Group makes ‘very credible’ pitch for Halifax CFL franchise

[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]

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]

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.

[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.

[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.

[rdavies]

Halifax still dumps raw sewage into the harbour.

Hasn't been true for ten years, next time you steal a quote from another website, do the research.

[rdavies]

Halifax CFL stadium still out of site
FRANCIS CAMPBELL The Chronicle Herald April 12, 2018

The chains don’t appear to be moving forward on a proposed stadium in the Halifax area that could accommodate a Canadian Football League team.

“There is no real update at this point,” Anthony LeBlanc, one of the proponents of Maritime Football Ltd., that hopes to bid for a 10th league franchise, said of a stadium site selection.

“We were in town last week with our team of real estate consultants as well as our lead architect visiting a number of sites in the region. We do hope to have a site selected in the next month.”

LeBlanc, the former president and part owner of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League, and his two business partners who front Maritime Football Ltd., are trying to secure a conditional CFL franchise with the long-range goal of fielding a team in three or four years time.

First things first. A team needs a stadium and LeBlanc has estimated that a 25,000-seater would be required, probably costing in excess of $200 million.

LeBlanc has said in the past that potential stadium sites include land at Dartmouth Crossing, a property behind the Kent store in the Bayers Lake business park, a Bedford location and a site near the Halifax airport.

Shannon Park had been suggested in the past but the former military complex now owned by Crown corporation Canada Lands appears to have been dropped as a potential site.

And if and when a site is determined, who would pay for such a stadium?

LeBlanc has said that a public-private entity usually owns and operates the facility.

Mike Savage, the mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality, has said that a stadium should be built and operated along the lines of the TD Stadium in Ottawa, home to the CFL Redblacks. A local consortium rebuilt an aging stadium there and redeveloped the surrounding Lansdowne Park, adding considerable commercial and retail space.

“I don’t think there is much appetite on council for something that we have to sink a lot of capital dollars into right up front,” Savage said recently. “We need to be a little bit more creative than that.”

That creativity might look a lot like the Halifax Convention Centre plan that proposes to offset the municipality’s portion of the convention centre cost with future tax dollars that will be accrued from the Nova Centre, the $500-million complex that houses the convention centre.

The municipality and the province agreed to evenly share costs for the convention centre. With the Nova Centre office tower sitting at only 30 per cent occupancy, the property tax accrual HRM had been counting on from Nova Centre will not reach projections. Consequently, the municipality could have to come up with $18 million over the next decade to pay its convention centre bill.

On Tuesday, regional council approved a payment of $301,500 for its share of convention centre costs for the 2016-17 period. The payment will come out of the projected $12.1-million contingency reserve surplus and not affect the tax rate.

Still, those finances do not bode well for the municipality using a similar payment arrangement for its share of a new stadium.

“We haven’t got any proposal to fund a stadium,” Savage said after Tuesday’s council meeting when asked if the city would enter into a similar future tax dollar plan to pay for a stadium.

“You can’t say it makes sense or doesn’t make sense based on one project. In Ottawa, it seems to make sense. They funded their stadium that way. In some projects, it makes sense and in some it doesn’t. I think the key is to learn from what you’ve done, through your experience, and look at others.”

Each project is different, the mayor said.

“It depends on the project, it depends on cost, it depends on the business case. It would be crazy to say yes or no at this point. It would make no sense whatsoever to rule it out or rule it in.”

Savage said the municipality doesn’t have a plan for a stadium, “so we would have to wait and see what that looks like before we know what any cost might be.”

The group that wants to bring the CFL to Halifax has engaged Deloitte in Halifax to finalize an economic impact analysis that would include a potential stadium.

[ArgoRavi]

I will believe that a CFL team will take the field in Halifax only when I see it. I have been waiting since the early 1980s and I just don't see it being much closer today than it was 35 years ago.

[rdavies]

Having lived through them both, this group IS much closer to a franchise than the last one. Am I saying that it will happen, I dunno, but this group is much more professional and better financially backed than the last group. The way it looks to me is does this group have the patience like OSEG, to stick around for the long run to get the right deal. Again, I don't know. I think you would see a deal get done if they had just one more big player in the ownership group.

