All four of them. :tup:

Assuming an agreement for funding is reached within the next few years between the Nova Scotia, Halifax and the ownership group for a new stadium, I wonder how long it will be before talks begin in earnest for a new arena. Before you know it, the Metro Centre will be 50 years old.

I wonder what the ideal size for a new arena would be? 12,000? 13,000? 15,000? Current one seats a little over 10,000.

I've always been surprised Halifax's arena is as small as it is, but the age definitely helps explain that.

Given the city's pre-eminence as the major city of the Maritimes, I could see them building a 15K similar to what people want to build in Saskatoon.

It sure looks like Alessia Cara will be the Grey Cup halftime act
Drew Edwards 3downnation September 29, 2018

So the official announcement for the Grey Cup halftime act is supposed to take place today at halftime of the Eskimos game with the Bombers but the news may have already leaked out.

Several Twitter accounts supporting Canadian singer Alessia Cara are saying she’ll be performing on Nov. 25 at Commonwealth.

https://i.imgur.com/qZYjBMW.png

The Tweet links to a Global News page that exists but the video is currently inactive, meaning they likely pulled it down.

The 22-year-old Cara is from Brampton and performed at the pre-game show at the 2016 Grey Cup in Toronto. In January, she was named Best New Artist at the Grammys, the first Canadian to win the award. The move makes sense: she appeals to the younger demographic the CFL is chasing and she’s from Canada.

We’ll wait for the official announcement but it sure looks like Cara is the one.

Props to Ticat fan and internet sleuth Laura Stewart (@lstewy) for figuring it out.

^Just confirmed

they had to have an official announcement for her? By the hype I thought they where going to have John Lennon, MJ or Elvis playing half time but I guess a no name Canadian Singer will do.

She's a much bigger name and a better choice than <insert old rocker from the 70s here>.

Don't worry, they still have Kim Mitchell playing during the Grey Cup Festival. :)

^ Not unlike Maroon 5 at the Super Bowl... both are acclaimed big-name pop acts but neither is really the kind of performer I would think of first when it comes to big stadium halftime shows. I get the impression this decision is driven more by TV ratings considerations than anything else...

It absolutely would be. Any halftime performance is going to be purely for TV ratings. People in the stadium are already there.

She's a pretty big name to young people.

So "no name" Canadian singer is now equal to multiple Juno and now Grammy winner. She is long since off my radar, but pal, I nominate your post for lame post of the year.

I think the unlikely combo of the Bieb and Wrong Chord Gord spiked pretty high when they were the half time show a while back. I read and have posted this before (but I can't find my verification) but I believe the artist is not paid by the CFL or GC Committee. The record label takes the hit for the good promotion of their artist to an audience of 3 plus million people.

Posted in wrong thread

USports roundup: Ottawa beats Carleton in 50th Panda Game
3Down Staff October 1, 2018

OTTAWA – The Ottawa Gee-Gees snapped a four-year Panda Game skid with a 38-27 win over the Carleton Ravens on Saturday at TD Place.

The win, in the 50th edition of the showdown between the two Ottawa schools, was Ottawa’s first Panda Game triumph since 2013. It came before a record crowd of 24,470.

Gee-Gees quarterback Sawyer Buettner threw five touchdown passes as Ottawa (4-1) grabbed sole possession of second place in Ontario University Athletics.

The Gee-Gees picked off Ravens quarterback Michael Arruda four times as Carleton dropped to 4-2.

Sportsnet PR
Featured on the first Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey broadcast of the season, the Original Six matchup reached 4.7 million Canadians - 11% more than last year’s #NHL opening game on @Sportsnet. #HomeofHockey Retweeted by Sports Business Canada


Sportsnet PR
Yesterday's #Leafs vs. #Habs showdown was the most-watched opening night game on @Sportsnet since 2014. The #NHL season opener garnered an average audience of 1.73 million viewers, marking a 26% increase vs. last year’s puck drop b/w Leafs & Jets.

Sportsnet PR
Making its debut last night, @Sportsnet #IceSurfing captured a total audience of 649,000 viewers during its 3-hour premiere on @Twitter. Following all the #NHL action, #IceSurfing attracted 503,000 unique visitors on Tuesday – 200,000 more than its pilot episode last season.

If Halifax were to go to the trouble of building a new arena, like Moncton they would want to build at least 40 to 50% larger than what they already have.

I'd imagine they would need to have tenants to regularly fill that seating capacity too though, so unless they can secure a main tenant like a NLL team like Saskatoon's 15,200 SaskTel Centre did, there may not be enough incentive to build anything new just yet while Halifax arena still viably usable.

Interesting to note though that Halifax had a bigger arena than cities like Calgary, Ottawa back in the day before NHL in Cowtown and O-town

Saskatoon renovated SaskTel Centre to 15K years before the NLL was on the radar; they're just the first team to be able to fill it on a regular basis. They expanded for the World Juniors (which I believe Halifax could easily get if they wanted) as well as to stay on the radar for concerts.

Furthermore, Halifax is getting an NLL team next year.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the Western Hockey League Kootenay ice are planning to move to Winnipeg in the near future. At this point they don't have an arena available, but the plan is for a new one to be built in the southern suburbs. Apparently they would play at the University of Manitoba's arena in the meantime. For those unfamiliar with the U of M's Max Bell Centre, it is a very small and very basic facility that looks more like a community center that a major Junior venue.

I find it somewhat strange, given that the local hockey market is saturated. Winnipeg is a very small City to have two existing professional teams, and I'm not sure that a WHL team will be able to break through and carve out a fan base of its own.

Are they keeping the same owners, or are they being bought by True North? I don't think the team would last long if it's the former.