Halifax Stadium Discussion

[Jstaleness]

George LeBlanc for next Mayor of Halifax anyone? We need that kind of determination here. He and his city wanted something and dammit they got it! I love my home city of Halifax but how can I be proud when we give up and fail on so many great possibilities. We seem scared to take chances and when we do we cancel after the money is already spent and wasted.
I'm very Jealous of you Monctonians. You have city leaders that go out, pursue and host things that cities 3 times your size can't achieve. Cheers to you! Job well done!

[ATL Stadium]

Well.....yes I did go to the game......
Drove up.....parked....walked....enjoyed....headed for home.

The Stadium was nice.....undersized for CFL....but.....doable.!!!
The weather was great, parking terrible, shuttle service even worse, vendors ran out of food and the lines for the port-a-potties were (knee wagging) horrific....and the RCMP were actually standing in the middle of the crowded lines blocking exiting fans at the end of the game......but Hey! All that is fixable!

Moncton is proud of the event! and they well should be! Job Well Done! I heard lots of positive comments from friends around the country that watched on TV and it was all good....

So where/what now????

Well the stadium (10,000) is there and the area is good, clean and presentable for concerts and other events..... and they need a tenant...!

Right now the CFL will/would not expand to Moncton....but the ask from Moncton is there...

The CFL needs a bigger stadium(25000 plus expandable)....an owner...lease agreement etc etc...all things that could also be done in HRM....

Doug Wright (former CFL commish) had it correct.....in order for a CFL team to be in Atlantic Canada they will need to draw from HRM....can Moncton actually claim to draw from that distance on a go forward basis?
Everyone uses the Green Riders as a prime example of what can be done....but....can Moncton do that?

Right Now...... I think HRM is too pissed off at Moncton (AUS) for moving our pride and joy Uteck Bowl game to say they would support anything in Moncton.... What were they thinking??? They gave us the wake up call.....lets answer the bell.....

[Empire]

Has anyone noticed that except for Sue Uteck there has been complete silence from politicians about a stadium or the Uteck Bowl? Maybe no one in the media has asked them what they think?

[terrynorthend]

First of all, Congrats to Moncton for a great job with TD Atlantic 2010. They should be proud, they did very well, put on a great show.

They can expect, if they can keep up the support, to make this one game a year event a regular occurrence, perhaps. I can see the CFL actually experimenting with a TouchDown Classic that they move around to various non CFL communities across Canada, which might interrupt a regular Moncton stop in the future. But for the next couple of years, I expect that they can continue this, perhaps by placing the Uteck and TD Atlantic bowls on back to back weekends. That way a lot of the temporary infrastructure can pull double duty at Moncton Stadium.

Now the bad news. Reading between Mark Cohon's lines, Moncton will never get a CFL franchise. Not in my lifetime anyways. Mark Cohon has called it a "long term goal", with Moncton as the "current front runner". Which I think is a polite way to say, Moncton is not a viable long term CFL city, its simply too small and cannot support multiple years of full seasons of putting 25,000+ bums on seats. I think he is leaving the door open for Halifax to get back in the game (calling Moncton the "current" leader), and that Halifax, if serious, could be considered seriously for a future franchise.

Yes, Moncton has a stadium which Halifax does not, but it is too small for the CFL by a longshot. Effectively they are no more prepared for the CFL than Halifax is with Husky Stadium. Whether its 3000 or 10,000 seats, neither Stadium is near the 25,000 minimum needed for a CFL franchise. And that is as easily fixed in Halifax with a new stadium as it is in Moncton with a permanent 15,000 seat expansion (with consideration given to extra room for temporary seats for a possible 50,000 Grey Cup crowd in either city).

You can talk about inflated geography and the millions within an x-hour drive of the venue, but ultimately there is a reason they built a brand new stadium in Moncton that only seats 10,000. Its because the city only has a population of a bit more than 100,000, and Mark Cohon knows that better than anyone.

[beyeas]

There really has been remarkable silence in both the press (not a single editorial on the topic) and by politicians not named Uteck.

Here's one of the 1st pieces I have seen in the Herald.

All right Moncton, this was your week to shine

By CHRIS COCHRANE Sports Columnist
Mon, Sep 27 -

How many shots to the face can CFL football fans in Halifax take before they finally say "enough is enough"?

