2018 CFL Season

[esquire]

^ To that point, I guess now that prospective owners are identified, the franchise is pretty much a formality anyway. The big announcement will be one declaring that a deal on the stadium has been reached and that construction is about to begin.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ To that point, I guess now that prospective owners are identified, the franchise is pretty much a formality anyway. The big announcement will be one declaring that a deal on the stadium has been reached and that construction is about to begin.

How can they say that construction is about to begin if, as MonctonRad said, there hasn't been geological work done, EAs, public engagement, etc.?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

How can they say that construction is about to begin if, as MonctonRad said, there hasn't been geological work done, EAs, public engagement, etc.?

And the Mayor seemingly has no idea any of this is going to media. Sure sounds like the owners are trying to get ahead of the cart.

[esquire]

I'm not getting a good feeling from this. Ambrosie needs to rein these guys in.

Although as to GlassCity and MonctonRad's point, it is possible for these things to move quickly. The proposed site of IGF jumped around a bit before settling at the University of Manitoba, and things moved pretty fast once the announcement was made. There was no protracted consultation or assessment period as I recall.

[q12]

I wonder if the land behind the new IKEA is the location?

[cjones2451]

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm not getting a good feeling from this. Ambrosie needs to rein these guys in.

Although as to GlassCity and MonctonRad's point, it is possible for these things to move quickly. The proposed site of IGF jumped around a bit before settling at the University of Manitoba, and things moved pretty fast once the announcement was made. There was no protracted consultation or assessment period as I recall.

I watched the interview on CTV, none of the ownership guys have said any of this, so a few "sources" in the Halifax market may be hedging their bets, but as long as the ownership group has not come out and said this, you can't hang it on them at this point, it is only a report

[someone123]

Dartmouth Crossing is a big wasteland and not a great place for a stadium, although it will be easier to build there since there is so much space available.

Post-game activities will include waiting 20-60 minutes to leave the parking lot, waiting 3 hours in line for a table at Moxie's, or speculating about whether the IKEA meatballs contain horse meat.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by someone123

Dartmouth Crossing is a big wasteland and not a great place for a stadium, although it will be easier to build there since there is so much space available.

Post-game activities will include waiting 20-60 minutes to leave the parking lot, waiting 3 hours in line for a table at Moxie's, or speculating about whether the IKEA meatballs contain horse meat.

Dartmouth Crossing would be akin to the CTC in Ottawa. Suburban, difficult to reach, with little amenities nearby.

I've heard some positing the idea of a Lansdowne-type of development but, again, Lansdowne is in a very urban area of Ottawa, is central for transportation, with other amenities directly nearby. Emulating an urban development in a suburban location is a recipe for disaster, or at the very least a catatonic development.

CTC can charge $30 for parking because there is no alternative. CTC can charge $12 for beer because there's nowhere else to get any. People in Halifax hoping for a Dartmouth Crossing location should be cognizant of this. The land will be cheaper but your experience will be the opposite.

[esquire]

IGF is located at the University of Manitoba which is an old campus surrounded by 1960s/70s suburbia in south Winnipeg. Even though it's far from being a CTC greenfield development, the location has still created some difficulties for the Bombers because the area isn't very walkable and some still perceive going to games to be a real hassle. A lot of the initial problems have been addressed but the bad reputation lingers, and there's no doubt that it has had a negative impact on attendance.

The Halifax group should exhaust all possibilities in more central neighbourhoods before resorting to outlying areas.

[someone123]

Unfortunately the project seems to have gotten caught up in the neoliberal zeitgeist, with lots of people talking about how the #1 concern is that public taxpayers shouldn't spend any money (except maybe on highways, which are exempt from this thinking for some reason). But this is a major piece of civic infrastructure and involvement of planners and integration with public space could hugely improve the project. It really wouldn't be that hard to build this in a more central part of the city. Maybe it would get delayed by a year or two but that doesn't matter much for a piece of infrastructure that should be used for many decades.

[GernB]

Originally Posted by esquire

IGF is located at the University of Manitoba which is an old campus surrounded by 1960s/70s suburbia in south Winnipeg. Even though it's far from being a CTC greenfield development, the location has still created some difficulties for the Bombers because the area isn't very walkable and some still perceive going to games to be a real hassle. A lot of the initial problems have been addressed but the bad reputation lingers, and there's no doubt that it has had a negative impact on attendance.

The Halifax group should exhaust all possibilities in more central neighbourhoods before resorting to outlying areas.

But where else could IGF have been built? IIRC what federal funding that was available was contingent on the location being on campus? I'd heard that Point Douglas was considered; were there any other sites where it realistically could have gone?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by GernB

But where else could IGF have been built? IIRC what federal funding that was available was contingent on the location being on campus? I'd heard that Point Douglas was considered; were there any other sites where it realistically could have gone?

The federal funding was a very minor piece of the overall package as I recall. It was almost entirely paid for by the province, the city and the team. The free land from the U of M was a bigger deal.

In hindsight the players involved should have probably worked harder at keeping the stadium in the same Polo Park location as the old one. That site was, as most CFL stadiums still are, centrally located in a not-quite-downtown but close to it type location.

