Halifax CFL Team

[Keith P.]

Unanimous opposition (14 letters in total) to a stadium in the letters section of the Herald today, quite remarkable:

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/opinio.../voice-of-the-people-nov-12-2018-258391/

I like the one suggesting a class-action suit against HRM Council charging those politicians who support the stadium with failing in their fiduciary duty to handle taxpayers’ money responsibly.

[q12]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Unanimous opposition (14 letters in total) to a stadium in the letters section of the Herald today, quite remarkable:.

Probably the same 14 NIMBY's that whine about every building over 2 stories being built in Halifax because it's too tall.

What is the big deal for crying out loud? We are municipality of nearly 450,000 by 2019. I watched the CFL western semi-final yesterday on TSN in Regina, that is a nice stadium they have.

City of Moncton with a population of around 70,000 paid over $100 million for a new arena.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by q12

City of Moncton with a population of around 70,000 paid over $100 million for a new arena.

The province supplied $21M and the Feds $23.5M in infrastructure costs.

https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/n-b-comes-through-with-funding-pledge-for-moncton-arena-1.2429484

Moncton's Downtown arena can be used as a catalyst to spur development in the surrounding area (something which is already occurring). A stadium in Halifax doesn't have that same upside in general because it will not be located in an area that can be easily densified with urban retail/residential. The ROI on something like an urban arena is likely greater than that of a stadium in a non-urban setting.

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by q12

Probably the same 14 NIMBY's that whine about every building over 2 stories being built in Halifax because it's too tall.

What is the big deal for crying out loud? We are municipality of nearly 450,000 by 2019. I watched the CFL western semi-final yesterday on TSN in Regina, that is a nice stadium they have.

City of Moncton with a population of around 70,000 paid over $100 million for a new arena.

I volunteer for the riders and I moved from Moncton to Regina in March and we do have a nice stadium here. The only complaint I hear from fans is why wasn’t there a roof put on the stadium. But last nights game was a cool game with temps near -9C. But if Halifax wants to build a nice stadium model it on mosaic stadium. Some of the cool features are the wide open concourses a full 360 degree concourse on the main level. The Maxtron, pils section. Here the stadium has over 33k seats and expandable to 40K.
As I said in previous posts the team to cut on cost we have the riders squad wich are the army of volunteers. And as far as transit where the stadium will be located in town there needs to be free public transportation available from different pick up points in town and a shuttle service they would take you from the major maritime cities to Halifax.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I like the one suggesting a class-action suit against HRM Council charging those politicians who support the stadium with failing in their fiduciary duty to handle taxpayers’ money responsibly.

That's a huge joke. Politicians don't fail their fiduciary duty for looking at a project you don't agree with, nor would they if they ultimately take part in a project that doesn't pan out the way they expected. The guy who wrote that letter is not a smart man.

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

That's a huge joke. Politicians don't fail their fiduciary duty for looking at a project you don't agree with, nor would they if they ultimately take part in a project that doesn't pan out the way they expected. The guy who wrote that letter is not a smart man.

Look you guys should stop bickering on taxes the way it could work is make a maritime partnership. The three government tiers could get together and finance that project as well as the owners should get the business community to buy in. Halifax you have a golden opportunity to shine and to build the right stadium at the right place. And a CFL team will mean further economic spinoffs.

[MonctonRad]

There's no way in hell that Parsimonious Blaine (the new PC premier of NB) would pitch in on a new stadium in Halifax!!!!!

[905er]

the league really needs a 10th team.. I hope Halifax gets it. right now the CFL imo is a mickey mouse league where each team has a 1 in 9 chance of winning the Grey Cup.. it's kinda pathetic.. so lets get that 10th team.. and maybe we a little luck.. a couple more to make this league a little more competitive. ...and lets never again expand to the US.

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Unanimous opposition (14 letters in total) to a stadium in the letters section of the Herald today, quite remarkable:

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/opinio.../voice-of-the-people-nov-12-2018-258391/

I like the one suggesting a class-action suit against HRM Council charging those politicians who support the stadium with failing in their fiduciary duty to handle taxpayers’ money responsibly.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

That's a huge joke. Politicians don't fail their fiduciary duty for looking at a project you don't agree with, nor would they if they ultimately take part in a project that doesn't pan out the way they expected. The guy who wrote that letter is not a smart man.

