Group makes ‘very credible’ pitch for Halifax CFL franchise

[rdavies]

An online poll of 400 residents IMO is nowhere near a good enough barometer. While I do think the Maritimes would like to see some pro sports, I think it'll be a struggle to get support for Government funding.

Not if SMU and Dal are involved, even in Canada for a city of that size (that isn't really a suburb) to not have a large stadium is not that common.

[rdavies]

While I do think the Maritimes would like to see some pro sports, I think it'll be a struggle to get support for Government funding

CFL in Halifax to be Atlantic Canada's team
ROBERT WILLIAMS Telegraph-Journal March 12, 2018

Having a CFL franchise as an anchor tenant is critical, said LeBlanc, but he said they also plan on partnering with local universities and high schools, and will also use the facility to hold outdoor concerts.

This could change the question about federal funding

[AngeloV]

This could change the question about federal funding

This could be a huge boost for the AUS. That league has really struggled to put a competitive product on the field for at least a decade which can compete with Quebec, Ontario and Western Canada. Would be great to see.

[rdavies]

Here we go, stadium render was shown during interview (1:45)

How will the CFL come to Halifax?

[rdavies]

Noticed during the interview, LeBlanc commented, "they'll be called the Atlantic something"

[R.J]

Announcement next week ?
https://www.halifaxtoday.ca/local-ne...r-visit-841457

[paulwoods13]

I wouldn't waste an announcement of a new franchise in the middle of the Winter Olympics. Little chance it makes a big splash with that happening. I will be surprised if he says more than "things are moving in the right direction."

[Flutie]

I wouldn't waste an announcement of a new franchise in the middle of the Winter Olympics. Little chance it makes a big splash with that happening. I will be surprised if he says more than "things are moving in the right direction."

No announcement at all because it turned out to be "fake news"

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novasco...uncement-nixed

Ambrosie will do his town hall like he has done in other cities and talk about the same things.
A CFL franchise there comes down to a stadium and it's up to Halifax and the investors to come up with funding for a stadium. It doesn't look like the city or region or province will put money towards a $200 MILLION stadium.
I would imagine that the city would want guarantees before it put money towards a stadium. The first would be "show me how many ticket deposits you have" in Ottawa they had thousands put down money before OSEG and the city was involved.

[R.J]

As for rumours of CFL announcing franchise and stadium plans next Fri, Feb. 23rd in Halifax ... league will be holding a townhall with Commissioner Ambrosie in Halifax but does not anticipate a major announcement. #CFL #Halifax

— David William Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) February 16, 2018

[jerrym]

Anthony Leblanc has denied that the league will be awarding the team a franchise and the Ministry of Transport denies it has been involved in discussion of road infrastructure for a new stadium.

The leader of a group that hopes to bring the CFL to Halifax was succinct on Friday when asked if it’s true the league will award a franchise next Friday.
“No.”
Based on “anonymous sources,” a Halifax radio station reported on Friday a stadium would be located at Dartmouth Crossing, with construction to begin in September. It also said Halifax would be home to a Grey Cup within three years of the still-hypothetical team beginning play, and that the province had agreed to build a connector road between Highway 102 and Highway 118.
Anthony LeBlanc, leader of the Maritime Football Ltd. ownership group, had just two minutes to speak between meetings on Friday afternoon, and needed less time than that to throw cold water on the rumour.
LeBlanc confirmed he and CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie will be in Halifax next week, but cautioned not to read too much into that.
“We plan to listen to his vision, and he wants to hear what people have to say in the region, but we don’t anticipate any form of announcement at that event,” LeBlanc said.
“It is fair to say, and we’ve been pretty public, that we are in ongoing discussions with the league and with a number of landowners in the region. At this time we certainly have not collected a site, we have not negotiated final terms with the league.”
LeBlanc, a longtime executive with Research in Motion and the former president and chief executive of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, was even more dismissive of the notion that a new highway has been promised to his group.
“I don’t even know what that is referring to,” he said. “We are looking at a number of locations right now, so to say it’s one particular one would simply not be accurate.”
Marla MacInnis, a spokeswoman with Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, said the department “has not been engaged in any discussions with regard to road infrastructure to support any potential new stadium project.”
And, as for conjecture about a potential Grey Cup for Halifax, LeBlanc said that is a matter for the CFL’s board of governors.

http://m.thechronicleherald.ca/novas...?from=slidebox

[rdavies]

Wouldn't be a problem at all if it was soccer, right "Flutie"

The "fake news" didn't come from the owners, you can see the interview they gave. The haterz can troll this all they want, this will happen sooner or later. Maybe there are those who are jumping the gun but I'd rather see that than the total non cooperation and communication they have about someday getting a new building in Calgary.

