CFL in the Maritimes

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Hali87

This quote was interesting (from the T&T article)

This has been the most recent trend in Europe in regards to Association Football Clubs, as well. Community owned ventures rather than privately owned operations. It works a lot better in smaller, more rural areas that may not have the corporate support to carry clubs.

Of course, one thing that Europe does have is a system where if the club cannot function at a certain level they are dropped down the system until they can find a level where they can play, something which the CFL, and North America at large, does not offer.

[q12]

Originally Posted by someone123

Anybody surprised that the T&T decided not to acknowledge the recent negative comments by the Laval prof, and instead chose to report yet again on a Conference Board of Canada article (err, "study") from 2011?

I think the biggest challenge to funding a stadium in Moncton may be that they've already blown their cash on whatever is generating that reality-distortion field.

This article was under topic: "Somewhat Positive"

Translation after reality-distortion field:

This is the best bullshit we could put together to make it sound like Moncton still has a chance of getting a CFL team instead of Halifax in the next 100 years.

[David_99]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I'd like Moncton to get a team, but you're glazing over what is an obvious red flag. Touchdown Atlantic is 1 game in the entire season; that's a big deal. Not being able to sell out that lone game all year in a stadium as small as Moncton's is a sign that Moncton is NOT there yet.

Was it not also priced as a 1 time Event though? Maybe someone can remember the numbers but I seem to remember tickets being 2-3 times as expensive as a regular game and people considered it a cash grab for a regular season game and stayed away.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Hali87

I really, really doubt that would be better. How many days of a year do you think that a 10,000+ seat track-and-field stadium would be used? More specifically, I mean the seats, not the track itself.

The Moncton Stadium is a quality facility - if you consider the track and the inner field. The track surface is a top of the line Mondo track, identical to the one in the bird's nest stadium in Beijing. The athletes love it and this is one of the reasons why the facility is booked with events on the regular track circuit, as well as the Canadian Track & Field Championships for the next two years.

The city went overboard on the track, but was rather parsimonious on the stands. In the long run this might have been a mistake. It makes any retrofit to a football stadium more expensive. In the end, as I have said, it might be almost as economical to build fresh in a new location with more flexibility for stadium design and for parking.

Of course, this would put Moncton back at square one just like Halifax. Nobody would suggest building a football specific stadium without a firm commitment for a franchise.....

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The city went overboard on the track, but was rather parsimonious on the stands. In the long run this might have been a mistake. It makes any retrofit to a football stadium more expensive. In the end, as I have said, it might be almost as economical to build fresh in a new location with more flexibility for stadium design and for parking.

Of course, this would put Moncton back at square one just like Halifax. Nobody would suggest building a football specific stadium without a firm commitment for a franchise.....

I believe there is zero chance of this happening.

What about funds for the apparent downtown events centre? Those funds aren't there either.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

I believe there is zero chance of this happening.

What about funds for the apparent downtown events centre? Those funds aren't there either.

Nobody has ever said it would be easy or cheap to accomplish this goal.

It will require broad based community ownership, or a combination of corporate and community interests to see this done. There might be some governmental involvement, but I doubt that there would be much of this.

If a choice had to be made, I would prefer if the government backed the events centre instead. On the whole, this is the more important project for the city as it would be a linchpin in the revitalization of the downtown core. A CFL franchise is more of a pipe dream, but as long as Mark Cohon keeps us on his dance card, I think we should be game to carry on waltzing with him.

I think the city has been handling this well BTW. At the very least, it helps build the city's profile in the country. This is a good thing as NB is far too anonymous in Canada......

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

I believe there is zero chance of this happening.

What about funds for the apparent downtown events centre? Those funds aren't there either.

Considering a CFL team would probably be 5-10+ years away no matter what, a lot can change in that time.

While it is important to recognize that as things stand right now, building a new stadium would be virtually impossible, it is also important to keep the idea in the collective conscience. All it takes is the right person in the right place to turn the impossible into the possible; something Moncton especially knows very well ( /mourn Ian Fowler )

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Considering a CFL team would probably be 5-10+ years away no matter what, a lot can change in that time.

While it is important to recognize that as things stand right now, building a new stadium would be virtually impossible, it is also important to keep the idea in the collective conscience. All it takes is the right person in the right place to turn the impossible into the possible; something Moncton especially knows very well ( /mourn Ian Fowler )

Absolutely.

That was another point I was going to make, but forgot to include in my post. A Maritime CFL team is at least 10, if not 15 years away. A lot can happen in the meantime.

Also, I appreciate your comments about Ian Fowler - a true visionary.

[JasonL-Moncton]

Confirmed...Montreal and Hamilton...Moncton, Septemer 21st

http://m.cfl.ca/article/mark-your-ca...dule-announced

"The CFL returns to Atlantic Canada on Saturday, September 21 for NAPA Touchdown Atlantic, featuring the Montreal Alouettes “hosted” by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Moncton, New Brunswick."

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by JasonL-Moncton

Confirmed...Montreal and Hamilton...Moncton, Septemer 21st

http://m.cfl.ca/article/mark-your-ca...dule-announced

"The CFL returns to Atlantic Canada on Saturday, September 21 for NAPA Touchdown Atlantic, featuring the Montreal Alouettes “hosted” by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Moncton, New Brunswick."

Good news!!!



I see that it is the NAPA Touchdown Atlantic now, and not the ScotiaBank Touchdown Atlantic......

I presume some Haligonians must have expressed outrage to ScotiaBank regarding their traitorous support for a CFL event in New Brunswick. Perhaps they threatened a boycott.