That may be, but welcome to the joys of stadium funding where taxpayers will more than likely be paying most of the cost in some manner. This is not a short negotiation cycle and it is not similar to Saskatchewan where the team is established and loved by probably 40% of the community. Even with that love there was and is significant opposition to the stadium and how it was funded.

I want to see a 10th team and I think Halifax is a pretty good spot for one, but I'm not drinking the commissioner's or the ownership group's Kool-Aid yet. This is still really far away from a reality.

[teddifax]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

Look you guys should stop bickering on taxes the way it could work is make a maritime partnership. The three government tiers could get together and finance that project as well as the owners should get the business community to buy in. Halifax you have a golden opportunity to shine and to build the right stadium at the right place. And a CFL team will mean further economic spinoffs.

I totally agree. I am tired of all the bickering as you call it. I would not probably attend any football games, but would love to see this stadium in Metro. We are a vibrant, growing city and this is a great step to maintain this momentum. We not only need this for football, but other events as well. I just hope it is built properly and not be built without a lot of thought as to a proper design. I like the idea of a large concourse with sales venues.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

This is not a short negotiation cycle and it is not similar to Saskatchewan where the team is established and loved by probably 40% of the community. Even with that love there was and is significant opposition to the stadium and how it was funded.

After living next door to Saskatchewan, I can tell you first-hand that it's more like 90%. They are die-hard fans of the riders (as they rightly should be).

A Maritime team that unifies the east would be something all of Canada would cheer for (even quietly in the backs of their minds).

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

FWIW, I really like the idea of calling the team the Halifax Explosion, although I can understand that this could be viewed as being insensitive by many people.

I think it goes a little beyond insensitive, and more along the lines of tasteless.

There's a reason that you don't see teams named after disasters that killed people and/or devastated a region.

Imagine the reaction to team names like:
- The New Orleans Katrinas
- The Los Angeles Flames
- The New York 911s
- The Columbine Sharpshooters

Tasteless, right? Just because Halifax's disaster happened over a century ago doesn't mean it's OK to make light of it by naming a team after it. IMHO.

Back to topic. Although I agree the "Atlantic _____" sounds a little strange, I like what it stands for and agree that the team should be inclusive of the whole region, and in more than just name alone. However, the majority of the funding for the stadium should still come from the region that will use it the most - i.e. Halifax/Nova Scotia and Feds if funding can be sourced from them (us)...

All said, though, there should be some sustainability designed within the business model, so it doesn't end up completely being a tax burden, though a certain degree of tax support is expected - just don't know what would be considered an acceptable degree of tax support in the long run. One would think that there would be some corporate naming rights (i.e. Scotianbank Centre) that would help offset that burden.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Imagine the reaction to team names like:
- The New Orleans Katrinas
- The Los Angeles Flames
- The New York 911s
- The Columbine Sharpshooters

The Chicago Fire are named after the 1871 Fire of Chicago and the Atlanta Flames were named after the burning of Atlanta by the US Army during the American Civil War.

Additionally, the Carolina Hurricanes and San Jose Earthquakes could be added into this category.

I agree with the assertion that the Halifax Explosions name would be a bit too on the nose.

I also agree that Atlantic is a silly name for a team as it fails to define a location or place. It's akin to the naming of some universities: Northwestern, Northeastern, Western....great, but where are they exactly?

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by JHikka

The Chicago Fire are named after the 1871 Fire of Chicago and the Atlanta Flames were named after the burning of Atlanta by the US Army during the American Civil War.

Additionally, the Carolina Hurricanes and San Jose Earthquakes could be added into this category.

I agree with the assertion that the Halifax Explosions name would be a bit too on the nose.

I also agree that Atlantic is a silly name for a team as it fails to define a location or place. It's akin to the naming of some universities: Northwestern, Northeastern, Western....great, but where are they exactly?

