http://www.tsn.ca/group-makes-very-c...chise-1.917745
Let's see where this goes.
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http://www.tsn.ca/group-makes-very-c...chise-1.917745
Let's see where this goes.
Pointman. Anthony Leblanc, former President, CEO and part owner of the Arizona Coyotes. Former co-owner Gary Drummond also an investor.
These guys didn't have the scratch to own the Coyotes even with a generous subsidy from Glendale and was still very highly leveraged.
Mind you they got bought out by Andrew Barroway (or his bank) over the summer so perhaps a CFL franchise is in their pay grade.
Here we grow again. A 10 team league is ideal. Keep divisional crossover. 4th place team with better record than 3rd place team. You play a home and away game with each team. Your rivalry games really mean something.
Here's the league's official response:
https://www.cfl.ca/2017/11/16/cfl-re...nsion-halifax/Quote:
“We can confirm the CFL has had discussions with a group interested in securing a Canadian Football League franchise for the city of Halifax. While this group has been professional, enthusiastic and impressive, these conversations are relatively new and a very thorough process of due diligence must be put in place and completed before we can fully assess the viability of the project. We want to publicly thank this group for its passion for the CFL and we thank the members of the media for their interest.”
The big question is whether they and/or the city can build a stadium.
However, it's great news as long as they don't name the team the Atlantic Schooners, as in J I Albrecht's 1982 Halifax team proposal. I don't need any reminders of his time with the Argos.
My point is that, in a league that supposedly has separate divisions and gives first round playoff byes to the division winners, part of that type of arrangement is having an unbalanced schedule. They could no longer realistically get away with pretending to have separate divisions if every team in the league is playing each other the same number of times. It would be difficult to justify arbitrarily designating the team that was in 4th or 5th place in the 10-team league to inexplicably be a "division winner" and give them a first round playoff bye and then a home game in the league's semi-final.
I don't think the League would have each team playing each other twice, inter divisional match-ups would still be prominent in the schedule. When people talk about schedule balance it has nothing to do with teams playing each other an even numbers of times, it's to balance out the bye weeks and the time teams have between games. I personally think the whole one division thing is way over blown, and I don't think people really understand how important East vs. West is during the playoffs, also when's the last time we had an all West Grey Cup ? Winnipeg's tenure is the East doesn't count.
The West had been stronger in the NHL and NBA for years, and they didn't change anything.
Absolutely the league will have a balanced schedule of each team playing the other twice.
That is one of the major reasons for bringing in a new team so we can get 5 great games every week.
No one wants to see 3 or 4 games when it used to be an 8 team league against the same team.
A completely balanced schedule wouldn't be dramatically different that what we have now, where every team in both divisions plays 10 games against the west and eight against the east. If we ever get to 10 teams, I would still want to see all teams in the league once a year in Toronto, and I definitely wouldn't want to see three games against every team in my division. But I'd still retain the two divisions, and I expect the league will do that despite the current noise emanating out of the west for a single division.
A 10 team league, one division would be ideal. Top two teams get a bye (as an incentive first place team is automatically awarded the grey cup the following year). Teams 3-6 play the first round. Moreover a 10 team league can have a balance schedule. 5 games every weekend. Maybe a bye at labour day where there are 2 big games and 3 games the next weekend. Season can be shortened as well. Big myth of CFL is fans love the cold weather of November. been proven time and time over the years that attendance actually drops towards the end of the season and into the playoffs. a lot of it has to do with cold! Season should start mid June and grey cup should be in the second week of November, the latest
I still think Quebec City would be a better fit. Bigger population (same size as Winnipeg) and the current university stadium can be retrofitted to CFL stsndards less costly than a brand new one in Halifax. Plus a Quebec -alouettes rivalry would be great! Like the Nordiques and Habs. Would add life to the Montreal franchise
Disagree. Originally from Newfoundland. Thinking newfies would support a team in halifax is like thinking people in winnipeg would support a team in Regina. Ditto for new brunswickers as well. Plus a new stadium will cost 250 mill min. Unless the provincial government ponies up the cash it will not get built period. At least in Quebec City they have that university stadium that can be built up to CFL standards. New and sits 12k. Can be expanded to 25k at 100-150 mil tops.
