Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

If they can play in the Big O without a roof, they can play at the Trop without a roof and just deal with the weather the same way all the minor league teams do. Or they can go play at Steinbrenner Field, and probably improve their attendance. Or they can go cross state and play at the Marlins park. Taylor's tour ends in 2 months in BC, but nice attempt to yet again try to come up with a way to get her to play in Montreal. Must be a real inferiority complex having her play in Vancouver and Toronto and not Montreal.

The Trop was never designed as an open air stadium. As a result, it does not have a drainage system.

[xzmattzx]

Ontario Hockey League news (not related to arenas specifically)

https://x.com/jeffmarek/status/1848856800554283265?s=43&t=OX2LlZCOwRZHRJ-Fc8eTYg

[ivegotaname]

I think a major sports team would do well in moncton which if you count the number of maritimers near there is 2.5 million plus and not far drive for anyone here in AC A MLS team would do well so would a NBA

[Djeffery]

WTF lol.

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by ivegotaname

I think a major sports team would do well in moncton which if you count the number of maritimers near there is 2.5 million plus and not far drive for anyone here in AC A MLS team would do well so would a NBA

????? NBA?
I'm sorry if the NBA gets run out of Seattle & Vancouver. Off the top of my head you'd see a team in the following places before Moncton.

- Vancouver
- Seattle
- Las Vegas
- Albuquerque
- Montreal
- Nashville

Sadly north american sports is based around expansion fees / corporate tickets & suites etc. If the NBA was setup like a European football league where Moncton could enter in the lower divisions and work there way up, then maybe?

But you'd have better luck getting a team in Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal, Hamilton, Halifax, Quebec City before Moncton.

Also Atlantic Canada has struggled for a basketball league to last for more than 3 years in the last 20 odd years.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by ivegotaname

I think a major sports team would do well in moncton which if you count the number of maritimers near there is 2.5 million plus and not far drive for anyone here in AC A MLS team would do well so would a NBA

I'm a pretty big Moncton booster, but, I am also a realist.

The NBA (or MLS) is never coming to Moncton. Ever. In fact, MLS has more or less stated they are not interested in any more Canadian franchises at all. The NBA has not made such a declaration, but, the failure of the Vancouver Grizzlies makes it unlikely theu would consider any Canadian city for a second Canadian franchise.

I think the best we can hope for (in addition to our existing QMJHL Wildcats), is a Canadian Premier League soccer franchise.

CFL might be nice, but, the league has pretty clearly established they prefer a franchise in Halifax rather than in Moncton.

Now, if only Halifax could get their shit together........

[WhipperSnapper]

The total value of all NBA teams is $120 billion. The total value of all NHL teams is $57 billion. The Toronto Raptors are worth more than the Toronto Maple Leafs by $1.5 billion.

The NBA is not a cheaper alternative to the NHL

[WhipperSnapper]

I don't know what teams Moncton currently enjoys. One thing I'm confident about is that you're not going to break the bank to take a family to a game and seats will be available. Big cities with their big productions dominating people's attentions are overrated in so many ways.

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I'm a pretty big Moncton booster, but, I am also a realist.

The NBA (or MLS) is never coming to Moncton. Ever. In fact, MLS has more or less stated they are not interested in any more Canadian franchises at all. The NBA has not made such a declaration, but, the failure of the Vancouver Grizzlies makes it unlikely theu would consider any Canadian city for a second Canadian franchise.

I think the best we can hope for (in addition to our existing QMJHL Wildcats), is a Canadian Premier League soccer franchise.

CFL might be nice, but, the league has pretty clearly established they prefer a franchise in Halifax rather than in Moncton.

Now, if only Halifax could get their shit together........

Would love to see a CPL team in Moncton. That is probably the realest chance for a "top level" (ish) franchise in Moncton.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by bridgeoftea

Would love to see a CPL team in Moncton. That is probably the realest chance for a "top level" (ish) franchise in Moncton.

Moncton would do well with a CEBL team too, I suspect.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

Moncton would do well with a CEBL team too, I suspect.

