CFL in the Maritimes

[someone123]

Originally Posted by c-way-dude

However, I think that it is worthwhile to note that both SSE and the city of Halifax decided to set this aside until after the pandemic is over, so the fact that there aren't currently any discussions is not a reason for concern.

One thing I'm not sure about is how popular the sport will be or how healthy the CFL will be in the future. If it declines generally the odds will go down. Like you say it means nothing that there hasn't been progress on this during the pandemic.

An underappreciated aspect of this is the high growth that's been happening in the city lately. Every year the market gets a little bit bigger and wealthier. This has continued during the pandemic. It's often lost in the discussions since Halifax tends to be presented as a small city due to size relative to say Toronto. In absolute terms it is much larger than it was in the 80's when they first tried to bring a CFL team to town.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Originally Posted by someone123

One thing I'm not sure about is how popular the sport will be or how healthy the CFL will be in the future. If it declines generally the odds will go down. Like you say it means nothing that there hasn't been progress on this during the pandemic.

An underappreciated aspect of this is the high growth that's been happening in the city lately. Every year the market gets a little bit bigger and wealthier. This has continued during the pandemic. It's often lost in the discussions since Halifax tends to be presented as a small city due to size relative to say Toronto. In absolute terms it is much larger than it was in the 80's when they first tried to bring a CFL team to town.

Halifax is also bigger than Regina and Saskatoon and there is a team located there.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

Halifax is also bigger than Regina and Saskatoon and there is a team located there.

Saskatchewan has a long history of supporting gridiron/the CFL.

Originally Posted by someone123

One thing I'm not sure about is how popular the sport will be or how healthy the CFL will be in the future.

Why put millions into a league when there's no guarantee you'll see your investment returned? How much money would someone be willing to sink for what's probably at best a breakeven property? The CFL has changed nothing wrt its structure since the pandemic and prior and shows no signs of becoming a desirable ownership property in the medium or long term.

These questions are all an aside from whether or not we think Halifax is a strong enough gridiron/CFL market.

[c-way-dude]

Originally Posted by someone123

An underappreciated aspect of this is the high growth that's been happening in the city lately. Every year the market gets a little bit bigger and wealthier. This has continued during the pandemic. It's often lost in the discussions since Halifax tends to be presented as a small city due to size relative to say Toronto. In absolute terms it is much larger than it was in the 80's when they first tried to bring a CFL team to town.

cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-population-half-million-five-years-1.6290176

[c-way-dude]

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced that Touchdown Atlantic is returning in the 2022 season. The game will be on July 16 between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Toronto Argonauts with the site being unconfirmed as of yet.

[drewber]

Originally Posted by c-way-dude

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced that Touchdown Atlantic is returning in the 2022 season. The game will be on July 16 between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Toronto Argonauts with the site being unconfirmed as of yet.

I would assume Halifax would host it if they're still in line for their own team. Putting it anywhere else seems like it would be a nail in the coffin for that plan

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by drewber

I would assume Halifax would host it if they're still in line for their own team. Putting it anywhere else seems like it would be a nail in the coffin for that plan

Why not bring it to Moncton while Halifax gets their act together. Plus we have a stadium in Moncton with a few key upgrades could easily host a CFL team full time. Plus Moncton is way more central.

[SevenSquared]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

Why not bring it to Moncton while Halifax gets their act together. Plus we have a stadium in Moncton with a few key upgrades could easily host a CFL team full time. Plus Moncton is way more central.

I think a lot of the goodwill they had with CFL fans in Moncton was killed off the last time they were here. Charging way over 2x normal CFL ticket prices then blaming Moncton for low ticket sales until prices were slashed, and on top of it sticking taxpayers with the bill for field modifications. Wasn't there one end of the stadium that was pretty much all free tickets given away by one of the radio stations?

IMO the strong turnouts the first couple of games was largely due to Moncton being sold the line that they would likely become the team's permanent home. Once Halifax actually got serious about building a stadium, interest dropped off a cliff.

They'd be better off doing the same thing all over again in Saint John to buy Halifax more time.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by someone123

One thing I'm not sure about is how popular the sport will be or how healthy the CFL will be in the future.

There's a reason proven successful businessmen like Amar Doman and Victor Cui have become involved (as well as Stelco). I highly doubt they think they are investing their lives in a doomed venture as some would like to think or try and convince us of.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by SevenSquared

I think a lot of the goodwill they had with CFL fans in Moncton was killed off the last time they were here. Charging way over 2x normal CFL ticket prices then blaming Moncton for low ticket sales until prices were slashed, and on top of it sticking taxpayers with the bill for field modifications. Wasn't there one end of the stadium that was pretty much all free tickets given away by one of the radio stations?

