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  #1  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 3:33 AM
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CFL in the Maritimes

Another CFL season is around the corner .... so I figure its time to ask the big question...

When will te CFL opperate a franchise in the Maritimes. I believe there is enough popultion and interest. The CFL has proven itself a strong economic plus for cities with a team.

I think its time that the Maritimes joined Canada's only major professional league.

Its time the CFL was coast to coast!!!
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Last edited by newflyer; Jun 21, 2008 at 2:51 PM.
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  #2  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 4:51 AM
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I'm not sure about the CFL, to be honest. Though I'm not a football fan, I'd love to see a franchise move east. I'm just not convinced it would be justified. I don't know a lot about the situation there, but Ottawa has twice tried and failed to keep a CFL team. Their stadium seats 30k, with a market well over a million strong.

Because it's the region's biggest city, Halifax would probably seem the obvious choice to the league for an expansion. They don't have the facilities thoug. Huskies stadium seats 8,000, according to wikipedia, which is less than half as small as the smallest existing CFL stadium.

Even the biggest field in the region, the under-construction stadium at the Université de Moncton is expected to seat 18,000...so I question wether that would even be big enough.

Combined, the Maritimes only have about 50% more people than Ottawa, but I really doubt people will drive from Cape Breton or Edmonston on a regular basis to see a CFL game.
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  #3  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 6:21 AM
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Saint John looked at the idea a few years back, but it had no momentum at that time. If seating was added to the UNBSJ Stadium, it could hold enough, but the city would have to back it.

I think Halifax would be the logical choice for expansion east due to the population base
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  #4  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 12:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Helladog View Post
Saint John looked at the idea a few years back, but it had no momentum at that time. If seating was added to the UNBSJ Stadium, it could hold enough, but the city would have to back it.

I think Halifax would be the logical choice for expansion east due to the population base

I think Saint John hosted at least 2 pre-season games.... and they were both sold out.. I don't know if CGS could be expanded to 30 thousand but I think Saint John could support a team..
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  #5  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 1:03 PM
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Saint John, Moncton would have to rely to much on fans travelling from outside their immediate areas. Halifax's population base wouldn't have to rely on that so much. I would think you need a metro area of at least 200,000 to have a chance. Just to add, I attended both preseason games at CGS. It was a blast.
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  #6  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 1:22 PM
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It boils down to this:

Halifax would love to have a team, but like anything else, nobody wants to get off their duffs to build something to do it. They would have had a stadium if they won the Commonwealth Games, but let's not revisit that debacle.

It's a shame because I'd love to see a team here on the east coast.
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  #7  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 2:25 PM
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It's been commented on to death, but I'd love to see Halifax get something done with a stadium and get a franchise. With hopefully a healthy ownership Ottawa franchise, Winnipeg can move back West and give us:

BC, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg
Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax

And if Toronto leaves, put a team in Quebec and still get a balanced league with none of that cross-over crap.
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  #8  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 3:01 PM
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A 30,000 seat stadium would probibly be needed to make it work, as well as having the ability to expand to ~50,000, if they ever wanted to host the Grey Cup.

Having a stadium shared with a university would likely make the most sense.

If any of you have ever seen Regina (smallest CFL city) during a home game weekend, you'd be impressed how much it can add to the local economy. Its very hard to find a hotel room in town, as I found out last year on my trip to Winnipeg from Calgary. Restaurants were also doing some brisk business. I guess having 10,000 out of town vistors coming in for the game has its benefits. Having a team which has a regional identity could have significant benefits for the host city.

I would love to see it some day .. the sooner the better.
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  #9  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2010, 10:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes View Post
It's been commented on to death, but I'd love to see Halifax get something done with a stadium and get a franchise. With hopefully a healthy ownership Ottawa franchise, Winnipeg can move back West and give us:

BC, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg
Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax

And if Toronto leaves, put a team in Quebec and still get a balanced league with none of that cross-over crap.
you must mean:

BC Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg
Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax (possibly Quebec)

two divisions with a wildcard/crossover to ensure you don't get a team inthe playoffs with 4 wins while another with 8 wins is left out.
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  #10  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 11:33 PM
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Both Moncton and Halifax have been mentioned in the recent past, with Halifax being the more likely option.