I think we’re reaching that saturation point.

The city received conditional entry into the CFL way back in 1984 but funding fell through and the Atlantic Schooners project was eventually abandoned. Since then, for the past quarter century, there has been little good news for Halifax on the CFL front.

This past week, the CFL cause, and Halifax football in general, lost a little more stature.

It started with the official word that the next three Uteck Bowls, the Canadian Interuniversity Sport semifinal named after late former Saint Mary’s University coach Larry Uteck, will move from Halifax to Moncton.

Why? Huskies Stadium has seen better days. Moncton has a new one that can be expanded to seat 20,000 fans and Atlantic University Sport is trying to get a new football program started at the university there.

A second downer for Halifax football fans came Saturday.

Mount Allison University, an admittedly once-great AUS football franchise but in recent seasons a team that annually struggled to avoid the Atlantic Conference basement, upset the Saint Mary’s Huskies. In fact, it was the third consecutive loss for the now last-place Huskies, the team that is annually favoured to win the Atlantic Conference.

The Mounties’ win over the Huskies was a neutral-site game. Where did this gigantic upset take place? Hey, it could have been Sydney, perhaps Charlottetown. But no, it had to be in Moncton, this week’s centre of the universe for Maritime football.

And that brings us to Moncton’s coup de grace on the pro-football front, the biggest football victory in a week of significant Moncton football wins — Sunday’s sold-out Touchdown Atlantic, with more than 20,000 fans gathered in Moncton’s new stadium to watch the Edmonton Eskimos tackle the Toronto Argonauts in a regular season CFL game.

TSN’s pre-game show was filled with glowing comments about Moncton’s can-do attitude and the possibility of it someday getting a CFL team. The broadcast did a good job of creating a pathway in the national psyche that if a CFL team does ever come this way, Moncton is the leading and maybe ideal choice.

It was the type of publicity that the most ardent and wealthy supporters of a cause couldn’t have purchased.

Where does all this pro-Moncton CFL sentiment leave Halifax? Basically, Halifax is where it has been for a too long — watching from the sidelines. The city still has no stadium, has no plan that it has shared with the public to get a stadium and, even in Sunday’s TSN game broadcast, there seemed to be surprise at Halifax’s seeming indifference to the CFL.

That indifference has become one of the greatest assets in the Moncton charge.

But Halifax’s surrender need not be permanent. Remember, any eventual CFL move to the East Coast, something the league has wanted for a long time, remains a long-term project. So there is plenty of time to jockey for position.

First, there will be more CFL experiments in Moncton to ensure that the attraction isn’t simply a short-term infatuation.

Then there will have to be talk about expensive, increased permanent seating to make the stadium meet CFL minimum requirements. And, in what’s often the most difficult challenge, some millionaire investor or corporation has to put down the money to join the league and sustain a franchise.

Halifax isn’t out of the picture, although the attitude here needs a major realignment for the city to become a genuine player. But even the strongest proponents of the CFL-for-Halifax effort must concede that this was definitely Moncton’s week to shine.

( [email protected])

Chris Cochrane is a sports columnist with The Chronicle Herald

[MonctonRad]

My assessment of Touchdown Atlantic (reposted from the Maritime CFL thread)

Thoughts on Touchdown Atlantic

I was at the game today (but of course) and truly enjoyed the experience.

The crowd was enthusiastic (but non partisan) and cheered almost equally for the Eskimos and the Argonauts. I was really surprised by the number of people in the stands sporting Eskimos colours. In any event, the crowd acquitted itself quite well and hopefully impressed Cohon et al. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about the sound of over 20,000 people cheering at once.

The stadium looked really good and the addition of the end zone bleachers really makes the stadium seem more complete.

With the end zone bleachers, the stadium can seat over 20,000. If the corners were filled in as well and perhaps the east grandstand elevated a bit, I have no doubt the stadium could seat 28-30,000.

I am a little surprised by q12's assertion that it would take $75M to bring the stadium up to CFL standards but there is no question that there is still major work to be done. In addition to adding more permanent seats, a proper CFL stadium would require indoor concourses and permanent concessions and washrooms. This would be an expensive proposition and would have to be factored into the equation as to whether or not a CFL team should be a goal for the city of Moncton.