The league would also take into account what effect a proposal such as yours would have on TV ratings (particularly the playoffs).
Would Western Canada tune in and watch an Ottawa-Montreal Grey Cup Final or more importantly (by population base) will Eastern Canada tune into a Winnipeg-Saskatchewan Grey Cup game, my guess is ratings would drop to which the network partner wouldn’t be too happy which would have ramifications when negotiating TV rights.
It’s not so simple.
I obviously would love a 10th team, and Halifax is the most attractive market from a visiting standpoint. But one of the problems with the concept is that it strikes me as unlikely the Atlantic team, wherever it's located, will attract a lot of fans from the "other" province. That is, I don't see a lot of Nova Scotians regularly driving to Moncton, and I don't see a lot of New Brunswickers regularly driving to Halifax. And perhaps more importantly, I don't see the corporate communities in the two provinces lining up to support a franchise located in the "other" province. Would Irving get behind a Halifax-based venture? I'm dubious.
I was talking more New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Quebec city drew like 3k for an Allouettes pre season game. Doesn't exactly scream "give us a team". Both Halifax and Moncton did much better when the hosted games. The Laval crowds could be more about school spirit than actual football fans. The Maritimes would tret a CFL franchise of their own like gold.
This is starting to sound similar to what occurred in '82, a willing Owner, but no stadium. This potential ownership group really doesn't sit well with me, and Leblanc reminds me of John Spano.
EDIT: Comparison to Spano is probably too harsh, just rewatched "Big Shot", so had Spano on the brain I guess. The Brad Watters Group (former Owners for the Renegades, Rock, Rebel, and Express) is probably more appropriate.
Agreed AV - IMO the entire Maritimes region would travel to support their team - just like in Sask.
They could also hold one or even 2 games a year at that facility in Moncton that has hosted CFL games before.
This needs to happen - IMO about the single biggest thing the CFL could do = get to 10 teams - and Atlantic Canada with a team to make it a true coast to coast CFL; 5 games a week instead of 4 would be huge IMO.
Personally, I don't have much interest in the largely symbolic achievement of adding an Atlantic team. Even a healthy new franchise would drive up travel costs for everyone else, and obviously the league has some financial issues. I'd hold out for a sweetheart deal that doesn't involve substantial public money...
So you'd hold out for a pipe dream. Great plan.
If this expansion happens, I'd keep the divisions and go to an unbalanced schedule -- ten games within the division and eight against the West. Under this format, West teams would come to Toronto every four years out of five, and one division foe would come here twice every season. There's your saved travel costs. You could also stress regional rivalries by having Edm-Cgy, Ssk-Wpg, Tor-Ham and Mtl-Ott play each other three times every year. More division games would also greatly decrease the chance of a crossover.
Ideally i think both Halifax and Quebec City would be great additions to the league. However that makes the league imbalanced again. Could we put a sixth team out west somewhere? Everyone says Victoria (Vancouver Island) is too small but doesnt the whole island have 500k people? Cant think of any other city in the west that could support a team. A 12 team league though would have a lot more power and appeal.
Lots of questions remain to be answered before an Atlantic franchise goes beyond the talking stage.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...ticle37014542/Quote:
Advocates and experts acknowledged Friday that sobering questions remain: Does the East Coast have the fan base to support a Canadian Football League franchise? Is the business community interested in sponsoring a team? And, perhaps most importantly, who will foot the bill for a new Halifax stadium?
"The CFL is going to want to see a stable ownership group with deep pockets, which appears to be the case," said Moshe Lander, a Concordia University professor who specializes in the economics of sports. "The fight is going to be who is going to pay for the stadium."
Stadiums hardly ever yield the economic benefits that are promised, Lander said, noting that it would need a minimum of 30,000 seats, but the "sweet spot" is closer to 40,000. You would ideally like to incorporate sponsorship," he said. "Sobeys would be an ideal anchor sponsor."
