CFL in Halifax to be Atlantic Canada's team
ROBERT WILLIAMS Telegraph-Journal March 12, 2018
Touchdown Atlantic packed thousands of fans into the Moncton Stadium to watch CFL action. With a CFL franchise in Halifax gaining steam, the potential ownership group is calling on all of Atlantic Canada to support the team.
Sitting in his room at the Westin Nova Scotian ahead of his last town hall meeting as new commissioner of the Canadian Football League, Randy Ambrosie said history was staring him in the face.
The hotel, built by the Canadian National Railway in 1928, stands as a symbol in Halifax of the railway that connected the country. Now, it's on Ambrosie's shoulders to hammer the last spike on the CFL.
“Before the railway was totally connected east to west, it had a missing track. You couldn’t call it complete," said Ambrosie. "I think not having a team in the Atlantic region is the same thing. I don’t think we call ourselves complete until we get that tenth team in that very special part of Canada.”
And for a 2021 CFL franchise to work, the team will be relying on more than just Halifax.
It's on all of Atlantic Canada's shoulders, he said.
"There's an authenticity to the people, a warmth and a friendliness that is real. It's quite remarkable, really," said Ambrosie. "You can feel that they want this."
From Edmundston to St. John's, this will be everyone's team, said Anthony LeBlanc, frontman of Maritime Football Ltd., the group trying to bring a CFL team to the East Coast.
To quantify it, the group is still waiting on the exact number from their economic impact study, but LeBlanc said he's expecting a need of about 30-50 per cent support from outside of the Halifax census metropolitan area.
'We have the momentum necessary'
LeBlanc has Maritime roots.
His mother was born in Woodstock, his father just outside Moncton. Although LeBlanc grew up in Thunder Bay, Ont., he started his career working in Fredericton.
He is a former RIM executive, and is best known as the former president, CEO, and alternate governor of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League.
He hopes to become part of the ownership team responsible for bringing a CFL franchise to Halifax.
“We’re coming on nine months now, and we definitely feel we have the momentum necessary to try and get this thing across the goal line,” said LeBlanc from his home in Ottawa.
He is not the first to try. The CFL granted a conditional expansion franchise in 1982 if a 30,000 seat stadium was built in time for the opening day of the 1984 season. The stadium was never built and the team never came.
More than three decades removed from that bid, the same problem exists today.
LeBlanc and founding partners Gary Drummond and Bruce Bowser are working with a number of land developers, but have not yet chosen a stadium location. That will be coming soon.
Working off the successful Ottawa Redblacks model and the 24,000 capacity TD Place Stadium, LeBlanc said 24,000 would be the "sweet spot" for a Halifax stadium.
Both Halifax Mayor Mike Savage and Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil are on the record as saying the stadium has to be private-sector led. LeBlanc said that is the plan moving forward.
Having a CFL franchise as an anchor tenant is critical, said LeBlanc, but he said they also plan on partnering with local universities and high schools, and will also use the facility to hold outdoor concerts.
The team will be putting in a bid to host the Grey Cup, he said.
Atlantic Canada's team
Social media has been abuzz in recent months with possible names for a Halifax expansion team. From the 1984 team name of the Atlantic Schooners to the Halifax Explosions, the name and logo has become a popular conversation for football fans.
"For one, yes, I can confirm the team will not be called the Roughriders," said LeBlanc, with a laugh. The CFL has been host to both the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Ottawa Rough Riders through its 100-plus year history.
"But 100 per cent, the team will be called the Atlantic something."
The reasoning behind that, he said, is the team is meant to represent all of Atlantic Canada. Although his group is called Maritime Football Ltd., he said it was only chosen as Atlantic Football Ltd. had already been taken.
In the past, the Atlantic provinces proved they will show up when the CFL comes to town.
Moncton has played host to three regular season CFL games since 2010. The first year 21,000 people packed Moncton Stadium, with about 20,000 in 2011 and 15,000 in 2013.
Will help grow the sport
For a young kid, there's nothing comparable to the feeling of watching a professional athlete in your own backyard.
They're real, tangible heroes that show if you work hard enough, you too can become a professional athlete.
"There's no question, a CFL team would have a huge impact on football in New Brunswick and registrations for our youth," said Josh Harris, Football New Brunswick executive director. "I think having role models for kids to look up to, and get to have experiences where they meet players and attend games, those experiences will be unbelievable."
That goes for Prince Edward Island as well.
Glen Flood is the executive director with Football PEI, and said if Touchdown Atlantic has taught us anything, it's that there is an interest for the sport in the region.
With the right plan in place for bus trips and hotel stays, he said you can count on the island to support the franchise.
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