Still, I strongly feel that we should take the bull by the horns and go for it. As I have already stated in a previous post, there is probably nothing else that we could do that would be so effective in building a national profile for the city of Moncton as getting a CFL franchise. Halifax already has a national profile and most other people in Canada only think of three things when it comes to the Maritimes - Halifax, Anne of Green Gables and unemployed pogey collecting fishermen. We need to do more to enlighten the country and let them know that there is more to the Maritimes than this!!

It is true that Halifax is three times the size of Moncton and would seem to be the natural choice to locate a regional franchise. It is also true however that Moncton is more central to the bulk of the regional population than Halifax is. I agree that the three hour driving time rule is probably unrealistic in terms of determining the potential market for a team but I do think that 90 minutes to two hours is realistic.

- population within 2 hrs of Halifax - 680,000
- population within 2 hrs of Moncton - 625,000

This seems to me to be a wash.........

Given this, you have to also look at civic leadership, the availability of a new (or expandable) stadium, corporate interest and popular support. Most of these factors I believe are on Moncton's side of the equation. In addition, Moncton has an established relationship with the CFL and I strongly believe that Touchdown Atlantic will become an annual event. If these events remain continually successfull then the CFL Board of Governors will have to sit up and take notice.

Of course it could be that Commissioner Cohon is merely playing footsie with Moncton in order to get the civic leaders in Halifax to get off their collective keisters and start looking at building a stadium, but the recent announcement that the Uteck Bowl will be played in Moncton in 2011, 2013 and 2015 may do more that anything else to mobilize Halifax into action. This should be a major embarrassment to Halifax and is potentially a very dangerous move in terms of prodding the sleeping bear into action. I really don't think it was stategically a very good idea for the city of Moncton to steal this event from Halifax - it could backfire.

In any event, the next 5-7 years will be very interesting in determining the future of pro football in the Maritimes. I think everyone knows where my own personal allegiance lies but it is certainly too soon to count Halifax out of the equation. For the time being Moncton (rightfully and deservedly) remains the frontrunner. The tortoise however may still win the race......

[beyeas]

here is a very interesting clip from TSN on Moncton & the CFL. The bit is called "Why not Moncton?"

I think this is where q12's #s came from.

Personally I think the challenge will be where the money would come from in NB. If you think NS is broke, you should see NB. They have a $1B budget deficit, and both the Libs & Cons have made even more spending promises. They are going to be in a massive deficit for years to come, if they implement even 1/2 the current spending promises.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

[I][COLOR="Red"]
I am a little surprised by q12's assertion that it would take $75M to bring the stadium up to CFL standards

Just to clarify... that wasn't q12's assertion. That was TSN's assertion.

[ATL Stadium]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

My assessment of Touchdown Atlantic (reposted from the Maritime CFL thread)

Thoughts on Touchdown Atlantic

I was at the game today (but of course) and truly enjoyed the experience.

The crowd was enthusiastic (but non partisan) and cheered almost equally for the Eskimos and the Argonauts. I was really surprised by the number of people in the stands sporting Eskimos colours. In any event, the crowd acquitted itself quite well and hopefully impressed Cohon et al. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about the sound of over 20,000 people cheering at once.

The stadium looked really good and the addition of the end zone bleachers really makes the stadium seem more complete.

With the end zone bleachers, the stadium can seat over 20,000. If the corners were filled in as well and perhaps the east grandstand elevated a bit, I have no doubt the stadium could seat 28-30,000.

I am a little surprised by q12's assertion that it would take $75M to bring the stadium up to CFL standards but there is no question that there is still major work to be done. In addition to adding more permanent seats, a proper CFL stadium would require indoor concourses and permanent concessions and washrooms. This would be an expensive proposition and would have to be factored into the equation as to whether or not a CFL team should be a goal for the city of Moncton.

Still, I strongly feel that we should take the bull by the horns and go for it. As I have already stated in a previous post, there is probably nothing else that we could do that would be so effective in building a national profile for the city of Moncton as getting a CFL franchise. Halifax already has a national profile and most other people in Canada only think of three things when it comes to the Maritimes - Halifax, Anne of Green Gables and unemployed pogey collecting fishermen. We need to do more to enlighten the country and let them know that there is more to the Maritimes than this!!

It is true that Halifax is three times the size of Moncton and would seem to be the natural choice to locate a regional franchise. It is also true however that Moncton is more central to the bulk of the regional population than Halifax is. I agree that the three hour driving time rule is probably unrealistic in terms of determining the potential market for a team but I do think that 90 minutes to two hours is realistic.

