Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

better game played by inferior talent

Not a particularly good generalization.

Adam has climbed a lot of big hills – Interview with LB Adam Bighill
Tyler Raymon whodatdish.com September 6 2017

Tyler: What would you say personally is the biggest difference between the NFL and the CFL?

Adam: The NFL game is more physical. However coming from the CFL, the NFL Game to me is slower. I can play extremely fast since my eyes and reactions have been trained to see more and quicker in the CFL.

Tyler: How have you been preparing physically during the off-season?

Adam: I played in the CFL anywhere from 222-230. I have made sure that I’m 235-240 down here. I’ve done that over 6 months, so my speed, conditioning, and explosiveness is all still on point.

Tyler: The Saints are always looking for players with dynamic abilities or something special about them. What do you consider your greatest strengths in regards to playing the linebacker position?

Adam: My football IQ, and my explosiveness. I’m able to diagnose quickly, then use my speed to get there fast. My Explosiveness allows me to take on and shed offensive linemen, as well as close in on and cover TEs or RBs.

Tyler: How have you grown as an athlete from the seasons of experience playing in the CFL?

Also, with the field being wider, there’s more space to cover. You have to really excel as an athlete to cover man to man up there, as well as just running sideline to sideline to make plays.

Tyler: Who do you think will be the next big CFL star to come to the NFL?

Adam: That’s a good question. There are plenty of great players up there that somehow slid through the cracks.

[jonny24]

London does well supporting the Knights, and the Lightning too I'm pretty sure. And Western is reasonably popular, so I think if the city got on board like they do with their other sports it could work.

Their rock station is quite NFL-heavy, don't know if that's representative of tastes there or if that's standard in non-CFL cities (my other station is Hamilton so obviously lots of CFL talk there). At the very least it doesn't seem like you'd be taking too much from the Ticats although I'm sure there are people who do make the trip.

KW based on size perhaps, and support for the Rangers. But they are closer to Hamilton and increasingly integrated with Toronto, so I don't know.

Here I am daydreaming of a 4-way Southern Ontario Rivalry....

[elly63]

Hey out there, what's your model for a new Halifax stadium?

Realistically speaking the cost should be less than 150 million, seat no more than 24,000 (seats no benches) and be built to withstand a colder climate. So that means no southern climate examples that aren't winterized. And please Osmo none of your usual ridiculous trolling about cheap Canada construction posts. It's not true and lame when you constantly post it.

Maybe we should be looking at northern climate MLS examples. They're small, and relatively inexpensive.

I'll start the ball rolling how's aboot Toyota Park Chicago

Having said that, CFL teams require more seats between the goal lines and obviously less in the less desirable end zones which should be the gathering areas for the party zones. The University of Akron Stadium had a lot of backers previously.

These two probably aren't the best of ideas but they came to mind quickly and I want to see if any good examples come out of this.

I'm sure there will be some Eastern European examples but they might not be so easy to compare as we don't know many variables such as the costs of materials and labour.

[esquire]

Tim Hortons Field is the model for Halifax, IMO. A modest but still full-featured pro-calibre stadium. Easily expandable on a temporary basis for major events, or even permanently if the need ever arises.

NCAA stadiums are a different animal, the smaller venues tend to be very basic in terms of their offerings and are not really suited to modern day pro football. FAU's stadium is an example of a 30,000 seat stadium built on the cheap ($70 million, I think built in 2011) but there isn't much to it.

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

what about Victoria?

The islands population is 750K 90% of them within a 2 hour drive to Victoria which has a metro of 350K alone. why wouldn't it work in Victoria?

Demographics

A large (growing) seniors population who are not football fans.

A large 25-55 population that are unlikely to want watch CFL over kayaking or hiking in the evenings or on a weekend.

Seattle Seahawks

Vis a vis, I just do not see the demand there.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Demographics

A large (growing) seniors population who are not football fans.

A large 25-55 population that are unlikely to want watch CFL over kayaking or hiking in the evenings or on a weekend.

Seattle Seahawks

Vis a vis, I just do not see the demand there.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

I don't think there is a ton of room to grow football in western Canada. Maybe some day once Saskatoon or a BC interior city gets big enough, but neither of those scenarios are really on the immediate horizon.

[Oilkountry]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Demographics

A large (growing) seniors population who are not football fans.

A large 25-55 population that are unlikely to want watch CFL over kayaking or hiking in the evenings or on a weekend.

Seattle Seahawks

Vis a vis, I just do not see the demand there.

ah yes I forgot the rule of thumb that 25-55 year olds don't watch live sports...

Just because their is mountains near by doesn't mean everyone is hiking and kayaking. I'm surprised people in sask have time to watch a football game on a weekend. You know....with all the farming. Has anyone warned these potential owners in Halifax that people like to fish there in their spare time?

I'm not saying it will work but come on...

[MacLac]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

ah yes I forgot the rule of thumb that 25-55 year olds don't watch live sports...

Just because their is mountains near by doesn't mean everyone is hiking and kayaking. I'm surprised people in sask have time to watch a football game on a weekend. You know....with all the farming. Has anyone warned these potential owners in Halifax that people like to fish there in their spare time?

I'm not saying it will work but come on...

No, no, and no. You're both missing the obviouse demographic folly. Dope smokers and blue hairs don't watch live sports...what 90% of the population?

[The S'toon Goon]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

Who else could potentially host a team in the future? Moncton comes to mind but I don't think the CFL would be interested in a second maritime team anytime soon. Also that stadium would need a massive retrofit (by that time start from scratch).

Any place in Ontario with the Population that can handle a CFL team either then Mississauga?

Maybe a Halifax team can open the door for a St. John's team (way) down the road. I don't believe that football is overly on Newfoundland's radar but if the CFL can keep pushing east you never know.

