CFL in the Maritimes

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by kirjtc2

http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl...-destinations/

Mark Cohon says he has a `5 year plan` on Atlantic expansion, whatever that means...

Within 5 years, a stadium of CFL minimum standards will be agreed upon, to be constructed in Halifax is my guess.

Nova Scotia is looking at a balanced budget this year, along with growing industries in natural resources offshore and the federal shipbuilding contract, both of which will produce jobs in the long-term and enable Nova Scotia more flexability economically, as consecutive budgets are more likely to be balanced (or, perhaps, produce surpluses).

The province has the finances and the population in the Halifax area to support a stadium.

[Bishop2047]

As much as I would love to see a team closer to me, I can not see a team permanently placed in Moncton. Halifax is the logical choice by a mile.

Ottawa has had a tough time maintaining a team, and I could not see the CFL considering Moncton for any more than one game a year.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by Bishop2047

As much as I would love to see a team closer to me, I can not see a team permanently placed in Moncton. Halifax is the logical choice by a mile.

Ottawa has had a tough time maintaining a team, and I could not see the CFL considering Moncton for any more than one game a year.

Moncton already has the infrastructure to directly benefit from a team in Halifax. There can be games in Moncton, with an increasing frequency.

A team is most likely to survive in Halifax. Let Nova Scotia deal with the main investments this ambition will require. Moncton will be an important component in supporting this enterprise, and expanding it enough to make a second Atlantic team viable.

But I get ahead of myself. Let us hope Halifax has success with something on this file, soon. The mayor has made some noise about a stadium, but other than that we've seen no information -- no specifics. We need a plan.

Simply calling something a '5 year plan' doesn't do a thing. We need announcements; we need motion, so the long process for approvals can begin.

[Nashe]

LOL, I'm determined not to offer an opinion on this one (again) as it's been beaten to death and no good can come from it at this juncture.

[BlackYear]

Originally Posted by Bishop2047

As much as I would love to see a team closer to me, I can not see a team permanently placed in Moncton. Halifax is the logical choice by a mile.

Ottawa has had a tough time maintaining a team, and I could not see the CFL considering Moncton for any more than one game a year.

Especially when the 2013 Touchdown Atlantic game is only half sold out 2 months away from kick-off. Looks like Moncton is going back to their old habits of buying event tickets at the very last minute. #NotGood.

If this continues, we'll see the Stadium and Magnetic Hill empty in 2014. And that doesn't look good trying to convince the people that Moncton needs a 10,000 seat downtown arena.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

LOL, I'm determined not to offer an opinion on this one (again) as it's been beaten to death and no good can come from it at this juncture.

Agreed. Everyone has their own opinions on this file and nobody is going to change anyone's mind on this one. The arguments are circular and further expounding on the topic will not do any more to elucidate the situation.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the U18 Football Canada Cup at Rocky Stone Field. The semi-final yesterday between Ontario and Alberta was a doozy!!

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by Budyser

Especially when the 2013 Touchdown Atlantic game is only half sold out 2 months away from kick-off. Looks like Moncton is going back to their old habits of buying event tickets at the very last minute. #NotGood.

If this continues, we'll see the Stadium and Magnetic Hill empty in 2014. And that doesn't look good trying to convince the people that Moncton needs a 10,000 seat downtown arena.

You make a point... I don't enjoy your point, but it's true. We'll see if Moncton focuses enough on the effort to revitalise the downtown to overcome any calls to say 'no' to the events centre.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Budyser

If this continues, we'll see the Stadium and Magnetic Hill empty in 2014. And that doesn't look good trying to convince the people that Moncton needs a 10,000 seat downtown arena.

I think this is sort of an apples and oranges argument. The Hill is empty because this is not a good touring year for major acts, and the Moncton Recreation Department still hasn't recovered from the loss of Ian Fowler. A new permanent director has been hired and (hopefully) more acts will be touring next year. Things will likely improve. Maybe a new focus will be necessary. Perhaps they should look at a permanent music festival like the Cavendish Beach Music Festival.

Also, the CFL games at the Moncton Stadium don't necessarily impact on the need for a new events centre in the core. We need a new enclosed performance venue for the city and a 9,000-10,000 seat capacity is required to secure major touring acts. I don't think anyone expects the Wildcats or the Miracles to suddenly draw 8,000 spectators routinely to their games. The capacity is required purely for special events (concerts, Cirque de Soleil, Memorial Cup, World Men's Curling Championship etc).

[someone123]

I'm not sure we'll ever hear much explicit talk of minimum CFL stadium standards. Part of the M.O. of professional sports leagues is to get governments to fork out as much money as possible to pay for performance venues.

If a stadium is built in Halifax I hope it is reasonable. Regina's stadium will eventually result a 4.5% increase to tax bills, and that is based on the assumption that the number of properties will increase by 2% per year. It is really hard to see how Moncton could afford an expense like that; it has 1/3 or less of Regina's tax base, and even if nearby municipalities helped fund a stadium it would only be around 2/3. HRM is a little over twice the size of Regina, and a Regina-level stadium would still be a huge expense there.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...ator-1301.html

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by someone123

I'm not sure we'll ever hear much explicit talk of minimum CFL stadium standards. Part of the M.O. of professional sports leagues is to get governments to fork out as much money as possible to pay for performance venues.