Frankly, it won't bother me too much if it doesn't happen because that tells me the ownership group wasn't up to the job. I'd rather not have a team than run into a Renegades scenario.

[AngeloV]

I will believe that a CFL team will take the field in Halifax only when I see it. I have been waiting since the early 1980s and I just don't see it being much closer today than it was 35 years ago.

I will be the optimist here Ravi. I think it will happen.

[rdavies]

Exclusive: Poll shows people in Halifax open to using municipal taxes to pay for CFL stadium
The polling done for StarMetro by MQO Research also says the best outdoor stadium size is between 15,000 and 25,000 seats.
Philip Croucher StarMetro Halifax April 15, 2018

HALIFAX—There is a clear appetite for spending municipal tax dollars to help fund a new outdoor stadium for Halifax.

That’s one of the findings of a new survey conducted exclusively for StarMetro by the polling firm MQO Research.

Between March 26 and April 2, 500 people in HRM were asked the following question: “To what extent, if at all, are you in favour of the Halifax Regional Municipality contributing taxpayers’ dollars, either directly or through tax breaks, to the building of a new outdoor stadium in the municipality.”

In total, 42 per cent of respondents said they were either “very favourable” or “favourable” to the idea. Forty-one per cent said they were either unfavourable or very unfavourable.

Another 15 per cent were neither favourable nor unfavourable, with another 2 per cent unsure.

The most popular of the six possible answers was favourable, at 27 per cent.



“I honestly thought it would be a much lower level of interest,” said Rick Emberley of MQO Research.

“There are a lot of people that want a stadium but don’t agree with the idea of it being funded in part, or in whole, in any measure or ways, with taxpayer money. But let’s face it: In a marketplace of this size, it will never happen without some sort of financial incentive of financial support of government.”

The CFL, and a possible stadium for Halifax, are top-of-mind with an ownership group now established and looking to bring a team here.

League commissioner Randy Ambrosie even wrapped up a 10-city CFL road trip in Halifax in February to talk about a possible expansion and how the league would love to one day be a coast-to-coast entity.

To do that, they would need Halifax.

When you dig into the MQO Research polling numbers more closely, you get a clearer picture of who supports funding a stadium with the help of taxpayer dollars.



Looking at people between the ages of 18 and 54, the very favourable or favourable total reaches 47 per cent. In that same age bracket, 37 per cent say they are unfavourable or very unfavourable to the idea.

For the 55-plus age group, the very favourable or favourable number drops to 33 per cent, and the unfavourable or very unfavourable figure jumps to 48 per cent.

Emberley thinks the low support from the 55-plus group is partly due to them having the impression that private or commercial projects get more than their fair share of government funding.

“The second piece is they are probably the least likely demographic to take advantage of such a facility,” he continued.

There has been plenty of debate within the city over different levels of government supporting large, private-sector projects.

The most notable is the Nova Centre, which includes the Halifax Convention Centre. Last week regional council learned that Halifax was expected to lose millions in the next 10 years on its downtown convention centre.

“Even though the economic impacts of a convention centre might far exceed a stadium over a sports team or two here, the reality is more local people identify with a stadium … compared with never stepping inside a convention centre,” Emberley said.



The poll by MQO Research also asked respondents what size such a stadium should be if built. The runaway winner — at 40 per cent — was between 15,000 and 25,000 seats.

The other options were up to 15,000 seats or more than 25,000 seats. Both those suggestions received less than 15 per cent support.

“I know nothing of the economics to produce a creature like this,” Emberley said.

“But I think the argument would be it’s got to be the right size ... and right size means it can’t be built just for a football team. It has to properly accommodate concerts, other sporting events and so on.”

The polling firm also asked about possible stadium locations. Shannon Park was top choice at 27 per cent, followed by Dartmouth Crossing at 22 per cent and Bayers Lake at 14 per cent.

“The Shannon Park thing — not only is it central, it’s also very accessible,” Emberley explained.

“Bayers Lake, it’s a nightmare to get around out there. Imagine what it would be like if you dropped a 20,000-seat stadium out there. You would have to reconfigure the entire road network.”