In Ontario I would say London and KWC could maybe happen one day but probably not until the Argos situation is 100% settled. Windsor too perhaps but that might be too firmly in Detroit Lions territory.

As for another team out west I would like the Okanagan's chances over Vancouver island's but that is still likely a longshot. Too bad thunder Bay didn't have a Milwaukee nearby a la green bay to make that an option.

I know people frown upon the States as an option but what if Anchorage Alaska came out with a proposal to join? Extremely hypothetical I know.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by The S'toon Goon

Maybe a Halifax team can open the door for a St. John's team (way) down the road. I don't believe that football is overly on Newfoundland's radar but if the CFL can keep pushing east you never know..

CFL football has zero visibility in St, John's. There is no football culture on the rock.

If there were ever to be a second Atlantic Canadian team, it would be in Moncton. There is a strong football culture in southern NB, very much like in central NS. High school football is probably the strongest interscholastic sport in NB, and we have the Mount Allison Mounties in the CIS. Moncton also held three regular season CFL games over four year, with an average attendance of about 20,000 to each game.

Moncton has only 150,000 people now, but we are growing rapidly and I would like to see the city at 200,000 within 25 years. At that point, CFL might be possible.......

[craner]

Originally Posted by Oilkountry

So Halifax becomes 10

Quebec city 11th

what about Victoria?

My list (with a very long timeframe):
10. Halifax
11. QC
12. Saskatoon
13. London
14. Kelowna
15. Windsor
16. Victoria

[craner]

Originally Posted by elly63

Hey out there, what's your model for a new Halifax stadium?

Realistically speaking the cost should be less than 150 million, seat no more than 24,000 (seats no benches) and be built to withstand a colder climate. So that means no southern climate examples that aren't winterized. And please Osmo none of your usual ridiculous trolling about cheap Canada construction posts. It's not true and lame when you constantly post it.

Maybe we should be looking at northern climate MLS examples. They're small, and relatively inexpensive.

I'll start the ball rolling how's aboot Toyota Park Chicago

Having said that, CFL teams require more seats between the goal lines and obviously less in the less desirable end zones which should be the gathering areas for the party zones. The University of Akron Stadium had a lot of backers previously.

These two probably aren't the best of ideas but they came to mind quickly and I want to see if any good examples come out of this.

I'm sure there will be some Eastern European examples but they might not be so easy to compare as we don't know many variables such as the costs of materials and labour.

Those are two good examples of what I would envision for Halifax - along with THF.

[HomerSPC]

Originally Posted by craner

12. Saskatoon

AKA how to kill the Roughriders in one fell swoop. Motion denied.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

CFL football has zero visibility in St, John's. There is no football culture on the rock.

The demographics would make a team pretty unlikely. There are about as many people within metro Halifax than there are in all of Newfoundland and Labrador, and getting around Newfoundland is a challenge. There are places on the Avalon that take 2 hours to get to from St. John's. It would also be expensive for a St. John's team to travel to other cities or vice versa.

In the same way, the "future" cities people talk about like Victoria, Windsor, or Saskatoon are all very different from the prospect of adding a single new team in Halifax. The new team in Halifax would be the only team of its kind in Atlantic Canada, whereas those others already have regional teams that they would have to compete with. There is probably an argument to be made that the Maritimes are the most underserved sports market in the country, 1.8 million people mostly in a compact area that has nothing but junior sports teams.

[kirjtc2]

There was literally no organized football at *any* level in Newfoundland until just a few years ago.

If the CFL ever grows enough to land a second Atlantic team, it would have to be in Moncton.

[esquire]

Realistically, Halifax and Quebec City are the only cities that could sustain expansion teams with relative ease right now. They need stadiums and they could probably get the ball rolling fairly quickly.

If Southern Ontario became a more CFL-friendly region I could see there being another team in the GTA... let's say somewhere out along the 407.

That's pretty much it. The CFL would cap out at 12 teams until the distant future when places like Kelowna, Moncton and Saskatoon are huge metropolises. Newfoundland, not a chance.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kirjtc2

There was literally no organized football at *any* level in Newfoundland until just a few years ago.

If the CFL ever grows enough to land a second Atlantic team, it would have to be in Moncton.

Which would lead to a Florida Panthers-Tampa Bay Lightning type of geographic overlap, given that the Halifax team is almost certain to be the "Atlantic (Somethings)", likely the Schooners.

[esquire]

^ Unless Moncton somehow steals the first Atlantic Canadian franchise, I think we're at least 50 years away from Moncton becoming the second city in the region with a team.

[FFX-ME]

Originally Posted by esquire

Tim Hortons Field is the model for Halifax, IMO. A modest but still full-featured pro-calibre stadium. Easily expandable on a temporary basis for major events, or even permanently if the need ever arises.

NCAA stadiums are a different animal, the smaller venues tend to be very basic in terms of their offerings and are not really suited to modern day pro football. FAU's stadium is an example of a 30,000 seat stadium built on the cheap ($70 million, I think built in 2011) but there isn't much to it.

Oh God no! Tim Horton's Field is an embarrassment, a stadium built for a different time, and something that simply should never have existed. Halifax deserves better.

They could try to build something like Ottawa's proposed MLS stadium that was stated at costing 100M$, equating to 114M$ today with inflation.

[FFX-ME]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Unless Moncton somehow steals the first Atlantic Canadian franchise, I think we're at least 50 years away from Moncton becoming the second city in the region with a team.

On interesting prospect would be to have a joint atlantic CFL team (i.e. shared between Moncton and Halifax). That would boost the fan base but would however require the construction of 2 new stadiums and reduce the revenue collected at both of them, so it's most likely not economically feasible.