Halifax Mayor Mike Savage called a potential CFL team an "exciting opportunity," but said the municipality will not be leading the charge. "A stadium is not a capital priority at this time," he said. "Any proposal would need to be private sector led and make economic sense for the municipality. A football stadium would have to be built "without putting taxpayers at risk," Savage said, and the team would have to be an "Atlantic play" to make economic sense.
"The big issue really is the corporate support," he said. "This is the financial centre of Atlantic Canada and I think the CFL sees that if you want to have a franchise that is going to be successful there has to be deep financial roots and commercial support." ...
The key, according to the deputy chairman of the TD Bank Group, is making the "very marginal" economics work. I'd say there are two or three secrets to success," he said. "You would need very strong community ownership. I'm thinking the models in Saskatchewan and Green Bay, for example. And you would need it to be more than just a football play," McKenna added. "It has to be real estate and retail and other things associated with it in order to increase the revenue from the property."
He pointed to the stadium at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. It's a model Savage called "attractive" after a 2014 tour of the facility, which includes the 24,000-seat TD Place Stadium. The redesign of the park at the southern edge of the Glebe neighbourhood includes retail space, condominiums, and a children's play structure, which was considered critical to securing the Ottawa Redblacks franchise.
Lander said Halifax, with a major international airport, growing population, major universities and development, is a good location for a team. He said the CFL could use a team in the Atlantic region.
Lots wrong with this post. The team will likely be called the Atlantic Schooners for many reasons. Atlantic includes Nfld and the one thing we can agree on is there won't be too much Newfie support re: tickets. But that does not preclude down the road building a market (however small) for TV ratings and team gear.
I lived in all three Maritime provinces, it will be a regional team and there won't be any petty squabbles about supporting it, it will mimic the Riders.
As for the stadium costing 250 million that would get the equivalent of something between IGF and Mosaic, that won't happen. THF at 145 million is more like it. I can easily see it getting federal and provincial funding if the ownership can get Dal and SMU on board. You can get federal money for university infrastructure.
Expansion of the Laval stadium is not that easy. Moncton's 10k relatively new stadium would cost up to 100 million to bring it up to snuff (according to Cohon), same would go for Laval. Also Laval has a private backer for the football team and they are very happy with the status quo. If they wanted a CFL team the news would be out there, they don't. They like being a big fish in a small pond.
I know this region and yes it will come together just like the Riders.
I've had this debate before, Moncton would be the best place to physically situate the team but Halifax has all the other advantages. Plus Monctonians historically are predisposed to going to Halifax. Most English speaking Monctonians who attended university before the turn of the century went to NS schools, SMU/Dal/X/Acadia/MSV and the rest went to UNB. I don't know what they do now but my best friend's daughter went to The Mount so things probably haven't changed much.
It takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes to go from Moncton to where the stadium will likely be. Will a large amount of Monctonians make the trip for every game, no, but I can see most Maritime fans catching at least one game a year. On this subject there is no regional rivalry, same way as Maritimers often come together when they go out west.
Sobey's are based in NS, McCain's deal around the world and this is all you need to know about Irvinghttps://i.imgur.com/djnqV0u.jpg
Did I just post this? My exact thoughts and last week I rewatched "Big Shot". Can't believe it but my comparison would also be the Brad Watters Group.
The three things that give me hope are: 1. They received money from the sale of the Coyotes, if they didn't have it before (LeBlanc was a part of Blackberry) 2. They went to the table with Ambrosie (a financial guy) who unlike Bettman/Spano, I hope vetted them and 3. Maybe Ambrosie is using them to get some other groups to come out of the woodwork.
Not bad. It has to be Atlantic so as not to preclude NF even though they would be an infinitesimal part of it. You would be looking to build that market down the road for other opportunities aside from ticket sales. Atlantic also flows off the tongue better with the potential candidate names. They'll pick something that makes sense historically and geographically not like Raptors : ( Apparently lots of fossil finds in the GTA moreso than AB : ) Will likely be Schooners as it ties in with all the provinces shipbuilding history, it's on the dime (still is isn't it?) and of course a good tie in with the beer.