Looks like CFL expansion to Atlantic Canada a no go for the next while I guess with no real progress made it seems based on this 3downation report? It seems just too hard to get a stadium built there or anywhere in Canada really unless it is tied into hosting either an Olympics, Pan Am Games or Commonwealth Games and I do not foresee Halifax bidding on one soon. Best to strengthen the existing 9 CFL teams I guess.
https://3downnation.com/2024/01/25/a...m-encouraging/
Randy Ambrosie’s CFL expansion update far from encouraging
The CFL doesn’t appear to have made any inroads regarding expansion since the league’s Touchdown Atlantic game in Halifax this past summer.
“We’re certainly not giving up on Atlantic Canada, not by any stretch, but at some point you have to say, ‘OK, we’ve kind of done all that we can do,'” league commissioner Randy Ambrosie told The Waggle.
“I hope that Atlantic Canadians and certainly Atlantic Canadian sports fans would say that we’ve shown a lot of love to that region. I’ve made it clear that we would like to be there. I think that the region now has to find a way to pull us in if in fact that’s part of our destiny.”
Ambrosie touted the presence of multiple interested ownership groups ahead of Touchdown Atlantic this past season, a neutral-site game in July that drew a sold-out crowd of 11,555 to Huskies Stadium in Halifax. At the time, he claimed “there’s probably never been a better chance” for the league to expand to the Maritimes.
Ahead of the Grey Cup in Hamilton, Ambrosie indicated that a “highly engaged, very qualified” potential owner had emerged as a leading contender in Halifax, though he didn’t identify the individual(s) involved. He made no mention of the mystery suitor in his recent interview with the league’s official podcast.
The CFL hosted Touchdown Atlantic games in Nova Scotia in 2022 and 2023, continuing a seven-game series that started in 2005. The contests took place at Huskies Stadium at Saint Mary’s University, Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium at the University of Moncton, and Raymond Field at Acadia University.
The league’s desire to expand out east long predates the neutral-site series, dating back over four decades. Ambrosie made it clear that expansion remains one of the league’s top goals, though it doesn’t appear close to happening anytime soon. Quebec City is often cited as another potential expansion site, though Ambrosie said the league has had no formal discussions with the Quebec capital.
“It’s a priority that’s not of my own making, this is a priority that our governors have asked me to embrace and I certainly have. I really believe there’s an opportunity for expansion,” said Ambrosie. “If it’s not [in Atlantic Canada], we are talking about building a plan to have a conversation in other markets. Certainly, one market that everyone thinks about is Quebec City with all of the success they’ve had in sports in general, the success they’ve had with the (Laval) Rouge et Or.”
“There’s a great football culture in Quebec City, one of the strongest amateur football communities in all of Canada is in Quebec City. There are lots of reasons to like it as a market but we’re going to take a carpenter’s expression: ‘Measure twice and cut once.’ So, we’re gonna take a measure twice and cut once approach and then, at the appropriate time, have conversations there.”
The league is hosting its first-ever Touchdown Pacific game this summer as the B.C. Lions will host the Ottawa Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C. on Aug. 31. Capacity for the event is expected to be between 10,000 and 14,000, including standing room.
Though the league clearly won’t be expanding anytime soon, it appears its Touchdown series could be heading to new sites in the near future. A city councilor from Windsor-Essex has been open about courting the league for a one-off game with Ambrosie indicating that at least one other city has expressed serious interest as well.
“We’re also having conversations with other markets who have put up their hand and asked us about the possibility of bringing our Touchdown game to other markets. I’ve had two unsolicited conversations from Canadian cities that have said, ‘Hey, how about us for Touchdown games?’ That’s exciting as well and something that I’m looking forward to pursuing,” said Ambrosie.
“Going to Victoria is going to be I think an exciting thing to be part of. Shout-out to (Lions’ owner) Amar Doman and (Lions’ president and chief operating officer) Duane Vienneau for putting up their hand and wanting to do that, I was there in December for the announcement. There’s incredible enthusiasm in that market to see a CFL game in Victoria, so that’s an event I’m looking forward to.”
Expansion would help solve the CFL’s problems with awkward scheduling and uneven divisions while also providing additional opportunities to increase television and betting revenue. Despite the league’s efforts out east, it doesn’t appear a tenth team is on the horizon anytime soon.
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