I think CEBL would work on Moncton too. Back when we had an NBL(C) franchise, I went to a few of the games at the Avenir Centre, and, the quality of the game and the atmosphere (music, cheerleaders and mascot) was surprisingly good. Both SJ and Moncton just received TBL franchises, but, this smells to high heaven of a lowbrow league, that will not survive.

CEBL would be equivalent to the NBL(C), but, alas, it appears the CEBL thinks of itself as the basketball equivalent of the CFL and are not looking at any smaller market cities.

[GreatTallNorth2]

London, Ontario will get a second NBA team before Moncton gets its first NBA franchise.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by greattallnorth2

london, ontario will get a second nba team before moncton gets its first nba franchise.

1000%

[xzmattzx]

I was watching the Flyers game in Ottawa a little while ago (in between the Eagles game against the Commanders). Is there a reason why the Canadian Tire Centre is in Kanata? It seems a little out of the way, even for the suburbs. Highway 417 doesn't really go anywhere further west. Would it have been better to put it along Highway 416, like near Barrhaven? Could they get a little more people from down along the St. Lawrence or Lake Ontario? I know they are planning on building an arena near Downtown anyway, but that arena could have been in a better suburban location.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

I was watching the Flyers game in Ottawa a little while ago (in between the Eagles game against the Commanders). Is there a reason why the Canadian Tire Centre is in Kanata? It seems a little out of the way, even for the suburbs. Highway 417 doesn't really go anywhere further west. Would it have been better to put it along Highway 416, like near Barrhaven? Could they get a little more people from down along the St. Lawrence or Lake Ontario? I know they are planning on building an arena near Downtown anyway, but that arena could have been in a better suburban location.

It was the early 90's, people were still in the mindset of suburban locations with a million acres of parking. I'm not sure which the owners at the time overestimated - the growth of Kanata or the willingness of Ottawa folks to travel there in the winter. Although I'm not sure, given Ottawa's transit system 30 years ago if a downtown arena would have been an easy thing either. I'm also unsure, not being a local, what those southern suburbs were like back then either, especially compared to Kanata, but I do remember the 416 didn't go to the 401 at the time either.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

It was the early 90's, people were still in the mindset of suburban locations with a million acres of parking. I'm not sure which the owners at the time overestimated - the growth of Kanata or the willingness of Ottawa folks to travel there in the winter. Although I'm not sure, given Ottawa's transit system 30 years ago if a downtown arena would have been an easy thing either. I'm also unsure, not being a local, what those southern suburbs were like back then either, especially compared to Kanata, but I do remember the 416 didn't go to the 401 at the time either.

That makes sense. I think the 416 is relatively new. They must've had really high hopes for Kanata!

[J.OT13]

The original owner of the Sens was a local developer, Bruce Firestone of Terrace Development. He owned hundreds of acres in Kanata when he won the franchise. He did ask the NCC if he could build the arena at LeBreton (where they plan on building the new one now), but was rejected at the time, so he stuck with Plan A. Tbf, the development was supposed to include a hotel and housing, a whole massive community around it, and he had approval, but the NDP Provincial Government that came after blocked his plans, only let him build the arena and associated parking and made him pay for the new highway interchange.

Firestone lost the team before shovels were in the ground, and the new owner Sexton finished the watered down project (and subsequently lost the team as well years later).

[xzmattzx]

Thanks! Did they come up with a name like Kanata (a play on Canada?) with those lofty plans?

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Thanks! Did they come up with a name like Kanata (a play on Canada?) with those lofty plans?

Kanata isn't a play on Canada, it's kind of the other way around. I don't know how exact these Heritage Minute videos are, but this was a relevant one for this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfKr-D5VDBU&t=1s

[J.OT13]

Kanata existed for about 25 years before the initial bid to bring the NHL back to Ottawa. A local developer built the first 3k acres with a more mixed density and use than what was typical at the time. A second large local developer joined in developing the area at the time. Subsequent developers went all classic North American Suburban afterwards (but with fairly impressive high tech employment nodes).