[MonctonRad]

Actually, it's going to be a tremendous year for football in Moncton this year.

First, the Football Canada Cup (the national under 18 championship) at Rocky Stone Field in July, then Touchdown Atlantic #3 at the Moncton Stadium in September.....

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by JasonL-Moncton

Confirmed...Montreal and Hamilton...Moncton, Septemer 21st

http://m.cfl.ca/article/mark-your-ca...dule-announced

"The CFL returns to Atlantic Canada on Saturday, September 21 for NAPA Touchdown Atlantic, featuring the Montreal Alouettes “hosted” by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Moncton, New Brunswick."

Great news! Now the NHL knows what date/weekend to schedule an exhibition game in Halifax.

[q12]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

A Maritime CFL team is at least 10, if not 15 years away. A lot can happen in the meantime.

Halifax and Moncton both share the same problem. Their indoor arenas are aging with the Metro Centre being 35 years old and the Moncton Coliseum being 40 years old. The Mooseheads will probably break an attendance record this year and they are already talking about expanding and upgrading the Metro Centre after the new convention centre is complete. Surprisingly the wildcats aren't bursting out of the Coliseum despite having a very strong team like Halifax this year.

Currently neither city has anything close to a CFL ready stadium. It is more likely that Halifax will eventually build an outdoor stadium suitable to be easily expanded for a CFL franchise. Halifax will have widened the population gap between the two cities even further in the coming years.

Moncton should be happy with the CFL games they have hosted and not feel cheated if a CFL team does land in Halifax one day. However the reality-distortion field will likely continue to feed the ridiculous idea that Moncton could support a CFL team in the foreseeable future.

[MonctonRad]

CBC article related to the above announcement:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...ncton-150.html

CFL adds Moncton to 2013 season schedule

Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats will play on Sept. 21
CBC News Posted: Mar 5, 2013 2:12 PM AT Last Updated: Mar 5, 2013 2:55 PM AT

The Canadian Football League is returning to Moncton this fall to play its third regular season game in its Touchdown Atlantic series.

The Moncton event will be a designated as a home game for the Montreal Alouettes, who will be taking on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The game will be held at the University of Moncton’s stadium.

Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc said the football game will bring about $6 million into the local economy.

"It'll be a Saturday game, so that will be a lot of fun. I think it will be a tremendous match, a tremendous weekend and it's going to be a heck of a lot of fun," he said.

The mayor would not say what the city offered the CFL in order to host the game in Moncton.

The CFL season will kick off on June 20. The 101st Grey Cup Championship will be held in Regina on Nov. 24.

"This is going to be an incredibly exciting time for the CFL, as we build on the momentum of the celebration of the 100th Grey Cup in 2012, by launching the next 100 years of great Canadian football," CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said in a statement.

Moncton sold out its first game in 2010 and sold 97 per cent of the roughly 20,000 tickets for its second event in 2011.

The CFL did not send two teams to Atlantic Canada in 2012 as the league was celebrating the 100th Grey Cup.

Mark Cohon said in Regina last week the league was still interested in expanding into Eastern Canada.

He specifically mentioned Moncton, Halifax and Quebec City as potential destinations.

But Cohon said each of the cities would need to build a new stadium or in Moncton’s case upgrade its facility to CFL standards.

The CFL commissioner said it could take $100 million worth of changes to meet the league’s standards.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I presume some Haligonians must have expressed outrage to ScotiaBank regarding their traitorous support for a CFL event in New Brunswick. Perhaps they threatened a boycott.

I don't think that would have mattered, even if it had been the case. Scotiabank has been headquartered in Ontario since ~WW1.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The mayor would not say what the city offered the CFL in order to host the game in Moncton.

If this had been Halifax, there would already be people demanding the Mayor's resignation. Not necessarily for working out a deal with the CFL, but for refusing to disclose the offer. It's not like this is a bidding process or something; other than public favour, what does Mayor LeBlanc have to lose from being upfront about spending municipal tax dollars on a football game?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Hali87

I don't think that would have mattered, even if it had been the case. Scotiabank has been headquartered in Ontario since ~WW1.

I was joking....

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The Moncton Stadium is a quality facility - if you consider the track and the inner field. The track surface is a top of the line Mondo track, identical to the one in the bird's nest stadium in Beijing. The athletes love it and this is one of the reasons why the facility is booked with events on the regular track circuit, as well as the Canadian Track & Field Championships for the next two years.

I didn't realize this. It's great that the region is getting more national-calibre athletic facilities and events. I don't know though, I think ultimately its not good for short-term CFL aspirations. Was a CFL team a goal when the stadium was conceived?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Hali87

Was a CFL team a goal when the stadium was conceived?

No, I don't believe so. It was built specifically for the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was located at UdeM so that it could have a second life as a university sports facility. Even there, it's main focus is track & field ( and perhaps soccer). UdeM does not have a football program.

I am not sure whose idea it was to pursue this football ambition in the first place, but I suspect Ian Fowler had something to do with it. It is a city facility and he was a notable entrepreneur and a go-getter. I don't know if he contacted the CFL or vice versa, but he was definitely involved.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by Hali87

If this had been Halifax, there would already be people demanding the Mayor's resignation. Not necessarily for working out a deal with the CFL, but for refusing to disclose the offer. It's not like this is a bidding process or something; other than public favour, what does Mayor LeBlanc have to lose from being upfront about spending municipal tax dollars on a football game?

I don't think Mayor LeBlanc has anything to lose. The local media will spin this as Moncton being very nationally significant for hosting, again, the CFL.

The public won't care how much money is being spent, I suspect. Enjoying the municipal esteem boost is more important.