And just to save someone the problem of posting it, there is an issue about the stadium render. Someone is doing something fishy whether it's the designer or the prospective owners whose story has been all along that they had a design done in California and showed it to city council. Maybe the designers gave them a generic render, who knows, but if it is the owners up to shenanigans that were so obvious, I'll be the first to condemn it and as someone who wants to see the project go ahead and not one of the usual suspect trolls who wants the CFL to die because they are under the mistaken belief that suddenly Canada will turn into a nation of soccer lovers..

[R.J]

Wouldn't be a problem at all if it was soccer, right "Flutie"

I've noticed this as well.

[rdavies]

Randy Ambrosie’s Atlantic Town Hall (Full video)

Bruce Bowser: "We've got a great ownership group that's well funded that doesn't just include myself and Anthony up here on the stage there's some great local business people and individuals in the region that are part of the ownership group"

Bowser also used the figure of 200 million when discussing the stadium

[rdavies]

Regina’s Gary Drummond On The CFL In Halifax
620 CKRM Regina Rod Pedersen February 27, 2018

Regina/Phoenix businessman Gary Drummond is one of the driving forces behind landing a CFL expansion franchise for Halifax and getting a stadium built in the Maritime city.

Drummond was the majority owner of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, buying the franchise in 2013 with IceArizona, until selling the team to Andrew Barroway last June.

Drummond joined 620 CKRM’s SportsCage on Tuesday to discuss the CFL project, and his partners Anthony Leblanc and Bruce Bowser.

“As you know Anthony Leblanc and I were partners with the Arizona Coyotes for four years and became quite good colleagues and friends,” Drummond Tuesday said from his home in Phoenix. “This was really his initiative and the third guy in our partnership, Bruce Bowser, had been organizing his own group. Anthony took it upon himself and approached Bruce, and we joined forces. When I was asked to be involved, it didn’t take me long to get excited about the project and working on it.”

If the group’s intention was to create a buzz, they certainly did that as the Halifax franchise is the #1 topic in the CFL at this point in the off-season. However Drummond said there’s still plenty of work ahead.

“There’s a logical order or progression and the first thing we need to do is secure a conditional franchise from the CFL, which would be conditional upon us being the catalyst for a new stadium in the Atlantic region,” Drummond advised. “We actually expect to have a proposal from the league in the next week or two. From our side, we’re hopeful that what the league comes up with is something we can accept and move onto the bigger challenge of putting a proposal to the three levels of government, the Province, the City and the Federal Government regarding the financing of a new stadium.”

From media reports tracking the situation, Anthony Leblanc has been doing most of the legwork by meeting with local politicians to gauge interest in financing a stadium.

“It’s gone very positively and it’s a very good climate at the City, the Province and I think at the Federal level as well,” Drummond continued. “The timing is very good but still, in all cases they want the private sector to be the driving force and we understand that. So far it’s been very positive but there’s lots of wood to chop yet.”

Drummond said despite selling the Coyotes, he’s attended all but two of their games this season and he’s eager to get back into pro sports at the ownership level.

“I had a great experience with the NHL and would’ve liked to stayed longer because the team is just starting to show the way the organization has developed the past couple of years,” Drummond explained. “I think the future of the team on the ice is pretty bright. That did whet my appetite for building an organization and the excitement that follows. I really enjoyed working with the hockey operations people and the corporate sponsors. I enjoyed it all. The CFL is different than the NHL but there are a lot of similarities too.”

So while it seems the Halifax franchise is moving forward at a snail’s pace, Drummond made it clear that there’s been lots of work going on behind the scenes. So far, it’s been an enjoyable ride.

“I’m having lots of fun with it!” Drummond laughed. “I want to mention too that the Riders’ Wayne Morsky has been very helpful and supportive and Ottawa’s John Ruddy has been very helpful as well. Commissioner Randy Ambrosie, I can’t say enough good things about him. Even if we weren’t successful in getting the CFL franchise, I’d have nothing but positive things to say about the CFL. Likewise with the City of Halifax, from the Mayor on down and the Premier too, they’ve had open arms for us.

