I'm an American occasional contributor & poster to the Forum. I have an interest in & appreciation of the CFL & would love to see a better TV situation for the American cable viewer who would like to see/follow the CFL. I'm a fan of the NCAA & NFL also for almost 40 years.
I have read many many topics & posts here about expansion of the CFL & one angle always seems to be totally omitted when CFL expansion discussed for Halifax, Quebec City, London, Moncton, & even back to Ottawa. Why is their never any corporation or rich investor or backing group that is in active pursuit of a franchise? If no one thinks football would be a profitable investment to make in any of these communities, or any other possibilities I may have missed; then how will these cities ever get teams?
If Halifax, (which first ALMOST had a team in 1984! 22 years ago & counting) is still waiting for some external circumstance (the 2014! Commonwealth Games) to provide them with only a small-medium size venue for a team to play in, doesnt that say something about how badly they truly want a team there? Would YOU be willing to make a 7 figure investment in a city that seems so indifferent? If the city really WANTED a team that badly, it would not be 22 years & counting for a Stadium to be built.
There are cheap ways to get a functional stadium in place. Caesars Palace in Las Vegas used to build & THEN TEAR DOWN a temporary Boxing Stadium in their parking lot every time they wanted to hold a big money championship fight card. There are companies that provide temporary stands, scoreboards & lighting systems for stock car tracks, fairgrounds, High School football stadiums, etc. in the US.
I would bet that the CFL has used similar companies when temporarily expanding the stadiums in Halifax & Quebec City to apx 20,000 for holding exhibition games. You could construct a 30,000 seat temporary stadium very cheaply & be playing football in either city NOW on a greenfield site if the demand was really & truly there.
My point is that if no one is clamoring & pushing for construction of Stadia, & if no big money groups, individuals or corporations are pushing hard for a team in any specific city, it has to be because they dont deem it to be a profitable situation. The key to expansion is to find an owner with the financial power, AND the extreme interest in a given city, to be willing to take some losses early & stick with it & see it through to an ultimate position of profit. What does anyone else think?
OK OK... I wasnt an English major, & I wasnt thinking about the proper form of composition when I made the post. But still, It's not THAT hard to read. The point is still valid. The Fans want expansion badly, particularly to Halifax & Quebec City. London seems to have some followers also. (Of course from what I read so does Honolulu, Anchorage & Rekjavik. Vladisvostok & Port Arthur anyone?) Wanting to see someone ELSE do something, & being part of an active group actually DOING something about getting a team is something else. I see nothing in any of the numerous expansion posts that indicates any movers & shakers with money & influence deem any of those cities or Windsor, Thunder Bay, Saskatoon Victoria etc etc a good financial bet for profit in a reasonable time frame. So, how is it ever going to happen ? Anyone have any thoughtfull comments about the football & business points?
Good post and valid thoughts. By the way BD has forgotten this is a forum and not his english class so ignore his imaturity.
You are right if they wish to have a CFL franchise then why hasn’t a local investor stepped up to the plate. The problem is that CFL teams do not make big money on their TV deals such as sports in the USA. Other then NHL Hockey this does not occur in Canada and may be one of the reasons it does not attract the large power brokers to step forward. So instead they wait for government to build a stadium. Then these local power brokers not only get a sports franchise but the stadium built with government money.
Oh yes, if our league had a puck or stick associated with it, expansion and lot's of it would have come years ago.
Still though even with all of these "problems" CE, CFL football is the second favourite sport in the land. Quickly gaining on NHL.
Don’t get me started on your grammar red. I was merely suggesting to him that putting a few paragraphs during a long post not only makes the post more legible but also enhances his point/argument.
But I pretty much agree with what RedWhite2005 stated. With smaller TV contracts owners in this league are far more dependant on fans coming out to the games. While a TV contract is pretty much guaranteed income, getting fans in the seats is not. This is one of the things the new TV contract can hopefully help with. The better the TV revenue the more willing a potential owner may be to get into the CFL.
As for the stadium statement, unfortunately using a temporary stadium set-up is not going to cut it. CFL franchises are created with the hopes of them lasting many, many years without needing constant repairs and upgrades. Any stadium that is built can’t cut corners, it must be a structure which will be able to serve the team for many years. This unfortunately does get quite expensive and it is hard to expect a private investor to put their money into a stadium’s construction. The optimum solution would seem to be combining a private investors money with an organization like the government or a university (like McGill).
The circumstances for CFL expansion have never been “right” or profitable thus far. Maybe with the new TV deal, and some more popularity we will see some expansion in the near future.
Blue_Dragoon states that TV revenue is guaranteed, putting fans in the seats is not. Halifax hasnt made an effort to build a Stadium since their 1984 near-miss (when they GOT a franchise & never played a game because a deal for Stadium funding could NOT be made.) Now its 22 years later. Where is the groundswell or grass roots support for a Stadium? Where is the call for a team? My point about a temporary Stadium was not that it be a substitute for a permanent lasting home for a team. My point was that if the fans there were going crazy to have CFL football (As I wish they were btw) that someone would be calling for such a Stadium to serve as a stop gap to start home games of "Our Team" being played. And that such demand would be noticed by men with the money to satisfy it. Men with the power and influence to bring Government, a local University, a large corporation, the citizens, in whatever combination it takes; to bring the realization of a team & a permanent adequate CFL standards-meeting Stadium into existence. When the League has this kind of demand in it's non-League cities, thats when you will see expansion. That, or a very wealthy individual, corporation, or group that loves both CFL football & a given city enough to try & bring the two together.
Great post, I agree. That’s why we won’t see any more CFL teams unless of some external circumstance(like a stadium built for the commonwealth games in halifax).
And I think that might be some of CE’s point. Wasn’t it recently published that Canada had about 20 of the worlds Billionaires? and countless Millionaires?
These are Canadian rich! And just one of them could easily purchase a team AND build a small/medium stadium to CFL standards no?
But the argument regarding TV revenues is a valid one so my next question would be, why aren’t these rich making their own Canadian TV networks to create competition? They fight for programming…the CFL becomes part of that fight…etc. You see where I’m going.
I dont dispute the fact that he may have a great point but, honestly, how much weight do you give someone who says its "Like" a good idea" or Lets "like" go out.
Is it right to feel that way? No! But thats just the way it is.(at least it is with me?