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The CFL 2023 season starts in a week and once again without a team that should have already played its first game back in 1984. Yes I know the elephant in the room is the stadium, because the league hasn't come to terms yet on how to fund a new stadium or upgrade an existing one to professional level. Seriously, how long do we have to wait for the 10th team to play though? Does it occur to anyone that there are no longer any major sports teams in Canada east of Montreal or east of Boston in all of North America for the matter? There is a large void up here in the Northeast beyond Boston and the Atlantic Schooners could easily fill that void.
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I think another major issue , at least in Maritime Canada, is not a strong enough population center. I mean maybe Halifax at half a million souls but also the young folks are not that into sports. Eastern Canada is a whole nuther world. BTW my spouse is from New Brunswick. I also lived in Bangor Maine for a few years.
What is a "professional level stadium" in CFL terms?
Remember, the Montreal Alouettes left Olympic Stadium for the smaller stadium at McGill University. The Toronto Argonauts left Skydome (it is only very reluctantly that I call it "Rogers Centre") for the smaller BMO Field, normally used for soccer. Neither is NFL-sized, nor are they the size of Mosaic Field in Regina, nor Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. But they work nicely for the league and the fans in those locations.
Given all that, I'm sure that a suitable stadium can be found in Halifax.
I'm unsure if "a smaller population centre" comes into play. Even in Canada, nobody expects the CFL to pack 60,000 fans into a stadium nowadays. I'd say that 25,000 is a good gate. Anyway, Nova Scotia and the other Atlantic provinces do love sports--you'd be surprised at how many in the Atlantic provinces are fans of the Boston Red Sox, for example. No reason to think that Haligonians and neighbours couldn't get behind a Halifax CFL team.
What is a "professional level stadium" in CFL terms?.
Someone had better ask Commissioner Ambrosie that question because I don't know the answer. I can only assume the league wants a stadium that can fit at least 20,000 attendees but if the first article I shared implied that the CFL wants more to a stadium than just adequate attendance. That is why using Laval University's PEPs stadium is a roadblock - " Furthermore, significant renovation would be needed for PEPS stadium RFK to host CFL games." So can Halifax, NS, the original target of the Schooners, really be the home of the 10th team? Can the CFL really pull it off by upgrading another university stadium such as Saint Mary's stadium for the Schooners and how fast can they complete this task? Atlantic Canada is big on football. Practically every major secondary school in New Brunswick has a gridiron football team for instance, which cannot be said of even Ontario, which is wealthier and more populous. What the Atlantic Provinces lack, if all of the articles about the Schooners are correct, is money for a new stadium so upgrading an existing one is the best option. It's understandable that Ambrosie probably has a solid return on investment in his mind and will not commit to anything that will lose significant money for the league. The wait for the Schooners has been too long however.
The Schooners even have their own website all laid out . I can see this is/was an attempt to drum up fan support but are they going a little too far here? Unlike NHL's former Hartford Whalers who did exist for 18 years in the NHL or the NFL's Houston Oilers who did exist for 36 years and have memories to share, the Schooners have never really existed and don't really have anything to share except news updates, which do not need a website to house. I don't know if if this ploy is really going to work. The articles directly related to Schooner Sports and Entertainment date back to 2019, before the pandemic, which dampened ownership desire, and the links to the Schedule and Standings link back to the league's current season as it is right this moment with nine existing teams, none of which bear the name Schooners. I don't know, can it seem depressing for a would-be Schooner fan to see all the other teams play on the season and their team stuck in limbo without a shred of knowledge as to when they might play? What do others think?
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The Schooners website
. I can see this is/was an attempt to drum up fan support but are they going a little too far here? Unlike NHL's former Hartford Whalers who did exist for 18 years in the NHL or the NFL's Houston Oilers who did exist for 36 years and have memories to share, the Schooners have never really existed and don't really have anything to share except news updates, which do not need a website to house. I don't know if if this ploy is really going to work. The articles directly related to Schooner Sports and Entertainment date back to 2019, before the pandemic, which dampened ownership desire, and the links to the Schedule and Standings link back to the league's current season as it is right this moment with nine existing teams, none of which bear the name Schooners. I don't know, can it seem depressing for a would-be Schooner fan to see all the other teams play on the season and their team stuck in limbo without a shred of knowledge as to when they might play? What do others think?
