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.
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.
It's us vs the rest of the country
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.
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 actually like the sound of Halifax Explosion but it will be a regional name Atlantic ???
Destroyers has a nice ring about it but isn't totally accurate historically speaking. Yup they convoyed destroyers across the Atlantic during the war but the Corvette had much more significance. I'm also not keen on the sound of Atlantic Corvettes.
It's not going to be Maritime anything, especially Marauders which makes no historic sense and even though Privateers has some cachet it is mostly related to NS. Schooners is really the only name that I can think of that could be made acceptable to the entire region and it works on several different levels.
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.
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