The proponents expected retail on that site to take off and the property tax increment was going to pay for the city's share of the new stadium. A huge new Target store was eventually built but it only lasted a few months before going down with the chain, and the space has been vacant for years... they just found some tenants to occupy the old Target, and nothing else has been built. So the tax increment plan didn't work out as planned although I suppose it eventually will.

The other locations thrown around were Point Douglas just north of downtown as you mentioned, as well as the Red River Ex and the former Union Stock Yards site in east-central Winnipeg.

FWIW the Polo Park site was clearly superior. The U of M site is OK, but the trouble is that the city didn't built the BRT line out to coincide with the stadium's opening... the final leg is only now under construction. The lack of good transit caused a lot of the logistical problems with IGF.

Anyway, Halifax can certainly have a US-style stadium by the interstate type setup, but it just needs to make sure the infrastructure is adequate and up to the challenge.

[thurmas]

Originally Posted by q12

First image of proposed Halifax CFL Stadium



CTV Interview from potential ownership group:
https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/video?cl...ylistPageNum=1

that just looks like an English soccer stadium, way too much endzone seating there. CFL stadiums are best built as 2 tiers of stands on the sidelines not endzones.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by esquire

Not to be too cynical here, but what are we supposed to make of the rendering? Is the prospective ownership group going to just build off the San Diego blueprints?

That much end zone seating makes a bit of sense in soccer, not quite so much in football... especially in the CFL where the field is so big and endzone views so mediocre.

It looks like nothing more than a lazy rendering ripped off from some MLS or European soccer stadium proposal. A bigger upper deck than lower deck? Doesn't make sense.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Dartmouth Crossing would be akin to the CTC in Ottawa. Suburban, difficult to reach, with little amenities nearby.

I've heard some positing the idea of a Lansdowne-type of development but, again, Lansdowne is in a very urban area of Ottawa, is central for transportation, with other amenities directly nearby. Emulating an urban development in a suburban location is a recipe for disaster, or at the very least a catatonic development.

CTC can charge $30 for parking because there is no alternative. CTC can charge $12 for beer because there's nowhere else to get any. People in Halifax hoping for a Dartmouth Crossing location should be cognizant of this. The land will be cheaper but your experience will be the opposite.

Apparently it can't, which is why the place is a few thousand under-capacity every game. We can sort of handle the shitty location. We can handle the team sucking, but the gouging on parking and concessions (which has become much worse during Anselmi short stay in Ottawa) goes too far.

The Pheonix pay system is no doubt a factor also, but this guy from Toronto screwed things up even worse, which is probably why he left in such a hurry.

[elly63]

Rumours of CFL franchise announcement nixed
BILL SPURR The Chronicle Herald February 16, 2018

The leader of a group that hopes to bring the CFL to Halifax was succinct on Friday when asked if it’s true the league will award a franchise next Friday.

“No.”

Based on “anonymous sources,” a Halifax radio station reported on Friday a stadium would be located at Dartmouth Crossing, with construction to begin in September. It also said Halifax would be home to a Grey Cup within three years of the still-hypothetical team beginning play, and that the province had agreed to build a connector road between Highway 102 and Highway 118.

Anthony LeBlanc, leader of the Maritime Football Ltd. ownership group, had just two minutes to speak between meetings on Friday afternoon, and needed less time than that to throw cold water on the rumour.

LeBlanc confirmed he and CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie will be in Halifax next week, but cautioned not to read too much into that.

“We plan to listen to his vision, and he wants to hear what people have to say in the region, but we don’t anticipate any form of announcement at that event,” LeBlanc said.

“It is fair to say, and we’ve been pretty public, that we are in ongoing discussions with the league and with a number of landowners in the region. At this time we certainly have not collected a site, we have not negotiated final terms with the league.”

LeBlanc, a longtime executive with Research in Motion and the former president and chief executive of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, was even more dismissive of the notion that a new highway has been promised to his group.

“I don’t even know what that is referring to,” he said. “We are looking at a number of locations right now, so to say it’s one particular one would simply not be accurate.”

Marla MacInnis, a spokeswoman with Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, said the department “has not been engaged in any discussions with regard to road infrastructure to support any potential new stadium project.”

And, as for conjecture about a potential Grey Cup for Halifax, LeBlanc said that is a matter for the CFL’s board of governors.

“And the idea that they would be awarding that at this point is just not possible.”

[craner]

Dp

[craner]

Originally Posted by thurmas

that just looks like an English soccer stadium, way too much endzone seating there. CFL stadiums are best built as 2 tiers of stands on the sidelines not endzones.

This

... and this

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

It looks like nothing more than a lazy rendering ripped off from some MLS or European soccer stadium proposal. A bigger upper deck than lower deck? Doesn't make sense.

[25grapes]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

It looks like nothing more than a lazy rendering ripped off from some MLS or European soccer stadium proposal. A bigger upper deck than lower deck? Doesn't make sense.

It actually does to me. The best seats for football in my opinion would be seats higher in the stands, what having a larger upper deck does is bring more people higher in the stands closer to the playing field.

I agree with too many endzone seats in that rendering.

[Steveston]

I must be the only guy in the CFL who likes his end-zone seats!