“If we do our job I think there’s a good possibility that we can get this thing going.”

[rdavies]

Randy Ambrosie’s Atlantic Town Hall (Full video)

Bruce Bowser: "We've got a great ownership group that's well funded that doesn't just include myself and Anthony up here on the stage there's some great local business people and individuals in the region that are part of the ownership group"

Regina’s Gary Drummond On The CFL In Halifax
620 CKRM Regina Rod Pedersen February 27, 2018

Gary Drummond: "The third guy in our partnership, Bruce Bowser, had been organizing his own group. Anthony took it upon himself and approached Bruce, and we joined forces."

There were two groups looking at a franchise, that joined together, I wonder if (below) was the group Bowser was involved in and if Gardiner is also part of the ownership group's local businessmen that Bowser referred to in their recent town hall with Ambrosie.

Field of dreams: Businessman floats idea of private funds to build outdoor Halifax stadium
Mayor Mike Savage said he'd welcome private investment, seating would be at about 20,000.
Yvette d'Entremont Metro May 18 2016

Don Gardiner - Born entrepreneur took talent from NB to NS
Ian Fairclough Chronicle Herald September 25, 2011

[rdavies]

Eastern Enthusiasm: Exclusive sit down with Maritime Football Ltd
cfl.ca March 2, 2018

Sit down with the founders of Maritime Football Limited, an organization working hard to bring a CFL franchise to Atlantic Canada.

[rdavies]

CFL in Halifax to be Atlantic Canada's team
ROBERT WILLIAMS Telegraph-Journal March 12, 2018

Touchdown Atlantic packed thousands of fans into the Moncton Stadium to watch CFL action. With a CFL franchise in Halifax gaining steam, the potential ownership group is calling on all of Atlantic Canada to support the team.

Sitting in his room at the Westin Nova Scotian ahead of his last town hall meeting as new commissioner of the Canadian Football League, Randy Ambrosie said history was staring him in the face.

The hotel, built by the Canadian National Railway in 1928, stands as a symbol in Halifax of the railway that connected the country. Now, it's on Ambrosie's shoulders to hammer the last spike on the CFL.

“Before the railway was totally connected east to west, it had a missing track. You couldn’t call it complete," said Ambrosie. "I think not having a team in the Atlantic region is the same thing. I don’t think we call ourselves complete until we get that tenth team in that very special part of Canada.”

And for a 2021 CFL franchise to work, the team will be relying on more than just Halifax.

It's on all of Atlantic Canada's shoulders, he said.

"There's an authenticity to the people, a warmth and a friendliness that is real. It's quite remarkable, really," said Ambrosie. "You can feel that they want this."

From Edmundston to St. John's, this will be everyone's team, said Anthony LeBlanc, frontman of Maritime Football Ltd., the group trying to bring a CFL team to the East Coast.

To quantify it, the group is still waiting on the exact number from their economic impact study, but LeBlanc said he's expecting a need of about 30-50 per cent support from outside of the Halifax census metropolitan area.

'We have the momentum necessary'

LeBlanc has Maritime roots.

His mother was born in Woodstock, his father just outside Moncton. Although LeBlanc grew up in Thunder Bay, Ont., he started his career working in Fredericton.

He is a former RIM executive, and is best known as the former president, CEO, and alternate governor of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

He hopes to become part of the ownership team responsible for bringing a CFL franchise to Halifax.

“We’re coming on nine months now, and we definitely feel we have the momentum necessary to try and get this thing across the goal line,” said LeBlanc from his home in Ottawa.

He is not the first to try. The CFL granted a conditional expansion franchise in 1982 if a 30,000 seat stadium was built in time for the opening day of the 1984 season. The stadium was never built and the team never came.

More than three decades removed from that bid, the same problem exists today.

LeBlanc and founding partners Gary Drummond and Bruce Bowser are working with a number of land developers, but have not yet chosen a stadium location. That will be coming soon.

Working off the successful Ottawa Redblacks model and the 24,000 capacity TD Place Stadium, LeBlanc said 24,000 would be the "sweet spot" for a Halifax stadium.