Problem is, the city (and province) won't back a stadium without a commitment for a team, and the CFL won't commit to a team without a stadium.
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  #11  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2008, 11:38 PM
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Ottawa's problem has never been fan support, it was incompetent ownership that killed the Renegades.
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  #12  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2008, 2:18 AM
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Toronto is leaving the CFL!?
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  #13  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2008, 2:01 PM
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Toronto is not leaving the CFL. The concern is that the NFL may move into Toronto (Possibly a relocated Buffalo Bills team). This might diplace the Toronto Argonauts but this is all speculation.

Regarding the CFL in the Maritimes. This will not happen for some time. The league will want to re-establish and stabilize a team in Ottawa first. The only two logical locations for a CFL team here in the east is either Halifax or Moncton. Halifax obviously because of its size, but they sort of blew it over the Commonwealth games fiasco. Moncton is a candidate mostly because of location with 1.5 million people living in a 2.5 hour radius of the city. Moncton is also building a new stadium for the World Junior Track & Field Championships. This will be on the U de M campus and will hold between 18-20,000 spectators. This is still small for a CFL facility but it will be the biggest stadium in Atlantic Canada. Perhaps it could be expanded if a franchise were awarded.

Nothing will happen for at least ten years however.
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  #14  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2008, 2:21 PM
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You're right I don't see a CFL team ion the east coast for a while yet. A few years ago I would have said the opposite, but when Ottawa folded, the Commonweath games bid collapsed and the fact the NFL is starting to move into Canada things have changed.
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  #15  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2008, 2:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Haliguy View Post
You're right I don't see a CFL team ion the east coast for a while yet. A few years ago I would have said the opposite, but when Ottawa folded, the Commonweath games bid collapsed and the fact the NFL is starting to move into Canada things have changed.
I`m agree. I guess either Ottawa or Quebec city will get a team before Halifax and Moncton as well.

I think NHL is more on the radar of Quebec city authority than CFL though.

Last edited by ErickMontreal; Jun 22, 2008 at 2:54 PM.
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  #16  
Old Posted Jun 23, 2008, 3:14 AM
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Originally Posted by HalifaxMtl666 View Post
I`m agree. I guess either Ottawa or Quebec city will get a team before Halifax and Moncton as well.

I think NHL is more on the radar of Quebec city authority than CFL though.
First off Ottawa has already been granted a conditional expansion team a couple months back, with a stadium as the only stumbling block to overcome.

Secondly:

CFL Expansion team: $5 - 6 million

NHL Expansion team: $150 million

One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.
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Last edited by newflyer; Jun 23, 2008 at 3:30 AM.
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  #17  
Old Posted Jun 23, 2008, 3:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Haliguy View Post
You're right I don't see a CFL team ion the east coast for a while yet. A few years ago I would have said the opposite, but when Ottawa folded, the Commonweath games bid collapsed and the fact the NFL is starting to move into Canada things have changed.
The CFL fan base is comepletely different than that of the Toronto NFL mini-pack over the next five years.

Avg ticket in the CFL is still less than $30 .. while I have heard the Bills game tickets in Toronto are going for in excess of $200 per ticket.. on a draw basis.

While it is fun for Toronto to dream they have a chance of landing an NFL team, the reality is they don't. This is purely a marketing ploy by the Bills to build up there fan base in Ontario... and Ontario is buying in hook line and sinker. The fact is LA will get a team long before Toronto will even be mentioned. The NFL is completely aware that its main revenue stream is big US Network TV and Toronto adds little to nothing in that category. In fact a Canadian team (say Toronto) will draw lower US TV ratings than 2 US teams facing off on American TV, as MLB has proven.

Not to mention the Skydome/Rogers Centre is much too small to host its own NFL team.

The CFL is in no way threatened of losing a thing by these NFL exhibition and single regular season games. Its not like the family friendly CFL expereience will be enjoyed by many middle income families during this NFL marketing stint. In fact Winnipeg just sold out its exhibition game ... without a mention of NFL.

