I have taken the liberty of reposting this article in it's entirety from the Times & Transcript. It offers important insight and answers some important questions....I have annotated and highlighted some text where appropriate.
McCain offers views on Atlantic CFL franchise
Published Wednesday September 28th, 2011
by neil hodge
Times & transcript staff
Scott McCain doesn't pretend to have all the answers when it comes to the viability of an Atlantic franchise in the Canadian Football League, but he has some interesting views.
"I think everybody has to start putting the spin on it being an Atlantic Canada team," said McCain, who's the president and chief operating officer of the Agribusiness Group at Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
"I think it has to be marketed as an Atlantic Canada team because you're going to need to draw fan support and corporate sponsorship from across the region. It would be very difficult for Moncton or Halifax to support a CFL team on its own."
CFL commissioner Mark Cohon is forming a new advisory council that comprises Atlantic Canada business leaders. McCain is part of this council that's designed to help Cohon look into the league's future in this part of the country.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Calgary Stampeders 55-36 on Sunday in front of 20,153 fans at the Stade Moncton 2010 Stadium. It's the second consecutive year the CFL has held a regular season game in Moncton, something that's never been done before in the Atlantic region.
This has heightened interest and renewed talk of the possibility of an Atlantic CFL franchise.
Moncton's stadium has the potential to be expanded to approximately 28,000 seats and a CFL franchise can operate viably with a 25,000 attendance average. This is the only place in Atlantic Canada that has a stadium which can be upgraded to meet league standards.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are thriving on the business side. That's because they receive fan support and corporate sponsorship from across the province, not just Regina where the team is based.
"Since this whole thing with Moncton started, Mark Cohon has called me a number of times to get my views," said McCain. "He's talked to me at some length over the situation in Atlantic Canada.
"He's trying to pull together some people in Atlantic Canada to see if they can give him some advice on what might work and what might not work. He's forming a council to take a look at this and help steer him with regards to what the league's next steps might be."
McCain, a Maritimer who's now based in Toronto, is also majority owner of the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His club captured both the QMJHL title and Memorial Cup national championship last season.
"I know in junior hockey there are big rivalries between Moncton, Saint John, Halifax and the other Maritime cities that have teams in the league," he said. "I can respect that.
"But we need to get past that city versus city way of thinking when it comes to the CFL in Atlantic Canada. We've got to break down that mentality. If you want a CFL team in the Atlantic region, there's no city that can make it happen by itself. The team name has to have Atlantic in it.
"It would have to be marketed and talked about as an Atlantic team. I think Moncton is where the team should be located because it's the geographic centre of the Maritimes. Moncton is more accessible than Halifax for a greater number of people." <- What he said!
McCain has attended both CFL games in Moncton. He spent three days here last week soaking up the various community festivals and events that were associated with Scotiabank Touchdown Atlantic II.
He's been to six Grey Cups. He was impressed with the party atmosphere that surrounded Moncton's CFL game, saying it was giant event that felt like a mini Grey Cup environment.
"I'm a proud Atlantic Canadian and I like seeing a sporting event like this come to this part of the country," he said. "I think they did a great job with the community festivals and creating a great atmosphere for both CFL games in Moncton."
The Atlantic region has wealthy families such as the McCains, Irvings, Sobeys and Olands. But
McCain has told the CFL commissioner that he believes it would be a challenge to get the necessary corporate sponsorship for an Atlantic franchise.
"I know I can speak for companies like McCain Foods and Maple Leaf Foods," he said. "I think they would find difficulty in it because to be honest that's not an area where they usually play. They don't play a lot of sports marketing.
"It's going to take a lot of soul searching to figure out where is there a pocket of corporate sponsorship that will make this thing fly. I'm not sure about that yet. I think that's the bigger piece than the fan base.
You'll have to go to Atlantic Lotto, Blue Cross, East Link and these companies that are regional. Regional companies would have to take an interest in it." personal note - both Atlantic Lotto and Blue Cross are based in Moncton. Molson/Coors also has a Moncton brewery
The CFL commissioner hasn't yet approached anyone from the Irving family about being part of his Atlantic advisory council. Cohon said that he will probably talk to Robert Irving at some point.
"I know that Robert Irving has no interest in this," said McCain. (
!!!!)" Frankly, if an Atlantic CFL team is going to fly it would be really nice to have the Irving family take an interest in it."
The CFL commissioner hasn't committed to having a regular season game in Moncton next year. It's a lot of work to stage a neutral site game and turn it into a major event. Cohon points out the league will be very busy next year with celebrations for the 100th Grey Cup.
Hamilton will be homeless in 2013 when Ivor Wynne Stadium is demolished and rebuilt. Cohon points out there could be an opportunity for multiple Tiger-Cats home games in Moncton that season.
"If it was marketed properly, I think an Atlantic franchise would draw fans from across the region," said McCain.
"Maritimers like to get together and have fun. They like tailgate parties. I think an Atlantic team could be a rallying point that brings people together."
The two Scotiabank Touchdown Atlantic games in Moncton were high profile and successful from an event perspective.
"There's a big difference between marketing an event and marketing a team," said McCain. "My advice for the CFL commissioner is to be really patient here. Look at this over the long haul and build it slowly.
"Maybe go two games per year in Moncton. You've got to try to gauge the interest level (in the CFL in the Atlantic region) beyond just an event."
* Neil Hodge is a Times & Transcript sports reporter who covered Scotiabank Touchdown Atlantic II.