- population within 2 hrs of Halifax - 680,000
- population within 2 hrs of Moncton - 625,000

This seems to me to be a wash.........

Given this, you have to also look at civic leadership, the availability of a new (or expandable) stadium, corporate interest and popular support. Most of these factors I believe are on Moncton's side of the equation. In addition, Moncton has an established relationship with the CFL and I strongly believe that Touchdown Atlantic will become an annual event. If these events remain continually successfull then the CFL Board of Governors will have to sit up and take notice.

Of course it could be that Commissioner Cohon is merely playing footsie with Moncton in order to get the civic leaders in Halifax to get off their collective keisters and start looking at building a stadium, but the recent announcement that the Uteck Bowl will be played in Moncton in 2011, 2013 and 2015 may do more that anything else to mobilize Halifax into action. This should be a major embarrassment to Halifax and is potentially a very dangerous move in terms of prodding the sleeping bear into action. I really don't think it was stategically a very good idea for the city of Moncton to steal this event from Halifax - it could backfire.

In any event, the next 5-7 years will be very interesting in determining the future of pro football in the Maritimes. I think everyone knows where my own personal allegiance lies but it is certainly too soon to count Halifax out of the equation. For the time being Moncton (rightfully and deservedly) remains the frontrunner. The tortoise however may still win the race......

WildCat Guy.
I think your perspective is fairly accurate...But......I do question the ability of a Moncton Location to draw numbers from a distance.....The HRM scenario would be similar number true enough but at a much closer distance....
HRM plus Bwater, Truro, Windsor, Kentville, Wolfville.....all at approximately an hour drive.....to a suburban HRM stadium. The real key factor is having 400,000 within 20 minutes to half hour.....!

But you are absolutely correct....no HRM stadium venue.

Bravo to Moncton for the game.....NB paid 1.5million to the Argos and sold out for revenues of 1.6 million so maybe they broke even or lost a bit in the expansion addition temporary set up costs etc etc....but most certainly showcased Moncton and the location to the rest of Canada......was a great day for Football!

[ATL Stadium]

For all its Glory.......the Stadium must be first!

One has to keep the perspective that the CFL, or any other entity, is only a tenant that keeps the costs down to maintain and the rationale for having its exisitance.....Yes indeedy it gives great national presence....some tourist draws, and local sports nuts a great deal of regional pride....all good stuff!

The CFL is only a piece of the puzzle.....

A Stadium will attract the CFL or Soccer etc etc...if it is in a viable market and an owner can receive a return on their investment in the franchise and costs in running the team. The CFL has set that 25,000 min for a reason.....

They know that as wonderful as yesterday was.....it was a one time event....and a CFL will not always draw a full house....even the cozy confines of McGill had to be added to help the Montreal team make ends meet....and for playoffs and hosting the Grey Cup....they move to Olympic Stadium......
Moncton Stadium is too small......because there would be little opportunity to grab that needed revenue when it arises......and a team needs that to stay afloat.

Halifax should grab this opportunity to build a 30,000 seat expandable stadium. A roof or canopy of some sort ads to the ability to host and draw fair weather fans......

Fantastic for concerts.....save the commons....attract other events, maybe even pro sports like CFL or soccer.....

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It is true that Halifax is three times the size of Moncton and would seem to be the natural choice to locate a regional franchise. It is also true however that Moncton is more central to the bulk of the regional population than Halifax is. I agree that the three hour driving time rule is probably unrealistic in terms of determining the potential market for a team but I do think that 90 minutes to two hours is realistic.

I think you would be hard pressed to find too many people willing to drive two hours (four counting the return trip) on a regular basis to go to a football game in the maritimes. This isn't Saskatchewan and these aren't the Roughriders.

One hour is going to be your primary target. The only ones who will travel farther than that regularly are the die-hard fans.

[halifaxboyns]

I was in Edmonton this weekend to celebrate my birthday and I watched the game. I want to start off by saying; I think Moncton did a great job. I'm hearing rumours from people I know in NB tourism that the game may have generated from 2 to 5 $ in local econimic spending; but I've not read any official numbers. So i'm taking that as one person's guess and I'll wait to read anything official. Although; if the stadium cost 25 million $ - there is about 10% made back in economic spin offs (if it holds true) from one event.