The sample size of 500 people results in a margin of error, for a population of this size, of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

[rdavies]

Councillors react to Halifax stadium poll and possible taxpayer involvement
Three members of Halifax regional council say they’d have to see the arrangement before giving a green light to use your money.
Taryn Grant StarMetro Halifax April 16, 2018

HALIFAX — A game plan based on throwing tax money directly at an outdoor stadium won’t win, say some municipal councillors.

“If it means increasing your taxes, I'm not interested in doing that,” said District 6 councillor Tony Mancini in an interview. “If it means some tax breaks, if it means us doing some infrastructure work, I'm interested in that.”

A StarMetro exclusive poll revealed split opinions on using municipal taxes, directly or through tax breaks, to pay for a football stadium for a possible CFL franchise for Halifax.

Forty-two per cent of those polled said they were very favourable or favourable to using taxpayer money to build a stadium, while 41 per cent were unfavourable or very unfavourable. Fifteen per cent were neither unfavourable nor favourable, and 2 per cent were unsure.

Rick Emberley of MQO Research, which conducted the poll for StarMetro, was surprised by the split opinion.

“I honestly thought it would be a much lower level of interest,” he earlier told StarMetro.

Mancini also expected more opposition.

“My gut feeling would have been stronger numbers against using taxpayer dollars,” he said.

Mancini thinks municipal involvement will be worthwhile if plans include more than just a stadium. He referred to Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park, which includes the 24,000-seat TD Place, home of the Ottawa Redblacks, as well as shops, restaurants, green spaces and courtyards.

“That Lansdowne approach interests me or excites me for Shannon Park because it may help to address some of our challenges when it comes to transportation,” said Mancini, whose district includes the Shannon Park area. “Expanding our transportation, metro transit, possibly even a third ferry coming into that area.”

Shannon Park was the most desired location in StarMetro’s poll, followed by Dartmouth Crossing. Unlike Lansdowne, which is owned by the City of Ottawa, Shannon Park is not owned by HRM.

“The challenge with Shannon Park,” said Coun. Sam Austin in an interview, “is we've just gone through a whole planning process to redevelop that as a mixed-use neighbourhood. And it's owned by Canada Lands, so I'm not sure that that'll come to pass.”

Austin, District 5, and fellow councillor Tim Outhit, District 16, both said the poll was consistent with what they’ve been hearing from residents.

“I've heard from people who are vehemently against and people who are really in support. So it rather fits what's been coming in to me,” said Austin.

Outhit added that it’s hard to come down on either side, since council hasn’t received an official ask from potential franchisees.

“What I hear from people is they may get the vision of the stadium, but the devil will be in the details,” Outhit said.

Last year, council heard from a private group interested in bringing a CFL team to the Atlantic region. The session was closed to the public, but Mancini said the group shared “their intention” without proposing a business plan or making an official bid for municipal dollars.

Council still doesn’t have a proposal, said Austin, but for him: “It would have to be a pretty darn good deal for me to see putting municipal money into it. This has to be something that the private sector leads."

One person in support of an outdoor stadium in Halifax is Saint Mary’s Huskies football coach James Colzie III.

He believes a stadium and CFL team would be a great fit.

“It’s not just support for football, it is support for the city,” he said in an interview Monday.

Colzie hopes the Huskies would be able to use a stadium, should one ever get built, but knows there would be some red tape in terms of working out a partnership.

“Obviously when you build a stadium you want to sell it out,” he said. “You bring in CFL fans and hopefully that leads to some new fans for the Huskies.” – with files from Tony Davis.

[jerrym]

The partners who want to bring football football to Atlantic Canada have created a website whose url is:

https://maritimefootball.ca

[rdavies]

That site has been up for quite a while

[gilthethrill]

That site has been up for quite a while

But what company did they decide to go with when building the website? Square Space perhaps?

[rdavies]

But what company did they decide to go with when building the website? Square Space perhaps?

I have no idea what you're talking about?

[jerrym]

That site has been up for quite a while

The date of the launch is given as April 19, 2018.

Maritime Football group launches website https://t.co/91zrF8kl7K #Halifax #CFL pic.twitter.com/fZNMWBrCrQ

— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) April 19, 2018