CFL sees future in N.B.
Published Saturday February 7th, 2009
League games to form centrepiece of annual events
By Jesse Robichaud
Times & Transcript Staff
The Canadian Football League is rumbling slowly but surely toward Moncton en route to its goal of becoming a truly coast-to-coast circuit.
Ian Fowler, left, of Moncton's Recreation, Parks, Tourism and Culture department; Mark Cohon, CFL commissioner; Chris Collins, Moncton East MLA; and Rob Assimakopolous, the CFL's senior vice-president of marketing and commercial assets, visit the new stadium under construction at l'Universite de Moncton.
CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon was in Moncton yesterday meeting with Mayor George LeBlanc and staff after meeting with Premier Shawn Graham at his office in Fredericton.
They discussed the creation a new annual weekend celebration of football in Moncton that could kick off as soon as fall 2010.
The annual weekend would revolve around a regular season CFL game between two rivals, a high-profile university football match that would draw students from across the Maritimes, and likely quite a bit of tailgate revelling.
"We see it as an opportunity to expand our base and use it as a platform to really celebrate football, trying to make the league coat to coast," said Cohon.
"We are looking at a multi-year commitment to try to bring a regular season game out here, and really create a fun weekend around it "¦ create a mini Grey Cup," said Cohon.
In addition to the new stadium that is currently under construction on the Université de Moncton campus, Cohon said the CFL is drawn to Moncton by the popularity of football east of Quebec, and Moncton's ability to draw fans from across the region.
"In talking to the premier and the mayor it is a great city for pulling for events because you can pull from PEI, you can pull from Halifax and across New Brunswick."
Premier Shawn Graham and Moncton-East Liberal MLA Chris Collins travelled to Montreal last fall to meet with Cohon and CFL team owners during last fall's Grey Cup to discuss bringing CFL football to Moncton.
Graham said yesterday that the Atlantic Bowl fits into his government's vision of Moncton as the entertainment hub of Atlantic Canada.
"The fact that the commissioner has taken time out of his schedule to be here speaks volumes for his commitment of trying to develop and Atlantic Bowl that is going to be positioned in Moncton."
Graham said each level of government has a role to play in making the event happen. He said there is still plenty of preparatory work to do, but he said the payoff is worth the investment.
"The tourism revenue that would be generated, plus the promotional material having TSN here for a weekend event promoting the region, you can't buy that kind of coverage," said Graham.
"The fact that CFL is looking at establishing a toe hold in Atlantic Canada and is choosing Moncton I think is a pretty exciting time."
The City of Moncton's major event czar, Ian Fowler, said there was much progress made in yesterday's discussions.
He said it is just a matter of time before the Atlantic Bowl becomes a reality.
"As Mayor LeBlanc has indicated to the commissioner he is most interested in moving this forward," said Fowler.
"With the support of our local MLAs this is going to become a reality."
Fowler said there are still many details and numbers to work out, but he said the political will is firmly in place.
"The important thing step is there is a commitment form the CFL, there is a commitment form the Province of New Brunswick, and there is a commitment from the City of Moncton," said Fowler.
"The will is there and everybody wants to make this happen so we as staff have some work to do."
As for fans who dream of a CFL team that Moncton can call its own, Cohon said it is best to take the growing partnership one step at a time.
"Let's walk before we run," said Cohon with a quick smile.
"I think this is great way for us to build a base. Obviously there are issues and opportunities we would have to address. Most of our stadiums have 30,000 seats."
The stadium that is currently being built on the U de M campus will have 10,000 permanent seats with capability to add 10,000 more temporary seats.
Cohon has made it clear that said the league is in a position to look at expanding as stadium attendance and television ratings have climbed in recent years.
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