I watched a story on the National last night (I remember it because I'm watching the national right now; since they are in Fort Mac - where I lived for nearly 3 years) about the stadium possibilities for Moncton - and talking that they had gotten a thumbs up from the CFL - so I agree with we'd better get on this fast. Also; I'd suggest that a 2 hour driving distance isn't unreasonable when some people drive from Calgary and vise versa from Edmonton for certain games (for their fav teams); that's about 3 hours.

While I was in Edmonton; I decided to do some urban exploring and took the LRT down to Century Park to see how it was progressing (since it's a new TOD development). I poked around for about 30 minutes and the LRT was on typical sunday freequency; 15 minutes. When I finally started to head back to the train, I noticed the parking lot filling up - there was an oilers game on that night. When I arrived, the parking lot was empty - when I got back to the train; it was about 25% full. I also noticed that the frequency of the train changed to every 10 minutes and an extra train was parked at the station.

This got me thinking about our discussions about transit and the stadium, mainly around a peninsula or shannon park perspective (mainly). So I took the LRT all the way to Rexall Place; because I wanted to see how many people were taking transit. My train; was packed and the lots at the park and ride stations did start filling up. When I got off at Rexall; there were extra buses from all over the city(special routes), in addition to extra frequency on routes that normally serve that station (one route had 3 packed articulated buses arrive within 5 minutes and then all of them went out of service). I looked around and from eye balling the area; I think there was maybe 2,000 stalls in on site parking and adjacent lots. The residential area near by took a big hit; the streets were clogged with cars.

I then took the LRT back to the Commonwealth Stadium - looked around. I think the parking situation there is about the same and the lot that people park at when no events are occuring (park and ride lot for the stadium station) is also used as a pick up/drop off for additional special routes throughout the city.

What am I trying to say? Regardless of where the stadium goes (greenfield/brownfield) - transit can be sculptured to fit getting people there. So if we put it out by RIM; high speed ferry and additional routes from elsewhere can probably work well. Also, just because the American cities have built stadiums with huge seas of parking; doesn't mean that it has to happen - with good transit access, people will use it (I saw that first hand in Edmonton). We shouldn't worry about the transit perspective and focus on getting a good list of sites and move forward. One other thing I'd suggest (based on Edmonton and Calgary's experience) - if the city grows big enough to have an LRT system; a stadium would probably be a likely destination for the system.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by hfx_chris

One hour is going to be your primary target. The only ones who will travel farther than that regularly are the die-hard fans.

People are not going to do things like buy season tickets over the span of years if they have to drive for 4 hours to see every game. Conversely, I think the one-game-per-season crowd would probably be about as ready to drive for 6 hours as they'd be to drive for 4 hours. A person living in the same city is definitely far more valuable to the business than somebody living hours away, particularly if we're talking about somewhat poorer and declining rural areas that make up the bulk of the 2 hour radius around Moncton.

[Jack Doe]

Don't know if this has been discussed before (Sorry, no way I'm reading thru 69 pages of sometimes arcane discourse), but how about Halifax and Moncton sharing a team?

Four games in Moncton, four games in Halifax, and the other game played in Saint John, St. John's, Fredericton or Charlottetown.

The "Atlantic Schooners" anyone?

As a Rider fan living in Calgary, I would love to see an Atlantic team. Then maybe we can get the Bombers back in the West where they belong.

[Jstaleness]

Originally Posted by halifaxboyns

What am I trying to say? Regardless of where the stadium goes (greenfield/brownfield) - transit can be sculptured to fit getting people there. So if we put it out by RIM; high speed ferry and additional routes from elsewhere can probably work well. Also, just because the American cities have built stadiums with huge seas of parking; doesn't mean that it has to happen - with good transit access, people will use it (I saw that first hand in Edmonton). We shouldn't worry about the transit perspective and focus on getting a good list of sites and move forward. One other thing I'd suggest (based on Edmonton and Calgary's experience) - if the city grows big enough to have an LRT system; a stadium would probably be a likely destination for the system.

I'm for the Kearney Lake/Hammonds Plains Stadium as much as I would be for a peninsula Stadium. Cheaper land as someone had mentioned and better hwy access. 103/102 nearby.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by someone123

A person living in the same city is definitely far more valuable to the business than somebody living hours away, particularly if we're talking about somewhat poorer and declining rural areas that make up the bulk of the 2 hour radius around Moncton.

