Hello everyone,
It’s time to start a Kickstarter campaign to build a new stadium in Toronto for the Argonauts. I won’t re-hash all the reasons why a new stadium is a good idea because let’s face it; everyone on here already knows that a new stadium would solve the majority of the problems facing the Argonauts at this time. I think the bottom line is that building a new stadium in Toronto for the Argonauts is a high risk business venture with zero incentive for any prospective owner (especially for the current one). So, if millionaires won’t take the risk, I say we the fans should take the risk. Furthermore, this is a cause that will motivate all Canadians, not just Torontonians, to invest. A healthy CFL franchise in Toronto equates to a healthy CFL. Think it can’t be done? In 1996 the “Save the Winnipeg Jets” campaign raised $13 million dollars for a new arena. They fell short but they also had a limited time line and most donations came from Manitoba. Imagine what we could do from coast to coast to coast. So let’s get down to business on what we need to get started.

1. We need to come to an agreement on cost. I have seen numbers thrown around between $100 million dollars to $130 million dollars. We have to take into account that 5% of the total money raised would go back to Kickstarter. Also, we may only need to meet the league / the club half way. If we raised $50 million dollars, there is a good chance that the league or the club could find the rest of the money. So, to recap, #1 is cost.

2. We need to figure out who the beneficiary of the money will be. One sticky point with all of this is the following regulation from Kickstarter: “Charity and investment are not permitted on Kickstarter. Projects can’t promise to donate funds raised to a charity or cause, and they can’t offer financial incentives like equity or repayment.” I realise that the Argonauts are not a charity; however, since the plan is to hand over the money to some entity such as the City, League or the team, Kickstarter may think of this as a charity. I will ask Kickstarter for some guidance on this question. In the meantime if anyone is a lawyer or has some ideas, please share.

3. We need a front-person and that is not me. We need someone who lives in Toronto who can coordinate this effort (I live in Ottawa). Here are Kickstarter’s requirements for Canadian “Creators”:
—You are 18 years of age or older.*
—You are a permanent resident in Canada either creating a project in your own name or on behalf of a legal entity with a Business Number.
—You have a Canadian address, Canadian bank account, and government-issued ID (driver’s license or passport).
—You have a major credit card.
Going back to point #2, we may need someone from the Argos to front this effort. It all depends if Kickstarter will allow us to hand the money over. Or perhaps, we need a commitment from the team that if we raise a certain amount, they will in turn build a stadium. Once again, I will check with Kickstarter and report back.

I think that’s it for now. We will need to check more boxes before officially launching the campaign but I think the above three requirements are the most important for now. If you doubt that this could ever work, please refer back to my 1996 reference (Reference: http://curtiswalker.com/jets/savejets.aspx). Manitoba raised $13 million on its own in a failed attempt to build a new arena for Winnipeg. Imagine what we could do with the whole country behind us. If we raised just $30 million, I believe the CFL would find a way to make the stadium a reality.