Halifax Stadium Discussion

[Colin May]

`It’s just hard these days.

As it stares down an uncertain future, the CFL is facing extreme challenges shared by all pro sports leagues in North America. They’ve been shut down by the coronavirus. The decision to resume play rests with the public healthy authority.

To that end there are signs things are getting better. But the prospect of large crowds gathering in a public space might be, at best, a year off, which is a tad problematic when the life’s blood of your business involves large crowds gathering in a public place.

That’s why it might be the most vulnerable of all the pro leagues in North America.

In the meantime the Lions have applied for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, a federal program that offers a 75 per cent subsidy to eligible employees for up to 12 weeks. The maximum there is $847 per week. "

https://theprovince.com/sports/football/...david-braley-is-the-owner-lelacheur-said

[c-way-dude]

An informative interview with Gary Drummond:

www.twitter.com/CFL_News/status/1255853275670147072


IMO, Drummond already sounds more well-spoken and better prepared than pretty much anything we heard from LeBlanc regarding the Schooners.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by c-way-dude

An informative interview with Gary Drummond:

www.twitter.com/CFL_News/status/1255853275670147072


IMO, Drummond already sounds more well-spoken and better prepared than pretty much anything we heard from LeBlanc regarding the Schooners.

It is actually positive that they have not yet begun operating. It would have been bad timing to finish a stadium and assemble a team just before a global pandemic hits for a year.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by someone123

It is actually positive that they have not yet begun operating. It would have been bad timing to finish a stadium and assemble a team just before a global pandemic hits for a year.

A bit of silver lining for the hopes of the Schooners.

An interview with Drummond on the Rod Pedersen Show

https://youtu.be/Tmerc7kPB6s

[elly63]

Originally Posted by someone123

It is actually positive that they have not yet begun operating. It would have been bad timing to finish a stadium and assemble a team just before a global pandemic hits for a year.

Totally agree, this project seemed rushed for no good reason to my eye.

As legal challenges gave the RedBlacks time to get their act together, so will the pandemic for the Schooners. It will either buy them the valued due diligence time or show that this can't go ahead. Either will be a blessing, rather than a premature startup and failure.

[Colin May]

The brutal reality of the CFL :
" But it also seems increasingly obvious the CFL’s business model has to change dramatically, because the little league has a big financial problem, entirely unrelated to the pandemic. As Ambrosie made his pitch for aid May 7, he went public with the sobering news that the league loses $10 million to $20 million, in a good year.

It is literally public knowledge that the community-owned franchises in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Saskatchewan routinely make healthy profits, even when they do not host the Grey Cup game. In 2018, for instance, they combined to go $7 million into the black. If the league came close to a $20 million loss that year, the remaining six teams went $27 million into the red. "

https://theprovince.com/sports/football/...wcm/64f56b1d-9775-4cbe-a45b-c8b16df7153d

[elly63]

And, per usual, we have to try and interpret a point to the post?

[pblaauw]

The point seems to be that the CFL is only popular/profitable out west.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by pblaauw

The point seems to be that the CFL is only popular/profitable out west.

I do wonder about the future of football, particularly with CTE and fewer young people getting into it. I'm not sure but it seems like CFL enthusiasts are mostly middle aged.

Then there are the Wanderers who just started playing with a bare bones stadium and so far have been successful (hopefully they can weather the pandemic).

My hope, which may be far-fetched, is that a decent stadium will be built on an expanded footprint where the Wanderers play now. Maybe it could be used by both teams. I don't think acres of parking nearby are needed, and the hospital and Spring Garden Road area parkades would provide a lot of existing capacity. To me it seems like far and away the best site in town.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by someone123

I do wonder about the future of football, particularly with CTE and fewer young people getting into it. I'm not sure but it seems like CFL enthusiasts are mostly middle aged.

Then there are the Wanderers who just started playing with a bare bones stadium and so far have been successful (hopefully they can weather the pandemic).

My hope, which may be far-fetched, is that a decent stadium will be built on an expanded footprint where the Wanderers play now. Maybe it could be used by both teams. I don't think acres of parking nearby are needed, and the hospital and Spring Garden Road area parkades would provide a lot of existing capacity. To me it seems like far and away the best site in town.

I agree Someone and the Wanderers grounds at the base of Citadel Hill should be set up as a semi permanent outdoor concert site. The Feds may need the income in the coming years.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by pblaauw

The point seems to be that the CFL is only popular/profitable out west.

And as such maybe Colin's post is pertinent in that maybe funding a stadium specifically for the needs of the CFL is not a good idea if the league may not be viable.

I think we still need a stadium but maybe we need to shift the focus from the CFL and more towards other uses?

[elly63]

Originally Posted by pblaauw

The point seems to be that the CFL is only popular/profitable out west.

And that "point" would be wrong. Far as I know Ottawa and Hamilton (half of the teams in the east), are doing just fine. I'm sure our resident CFL hater will try and link the Redblacks profitability to the losses of the company that owns them even though they enjoy good crowds and popularity enough to make them profitable.

