I feel that we are hijacking the Halifax stadium thread here. Perhaps this discussion should be over on the Maritimes CFL thread.
In any event, there are still more people within one hour of Moncton than there is within one hour of Regina (287,000 vs. 266,000). They have made a franchise work so we might be able to as well.
I have lived in both Moncton and Halifax and I can state from personal experience that Moncton is a better sports town. The Wildcats are a huge draw in the wintertime. They average about 4,800 a game for 34 home games a year. I know that Halifax get's better numbers but on a per capita basis, the attendance in Moncton is much better and is third best in the QMJHL.
The key for football is that it would be
major league (therefore a big deal) and there are only nine home dates (regular season) per year. One home game every second weekend is not too onerous a burden and knowing the football culture here in southeastern NB, I think we could easily get over 20,000 people out just from the local (within one hour) market. Add in the CFA's from other parts of the province as well as PEI and northern NS and I think we could boost attendance to an average of 25,000 or so.
I think the Saskatchewan model would work for Moncton. Halifax on the other hand would be a more urban market, like Calgary or Winnipeg. Both are valid.
Let's work on getting two teams in the region!
NS+NB+PEI = 1.85M people
SK+MB = 2.2M people
If the eastern prairies can have two teams then so can we!
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