If a stadium is built in Halifax I hope it is reasonable. Regina's stadium will eventually result a 4.5% increase to tax bills, and that is based on the assumption that the number of properties will increase by 2% per year. It is really hard to see how Moncton could afford an expense like that; it has 1/3 or less of Regina's tax base, and even if nearby municipalities helped fund a stadium it would only be around 2/3. HRM is a little over twice the size of Regina, and a Regina-level stadium would still be a huge expense there.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...ator-1301.html

If Halifax Mayor Mike Savage advocates for an 'all-out' Regina-type stadium, I believe the approval process will curtail what the public would perceive as excessive public spending.

The conceived stadium, previously, was suppose to be bare boned.

I want something reasonable, too; but my concern for what is 'reasonable' is mostly associated with location. I want this infrastructure on the peninsula, where most of the students are (and non-student foot traffic is) -- or at the very least, Shannon Park.

I will be eagerly awaiting news from non-Irving sources about the financial success of Moncton's games. I hope the city is making the tourism dollars for which it was aiming. If Moncton performs well this summer, it could mean more games.

[c-way-dude]

I am sure that any stadium that Halifax might proceed with would have more in common with the new stadium being built in Hamilton than it would with the new stadium being built in Regina. It will be challenge enough to build a stadium like Hamilton's, which should cost a little over half of what the new Regina stadium will.

[someone123]

$150M is much closer to a reasonable project cost, if multiple parties buy in to it. The city's share should be sub-$100M. The farther it goes beyond that the harder it is to justify why people should be taxed so heavily to pay for recreational buildings, or why other much-needed infrastructure improvements are a lower priority.

The central library is a medium-sized project as far as HRM goes (~$60M), and the city's share is only around $25M. At that level it is a more or less routine capital project. The new convention centre was more expensive ($150-200M) and was a much bigger controversy, even though it qualified for more cost sharing from higher levels of government than a stadium probably would.

[MonctonRad]

Majority of Moncton Area Residents Support a CFL Team in Moncton
Posted by CRA on Aug 21, 2013

Moncton: Residents living within the Moncton area support having a Canadian Football League (CFL) team in Moncton, according to the most recent Urban Report Survey from Corporate Research Associates, Inc. Specifically, three-quarters (73%) of Moncton area residents support a CFL team in the city, while approximately two in ten (17%) oppose and 11 percent are unsure.

Residents of Dieppe are more likely to support the addition of a CFL team in Moncton compared with other residents in the region, while those in the City of Moncton are least likely to support such an addition.

“Given the continuing interest by the CFL to expand into Atlantic Canada, it is interesting that a strong majority of Moncton area residents support such a team in Moncton, at least in principle,” according to Don Mills, Chairman and CEO of Corporate Research Associates Inc. “In fact, there is more public support for a CFL team in Moncton than in Halifax at the current moment.”

These results are part of the CRA Moncton Urban Report, an independent survey of Moncton area residents. The overall results are based on a sample of 400 adult residents, conducted from July 25 to August 5, 2013, with results accurate to within +4.9 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times.

For more information, please contact:
Don Mills, Chairman and CEO at (902) 493-3838
Margaret Brigley, President and COO at (902) 493-3830

http://cra.ca/majority-of-moncton-ar...am-in-moncton/

[q12]

Poll shows strong support for CFL franchise in Halifax, Huskies coach favours idea

By Haley Ryan

August 21, 2013 Updated: August 21, 2013 | 7:08 pm

A new poll suggests the people of Halifax want a professional football team, and a local university coach says the city could “definitely” bring a Maritime party to the Canadian Football League.

Read more here: http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/773...ch-loves-idea/

The poll suggests somewhere around 270,000 Haligonians say they would support a CFL team and nearly 105,000 Monctonions say they would support a team.

[Nashe]

Great to see popular support in both cities! Those are both good percentages.

[Barnard's Star]

Snap poll: if a CFL team were awarded to a city in the Maritimes tomorrow, what colours would you choose for the team?

[Hali87]

Interesting question. All of the obvious colour combinations are already taken! I get the feeling pink or purple wouldn't fly, although maybe the hipsters would approve.

Maybe.. grey and brown?

[isaidso]

There are lots of good colour combinations not taken: blue and orange, burgundy and gold, bright blue and white, etc. One could go on and on. Someone last year mentioned Saint Mary's University colours. Not sure how that would fly outside of Halifax though.

[Barnard's Star]

There's no blue and green in the league. Think Timberwolves or Seahawks.

[ErickMontreal]

CFL Touchdown Atlantic Game not sold out yet in Moncton. 1478 seats left, according to @canadiancommish Mark Cohon. #NB

https://twitter.com/ReidLeBlancCBC/s...44515531771904