The Argos lose money but are owned by MLSE who pay the bills just as they do for the money losing TFC so there is no financially ruinous future there.

The Als were a league leader for years in sponsorships and then hit the skids. They lost a lot of money and the owner threw the keys on the table. They had a terrific comeback season last year under charismatic coach Khari Jones and the vibe came back to Montreal. They have installed a new owner, President and GM who are well accepted in the market. The future looks bright if and when there is a Corona recovery.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by someone123

I do wonder about the future of football, particularly with CTE and fewer young people getting into it.

The dirty little secret the influencers and feminazis don't want you to know about

Female Soccer Players Get the Most Concussions in High School Sports
New research shows that head injuries are now more common in girls' soccer than boys' football.
Hollee Actman Becker

[elly63]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I think we still need a stadium but maybe we need to shift the focus from the CFL and more towards other uses?

It should never have been about the CFL in the first place, I have been saying that all along. Sure use the CFL as the impetus to help get it built but I don't think the ownership ever acted like they would be the lone focus. They went out of their way to have talks and get others involved. Sport Nova Scotia would be the biggest example.

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by elly63

It should never have been about the CFL in the first place, I have been saying that all along. Sure use the CFL as the impetus to help get it built but I don't think the ownership ever acted like they would be the lone focus. They went out of their way to have talks and get others involved. Sport Nova Scotia would be the biggest example.

You are absolutely right that the CFL should not be the focus of the need for a stadium. But I disagree that SSE has gone "out of their way" to get others involved. SNS was a good start but a community stadium will not fly without the engagement of U Sports and CCAA schools and the Wanderers. If SSE has made those overtures they have been sadly unsuccessful.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

But I disagree that SSE has gone "out of their way" to get others involved. SNS was a good start but a community stadium will not fly without the engagement of U Sports and CCAA schools and the Wanderers. If SSE has made those overtures they have been sadly unsuccessful.

I think it is disingenuous to insinuate that it is the fault of the Schooner group that USports or the Wanderers may or may not be involved down the road.

I've read the group had talks with the universities (why wouldn't they), where they are at this point I know not.

We know these groups are involved in the stadium process: Football NS, Rugby NS, Soccer NS, and the Canadian Sports Centre Atlantic.

As for the Wanderers, I thought it was pretty crappy of their leadership to not be very supportive of another proposed team in the city with the comments Martin made early on. I'd say screw him and the Wanderers who drew 6000 people to a league that averages 3k and Zero TV but the spin is always how successful they are and what a failure the CFL is that draws 20K and 400K TV viewers.

But as in life, compromises are made and a stadium of the size needed for a CFL club is much larger than is needed for the Wanderers. The Leafs and Raptors were going to build separate arenas and common sense prevailed as hopefully it would here.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by someone123

I'm not sure but it seems like CFL enthusiasts are mostly middle aged.

I've often read this from detractors of the league of which I hope you are not one. There is always the insinuation they'll die off and not be replaced and then the league will die. But they keep getting replaced. People still watch golf. Most sports are diminishing in viewership for a myriad of reasons. Even programming aimed towards the supposed future audiences are failing. ie Quibi.

I was part of the second wave of skateboarders (not from the 60s) but the 70s. These were the guys who slalom raced and looked for empty pools and built halfpipes. I don't watch skateboard shows on TV anymore (frankly I never did), people's tastes change. We have a takeout restaurant in town where you'll almost never see anyone under 30 but it has been going for ever and will keep going.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by elly63

The dirty little secret the influencers and feminazis don't want you to know about

Female Soccer Players Get the Most Concussions in High School Sports
New research shows that head injuries are now more common in girls' soccer than boys' football.
Hollee Actman Becker

"Feminazis?" Get out of here with that culture war stuff.

This is a forum about skyscrapers in Halifax... I think that loosely extends to development and being a great city, so I can see why a stadium discussion thread could belong. I'm not as interested in the stadium as in other buildings, but I periodically check this thread out too - I believe that sports and cultural infrastructure are important parts of making cities livable, so I'm interested at that level... much less so at the level of whether CFL will use it or not.

So. You've taken a thread about the potential for a stadium in a forum about skyscrapers as an opportunity to post a response to musings about the popularity of football in general with a link to an article about highschool girls and suggest a conspiracy between "influencers" and "feminazis." Please get back on track.

[OldDartmouthMark]

I agree. This board recently had a flare-up in another thread where some posters revealed that they no longer come here due to the confrontational nature of some of the posts (and aggressive nature of some of the posters). I think this constant battle and aggressive posting regarding the CFL and football stadiums tends to detract from the enjoyment of this forum for many posters.

Let's try to keep it more positive and on track. I would really like to see a stadium built in Halifax, whether we get a CFL team or not. In fact, I think a CFL team would be nice, and would accept public money being used to build a stadium for Halifax, but would not be accepting of public money being spent specifically for a CFL team. If a CFL team wants to use a stadium in Halifax, then it should be self-supporting, and be a benefit for the region, but not use hard-earned tax dollars to fund or support it.

[teddifax]

I totally agree.. let's keep this forum going along with it's mandated direction and not get off track.