As if the eastern shore isn't a "poor and declining rural area".

The two hour radius from Moncton includes some pretty prosperous and/or relatively large communities such as Charlottetown, Summerside, Sackville, Sussex, Fredericton and Saint John.....

We aren't all rubes, country bumpkins or pogey collecting fishermen out here in the colonies!

Also, a typical warehouseman, carpenter or potash miner is more likely to be a football fan than your typical latte slurping south end corporate lawyer!

[ATL Stadium]

The INTANGIBLE Benefits!

Lets just take a look at the whole ball of wax....Any Stadium in HRM will have to be funded in a large way with tax dollars (HRM, Prov, Federal) As much as we would like to think Govts give away dollars ....they dont....they need some sort of rationale to defend spending tax dollars....

You cant have social programs go unfunded while a $50,000,000 stadium is being built. So the monies must be borrowed and the interest & operating is the actual tax dollar cost....no hit to those social programs if the stadium is successful.

So...what makes a stadium successful? Its pretty simple....its like a shopping mall.....it has to be able to attract tenants. Concert Promoters, Event Organizers, Pro Sports, Amateur Sports, Collegiate Sports, other outdoor events.
In order to attract those tenants....they must be convinced they can sell tickets....and that there is a large enough ticket buying market to make a "profit".
Its the tenants that will pay the leases...that will fund the operating and interest.....and with success will pay down that initial debt load.....over along period of time.

So....an attractive Stadium....at the very best location, in an acceptable market size....

The intangibles dont count! They are difficult to measure with any accuracy, and are seldom acceptable to the public tax payer...its those warm and fuzzy things that we would love to have....but....not able to figure into the puzzle to justify a stadium...

[ATL Stadium]

Marketing 101
I was reading a bit about the NFL....marketing football to women....hey they buy tickets too! (dont they?)

The NFL is making a conscious effort to market its game to the ladies....why?
The reason has to be because they need them.....So what attracts the ladies to buy the NFL game....as one of my friend's wife says...." why would I want to go watch a bunch of guys in tight pants chase each around a field while I freeze in the stands?" (notice she mentioned the tight pants hmmm.....,,,interesting!)
Anyways.....the NFL....is really no longer marketing the "game". They are now marketing the "big event".....no one wants to miss it!

Stadiums play a big role in attracting the female ticket buyer or even the tag along wife....not wanting to "miss the event". Its kind of like the BIG SALE lure...really!
Stadiums & Teams have to offer a certain amount of creature comforts....long gone are the days of guys in those big coats and hats puffin on their cigars as they sit on the frozen bleacher seat watching through the snowflakes,....the ladies need to know....they can wear the fashion shoes, not have to don the long johns, the washroom is close and clean, the food is reasonably good and selection beyond hot dogs and beer.....and perhaps most importantly it is an "event"! Games, contests, prizes, cheers from the stands, and that they can buy stuff...all that fun stuff that goes on around a game that makes it an event......

All very important when planning to build a stadium today!

[ATL Stadium]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

As if the eastern shore isn't a "poor and declining rural area".

The two hour radius from Moncton includes some pretty prosperous and/or relatively large communities such as Charlottetown, Summerside, Sackville, Sussex, Fredericton and Saint John.....

We aren't all rubes, country bumpkins or pogey collecting fishermen out here in the colonies!

Also, a typical warehouseman, carpenter or potash miner is more likely to be a football fan than your typical latte slurping south end corporate lawyer!

Any ticket buyer is a friend! When you are sitting in the stands high fiving or crying in the beer......we are all the same....a FAN!

[ATL Stadium]

Originally Posted by Jack Doe

Don't know if this has been discussed before (Sorry, no way I'm reading thru 69 pages of sometimes arcane discourse), but how about Halifax and Moncton sharing a team?

Four games in Moncton, four games in Halifax, and the other game played in Saint John, St. John's, Fredericton or Charlottetown.

The "Atlantic Schooners" anyone?

As a Rider fan living in Calgary, I would love to see an Atlantic team. Then maybe we can get the Bombers back in the West where they belong.

Jack, a novel idea but then we would all need a stadium.....!!!