Though I realize it's perhaps far enough back in history that many people have no connection to it - I recall reading/hearing some buzz last December wondering why we are commemorating the event - I still contend that an event that killed 2000 people, or approx 3% of the population, and left many more with permanent disabilities and many children orphaned is probably not a great choice for a sports team.

Maybe in another 30 or 40 years, when anybody with a direct connection to explosion survivors is gone, then we can make light of it. Still would be in poor taste IMHO, but nobody will care then.

The Hurricane/Earthquakes are more general terms which describe natural phenomena rather than a specific event. The Chicago fire of 1871 was more about property damage, and about 300 people were estimated to have died - still it seems to be a curious thing to name a team after. Likewise with the Atlanta burning, which was the result of a deliberate act of war - I don't believe that many people died in the actual conflagration, but there were several thousand casualties during the entire civil war. Seems like a strange thing to name a team after, but to each his own, I guess.

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

There's no way in hell that Parsimonious Blaine (the new PC premier of NB) would pitch in on a new stadium in Halifax!!!!!

To be fair, I don't think any New Brunswick poli could ever make that fly!

[Franco401]

NBers have in the past:

• suburbs of Fredericton refusing to chip in for FHS in the 70s, causing the cancellation of the attached pool
• Moncton suburbs refusing to fund events centre
• voted for the PANB partially out of opposition to the perceived subsidization of francophones

Not happening.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by 905er

the league really needs a 10th team.. I hope Halifax gets it. right now the CFL imo is a mickey mouse league where each team has a 1 in 9 chance of winning the Grey Cup.. it's kinda pathetic.. so lets get that 10th team.. and maybe we a little luck.. a couple more to make this league a little more competitive. ...and lets never again expand to the US.

After Halifax, add teams in Quebec City and London and we've got ourselves a league! Add London into the Western Division to keep things equal.

I was thinking about what other teams we could add, and honestly I don't think it's possible to go over 12. Maybe Victoria and/or Saskatoon to make it 13 or 14, but even then, I don't know if there would be enough support to fill a 24,000-seat stadium there. I also considered Kelowna, Lethbridge, and Windsor, but I just don't think the support is there.

Hopefully in a couple decades we can look at a major expansion period again, once population levels make the economics feasible.

[elly63]

Halifax team name to be announced this Friday

[elly63]

Football on P.E.I. would benefit from Halifax CFL team: Hurricanes coach
Josh Lewis [email protected] November 19 2018

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The head coach of the Holland College Hurricanes says a pro football team in Halifax would do wonders for the game’s development in P.E.I.

Ross Young was reacting to recent news of a season ticket drive to gauge interest in a Canadian Football League franchise in Halifax.

Efforts have been made in the past to secure a team for the Maritimes, but Young said he thinks there’s a real chance this time.

“It comes at a great time. I’d like to think there seems to be a lot more momentum right now and the CFL seems to be very serious about considering this.”

Some members of the Hurricanes went to Halifax last spring to support the bid during a meeting with the CFL commissioner, Young said.

Having a team in Halifax would boost interest in football at all levels and provide a better opportunity for local players to jump to the pros, the bench boss said.

“It inspires the college and university athletes to be better and it inspires the little ones because it’s a trickle-down effect. I think it (would be) awesome.”

The impact would especially be felt at the grassroots level, Young said, where kids get a big charge out of spending time with Holland College players.

“The minor (football) kids are so excited to be with the Hurricanes. So, if you take that to the next level with CFL players, that’s incredible.”

One advantage would be having scouting combines closer to home, he said. Local players have to go to Montreal or Toronto to showcase their game now.

“It’s about time we started hosting them on the East Coast.”

CFL teams also have outreach programs that would benefit local communities beyond the football field, Young said.

“They help kids that don’t have a lot, and these players identify with those type of kids.

“The more football we have in the region and at the highest level, it benefits everybody – and not just from a sport perspective, but a community perspective.”

Whether the CFL will expand to 10 teams will come down to money and politics, Young said.

“It’s all about financing and the long-term viability of it. … I know politicians tend to be a little concerned about having to use government funds to support something that should be corporate-driven, so there’s always that balance.”