quote:
|
Calling fans of the game for wanting to be a part of the uppermost league out there wannabe Americans is as dumb patroitism as buying only made in Canada. I don't like football and couldn't care less if all leagues disappeared.
|
Quote:
In the absence of a major international event that needs a big stadium, then public funds will be impossible to get. Just look at how impossible it is to get federal funds for NHL arenas, and that's the national sport and by far the most popular one in the country. Plus NHL arenas are used for other events like concerts, and sports other than NHL hockey. What other events held on an annual basis in Toronto require a 75,000 seat outdoor stadium venue? In many U.S. cities the NFL stadiums are used by college teams and other sports, but we don't have as big a spectator sports culture in Canada so an NFL-sized stadium in Toronto would almost certainly sit empty for 355 days a year. |
Quote:
|
All times are GMT. The time now is 3:31 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.