Both Halifax Mayor Mike Savage and Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil are on the record as saying the stadium has to be private-sector led. LeBlanc said that is the plan moving forward.

Having a CFL franchise as an anchor tenant is critical, said LeBlanc, but he said they also plan on partnering with local universities and high schools, and will also use the facility to hold outdoor concerts.

The team will be putting in a bid to host the Grey Cup, he said.

Atlantic Canada's team

Social media has been abuzz in recent months with possible names for a Halifax expansion team. From the 1984 team name of the Atlantic Schooners to the Halifax Explosions, the name and logo has become a popular conversation for football fans.

"For one, yes, I can confirm the team will not be called the Roughriders," said LeBlanc, with a laugh. The CFL has been host to both the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Ottawa Rough Riders through its 100-plus year history.

"But 100 per cent, the team will be called the Atlantic something."

The reasoning behind that, he said, is the team is meant to represent all of Atlantic Canada. Although his group is called Maritime Football Ltd., he said it was only chosen as Atlantic Football Ltd. had already been taken.

In the past, the Atlantic provinces proved they will show up when the CFL comes to town.

Moncton has played host to three regular season CFL games since 2010. The first year 21,000 people packed Moncton Stadium, with about 20,000 in 2011 and 15,000 in 2013.

Will help grow the sport

For a young kid, there's nothing comparable to the feeling of watching a professional athlete in your own backyard.

They're real, tangible heroes that show if you work hard enough, you too can become a professional athlete.

"There's no question, a CFL team would have a huge impact on football in New Brunswick and registrations for our youth," said Josh Harris, Football New Brunswick executive director. "I think having role models for kids to look up to, and get to have experiences where they meet players and attend games, those experiences will be unbelievable."

That goes for Prince Edward Island as well.

Glen Flood is the executive director with Football PEI, and said if Touchdown Atlantic has taught us anything, it's that there is an interest for the sport in the region.

With the right plan in place for bus trips and hotel stays, he said you can count on the island to support the franchise.

[jerrym]

Nova Scotia Premier McNeil has downplayed but not ruled out using $828 million in federal infrastructure spending for a stadium in Halifax because of other critical needs.

Premier Stephen McNeil said the money would assist with water and sewer projects and other provincial priorities, including the twinning of 100-series highways, the expansion of broadband internet in rural areas and construction of a new art gallery in Halifax. ...

Geoff Stewart, president of the Nova Scotia Union of Municipalities, said the program would provide some relief for struggling towns and villages.
“Municipalities have been struggling for many years to try to maintain a level of service that is expected by the public. This announcement can only enhance the opportunities for better waste water treatment and water treatment.”

Reporters also asked McNeil whether there was any opportunity to help fund a Halifax stadium that might attract a potential CFL franchise.
McNeil downplayed the possibility, but said the province would look at all projects brought forward under the program.
“While this is a substantial amount of money the need is great in our province,” he said. “We need to make sure we address the issues that we have no choice but to do. Municipalities are mandated by law to deal with the water and sewer issues and we have to make sure those are our priority.”

https://www.thestar.com/halifax/2018...-projects.html

[Flutie]

Nova Scotia Premier McNeil has downplayed but not ruled out using $828 million in federal infrastructure spending for a stadium in Halifax because of other critical needs.



https://www.thestar.com/halifax/2018...-projects.html

I think he has ruled it out. Just too many bigger priorities like roads, bridges, sewers, water treatment. Halifax still dumps raw sewage into the harbour.
The priority is going to be widening the road to Cape Breton and the NFL ferry. It's a cash strapped province and they aren't going to spend money on a CFL stadium when there are so many higher priority projects.

There is no way that a provincial government spends infrastructure money on a CFL stadium, especially after giving approval to the new soccer stadium on the Common, which is being funded privately.
It's going to be up to the ownership group to fund it, that is a huge risk to fund not only the cash for a stadium but the $20 million or so to put together a team and the franchise fee on top of that.

CFL fans have to put this Halifax idea to bed, it's never going to happen.

[rdavies]

CFL fans have to put this Halifax idea to bed, it's never going to happen.

No, TFC trolls have to stop pretending they are CFL fans on CFL websites and pretending those that are are too stupid to recognize their insidious trolling, right "Flutie"?

That announcement means nothing towards the funding of the stadium, that was one source of money coming into the province where we still have no news of a funding model or scope of the project.