I would assume that Halifax could have that same level of success.
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Last edited by newflyer; Jun 23, 2008 at 5:12 AM.
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  #18  
Old Posted Jun 30, 2008, 1:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newflyer View Post
The fact is LA will get a team long before Toronto will even be mentioned. The NFL is completely aware that its main revenue stream is big US Network TV and Toronto adds little to nothing in that category. In fact a Canadian team (say Toronto) will draw lower US TV ratings than 2 US teams facing off on American TV, as MLB has proven.
A NFL franchise might move to LA sooner than we think... and this could be the Bills.

Look at this: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=149560
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  #19  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2008, 12:55 AM
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Copied from the Moncton thread

CFL wants to discuss future in Moncton

Canadaeast news service
Published Saturday August 9th, 2008
Mayor plans to call league to discuss expansion options
A13

The commissioner of the Canadian Football League says the climate is right for expansion, and he looks forward to a call from Moncton's mayor to discuss it.

It's just a matter of finding a city with a stadium and a strong local financial backer to intrigue the league to Atlantic Canada, says Mark Cohon.

According to Moncton North MLA Mike Murphy, the Hub City has a stadium coming, it knows the financial resources are there, and the time is now right for the city to again push for a team.

The mayor of Moncton says he has plans to give Cohon a call.

"I think there is an argument to be made that a CFL team can be successful here," said George LeBlanc. "I will be taking the opportunity sometime down the road to talk to these folks and see if there is an opportunity for that here in Moncton."

Cohon says the league is in a position to look at expansion with last year's average stadium attendance reaching its highest since 1983. Television ratings are up 19 per cent so far this season.

"We are now going to start really thinking about what are the new opportunities for the league and expansion is definitely on our agenda and is something we need to explore," said Cohon. "I am looking forward to the mayor calling me."

The CFL last tested the waters for possible expansion into the Maritimes in 2005 with an exhibition game held in Halifax.

At that time, former commissioner Tom Wright was looking at the feasibility of adding a 10th CFL franchise by 2008, but only if a 25,000-seat stadium was in place and the league was convinced private financial backers were in place.

The dream died when financial instability hit other teams in the league in 2006 which culminated in the indefinite suspension of the Ottawa Renegades.

In March of this year the CFL granted an expansion team back to the nation's capital which will see a team return either in 2010 or 2011.

Cohon says the addition of a 10th team is again a possibility but only to a city with a stadium and the right local ownership.

"Those are the two key components that we have to find and if the mayor is interested in talking to me about those fronts I would be happy to talk to him," he said. "We are starting to think about what are the parameters of whether it's Moncton, whether it's Halifax or Quebec City, what would have to go into it."

An advocate for a team in 2005, Murphy believes Moncton is the only Atlantic Canada city where a team could be feasible noting its geographical location in the centre of the Maritime provinces.

He also said the reasons why a bid fell apart in 2005 is no longer a problem.

"When we had talks in 2005 there was no stadium, now there is going to be a stadium and we have proven as a city we can attract crowds," said Murphy. "It's all there now, there's just no reason not to do it."

April's announcement to expand the plans for an outdoor arena set to welcome the World Junior Championships in track and field in 2010 will bring a stadium with a capacity of up to 20,000 spectators to the Université de Moncton.

Cohon said that stadium comes close to the 25,000 attendance needed for a CFL franchise to succeed.

It now has Murphy calling for the city to take charge to find financial backers and create the business plan to entice a league which is visible everywhere else in the country except Atlantic Canada.

"Who can step up to the plate and tell me it can't be done?" said Murphy. "It's not massive money. This is not the NFL."

The CFL began enforcing a salary cap of $4.05 million per team in 2007, a year after expanding active rosters to 42 players. The league minimum salary is $39,000.

Murphy said the economic viability is there, as he was approached by business with interest in sponsorship in 2005.
_______________________________________________________________________


I wonder how easy it would be to increase the World Track and Field Stadium's capacity from 20,000 to 25,000 seats?

There are several people in the Moncton area with pockets deep enough to finance a CFL franchise, probably most notably Robert Irving.

This could happen...


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  #20  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2008, 5:37 PM
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I really wonder if there'd be enough fan support for it. There's no doubt football is huge out west, but would atlantic canada even come close to that amount of support?
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