IMO the strong turnouts the first couple of games was largely due to Moncton being sold the line that they would likely become the team's permanent home. Once Halifax actually got serious about building a stadium, interest dropped off a cliff.

I agree with all this.

Touchdown Atlantic #1 was a great success, and #2 went pretty well too. The CFL was invested in the project, and there were a lot of activities surrounding the game including high school games, street parties and a tailgate party giving the whole event a mini Grey Cup atmosphere. This all disappeared by the time Touchdown Atlantic #3 came around. The atmosphere became more like the CFL was just fulfilling an obligation, had no interest in being here, and was just giving us lip service.

In the first game, the CFL was feeding Moncton a line, basically telling us we were in the running to be Atlantic Canada's franchise. This created a lot of hype in the city and bred enthusiasm. By game #3, it was pretty clear that the CFL was only interested in Halifax, and this caused a lot of disillusionment and disinterest locally. A lot of Monctonians felt that the CFL had been stringing Moncton along just to build a rivalry with Halifax and develop interest down there on the basis of hurt civic pride.

I think the CFL shouldn't even think about showing up in Moncton again unless they plan on being more open minded about the Atlantic franchise. If the CFL's attitude is "Halifax or bust", then they should just find a field down there somewhere to host the game, presumably the Wanderer's Grounds..........

[someone123]

It's touchy to talk about without it being seen as a "vs." issue but the reality in the Maritimes is very slanted against Moncton, and I think Moncton's status as a hub is somewhat overrated in the CFL context.

Most of the population of the Maritimes is in NS and Moncton is not a hub for travel within NS. And from what I've seen even in Regina the ticket sales aren't driven by the region market, they're driven by the local market.

The demographics and growth aren't close either. Halifax is about 3x Moncton's size and is growing at a similar rate (= ~3x absolute increase). And I'd guess they're pretty skeptical of the idea that there would be 2 CFL teams in the region, with one in Moncton and one in Halifax. Halifax itself is on the small end for a CFL team.

(I'm not pointing this out to dunk on Moncton. I could say similarly negative things about an NHL team in Halifax which is more far-fetched than CFL in Moncton. It's a distant possibility in a hypothetical future but unlikely given the realities today.)

[elly63]

I don't have a problem with the Moncton vs Halifax debate because I don't see either as an option right now. The world has changed from the way it was, how much it has changed and how much we will or will not revert to the way we were is unknown. I wouldn't want to start a new anything right now and am thankful the team didn't get off the ground before heading into world crisis. I would shelve the expansion idea for such time as we can see what kind of world we will have because right now IMO it's not great, things are happening now that we never could have conceived of before. JMO

[JonHiseler]

https://twitter.com/TSNDaveNaylor/st...96053828435971

It's coming to Wolfville LMAO.

July 16th at Acadia University's Raymond Field. Saskatchewan vs. Toronto, Toronto is the home team.

[drewber]

Originally Posted by JonHiseler

https://twitter.com/TSNDaveNaylor/st...96053828435971

It's coming to Wolfville LMAO.

July 16th at Acadia University's Raymond Field. Saskatchewan vs. Toronto, Toronto is the home team.

5 hour drive from Moncton little too far for a football game. Halifax is a couple hours away so I guess that's their catchment. Hopefully it works out for them

[c-way-dude]

I'm not sure what to make of the fact that the Schooners are not involved with this game.
It's great that the CFL is playing a neutral site regular season game. The Australian Football League has been playing regular season games in neutral sites for years. I would like to see the CFL play games in neutral sites like Quebec City, London, Windsor, or any place that be set up to accomodate 10-12k.

[coastalkid]

Originally Posted by drewber

5 hour drive from Moncton little too far for a football game. Halifax is a couple hours away so I guess that's their catchment. Hopefully it works out for them

Wolfville is an hour to Halifax and a little over 3 to Moncton.

[drewber]

Originally Posted by coastalkid

Wolfville is an hour to Halifax and a little over 3 to Moncton.

Apparently my Google maps was set to avoid motorways. 🤣 That's not so bad then. Still a bit of a trip for myself but not bad for haligonians.

[ivegotaname]

Fell in love with Argonauts during Flutie and Pinball era. I can't get into cheering a team from NS that ship sailed back in the 80s

[BlackYear]

It’s official. Nova Scotia will host its first-ever regular-season CFL game this summer. CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the game will be played on Raymond Field at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. The game will see the Toronto Argonauts face the Saskatchewan Roughriders on July 16. The league says Raymond Field will install roughly 7,000 seats, increasing capacity from 3,000 to 10,000 for the game. Tickets for the game will go on sale for the public on April 26. Average ticket prices are roughly $50.

https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/touchdow...mmer-1.5839257

[c-way-dude]

http://www.3downnation.com/2022/04/0...r-100-percent/