Remembering threads like Windsor, London, and Moncton inspired me to write this thread.
Minot ND has hit the nail on the head.
Minot ND has a Pro Basketball team. Makes ya wonder if a small Canadian city can support a CFL team. Of course comparing CFL football to CBA Basketball are like apples and oranges, but the eccomonics behind the teams are no different concidering Minot is in the middle of no where with a population of only 36000 people.
I live near the Manitoba US border and I just found out that Minot, North Dakota of all places has a Pro Basketball team that plays with major places like Pittsburgh and Indiana and others.
Vancouver BC is next to start their season as the Vancouver Dragans in 2007.
Some other cities Minot will be playing with in 2007 are Los Angelos, Atlanta, Miami, and Seattle.
But Minot?????
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minot_SkyRockets
Minot is a little hick city in the prairies with nothing around it. Brandon Manitoba is bigger than Minot.
But one thing that I see in Minot is the heart to have a pro team.
That kind of Heart for a pro team should be in all Canadians hoping to have a team in their city.
If Minot North Dakota can support a pro basket ball team with such a small population, then perhaps a some cities in Canada with larger populations might not be a bad place.
Some could argue that its also a stadium issue.
OK but lets keep in mind that Moncton is getting a stadium for its games and although it may be a little on the small side, fan support could rally some interests on bringing a team there and expand the stadium to a CFL level. Moncton could be the home for the Atlantic Schooners.
Any thoughts?
Thats right. Minot has inspired me.
what you got to look at is the percentage of the population that cares enough about that sportleague. First of all, americans are more fanatic about their sports, second, basketball is more popular down their than CFL is up here. Third, the town of minot may only have 36000 people, but how many more people are within a couple of hr radius. Sure, in theory, all ya need is 25000 people to support a cfl team, but if we have trouble getting that many out of over a million.....
Its the heart of the people.
Minot has hardly any people or towns near it.
Fargo is a good 3-3.5 hours away. Grand forks is about 2-2.5
Minot really is in the middle of no where.
Winnipeg alone has more people than all of North Dakota.
25000 has not been a problem in Regina at times when it was a problem in Toronto or even Ottawa.
Moncton would represent all of New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada in this case. With a new feild and stadium in place, it wont be long until you hear people in Moncton talk about being the next CFL city.
The Western Ontario ideas were pretty good too, but they key is not really population, but fan support.
I think now Canadian football fans are showing more heart towards their league than ever befor.
I have long said that the best way for the CFL to operate would be as a single entityemployer. They have x number of teams playing out of whatever cities give them the most attendancesupportbucks and it all goes into one expense pool. The cities that are well supported need somebody to play against so it would be worth it to the league to have teams where there is less support, to a point. Having more teams that are solid, which means the league doesnt fold any teams, might make the league be better thought of by media and sports fans and thereby increase overall support.
And that is a good point FYB.
The more teams the more competitive the league would be.
Truth is I myself doubt smaller Canadian cities as well. But this Minot pro team just kinda got me thinking.
Reason being I am finding that smaller cities appreciate their teams more than larger cities.
Jr Hockey is a example of appreciation. The MJHL in Winnipeg gets a average attendance of 150 people give or take while in the small rural towns, the same game would attract 1000 people at the same ticket price.
Regina is the best example of how a smaller city really appreciates their CFL team.
And I know all the CFL cities appreciate their teams to some levels.
Who knows... The people of Moncton may go nuts over CFL football if they had a team.
:lol: So you are saying that we could stick a CFL team in Moose Jaw? Our population is around 32000 and since its only a 45 minute drive from Regina, we could easily support a team! :lol: Imagine a Labour Day classic between these two natural rivals! :roll:
Beerbarons, I agree! Sambo, realistically I think that Saskatoon could and would support a team. If the stadium at the U of S was upgraded, it has a great location. The northern half of Saskatchewan drives up to 8 hours to Regina to see games (many a couple of times per year). They would support a team up there in droves. The Riders would still be fine. The rivalry alone would put an extra 2500 season tickets in both stadiums. Saskatoon is booming right now and it would not surprize me to see it double in size to near 1/2 million in the next 15 years.
Sambo, in my previous threads I have always listed pros and cons to everything.
No I would never support a team in a small city like moosejaw or any other city that big.
This thread is not really a thread about expansion, but a thread about heart and inspiration where a small city overcomes ecomonics that a pro teams demands.
Halifax would be our example city to Minot in Comparision. Halifax has the heart as they have rallied for the past 20 years for a team but a stadium has always held them back.
Moncton CFL fans have also wanted a team in New Brunswick. The difference is Moncton is getting a new stadium build. This new stadium will be a little small but it can be build on into a larger stadium.
As for another team in Saskatchewan, I dont think that will work. Reason being is that even fans from Saskatoon support the Riders.
It may be hard for them to drop their Riders and support another team in front of them. But then again, you never know what the future holds. The Maritimes on the other hand have no team at all to represent them.
I think that they will go nuts if a team was placed there, be it Halifax or Moncton.
Minots example really points the finger at me more than anyone else. I have always said that Halifax, Ottawa, and Quebec are the only cities in Canada left to place a team.
Is there a Canadian city that can be compared to Minot in comparision. ex:Windsor, Moncton, London, ect.
The thing is though, BB, is that the CFL is to Canada what the NFL is to the states. To compare Minot to London or Moncton etc would be comparing apples and oranges. The pro team you are referring to is a "major" league. We used to have an independent baseball league here(the Prairie League), but the league itself was doomed for failure. Try sticking an NFL team in Minot and it would not fly. The CFL needs to stick to places like QC, Halifax and Ottawa. I do agree with narles that Saskatoon might be a good place to stick a franchise somewhere down the road. Minot's pro basketball team is minor pro, not the NBA as you make it sound.
I never said Minots team was a major league pro team. I am saying that the ecomonics behind that small city support their existing pro team would be on the same scale as a city like Windsor, Moncton, and London in comparison.
When you look at the eccomonics we are comparing apples with apples and oranges with oranges.
That is what I am saying.
A small prairie city like Minot still has to pay for players salaries, plane tickets and hotel rooms for away games, the lease on the venue, marketing, managment fees,ect.
That is alot on the plate for a small city like Minot.
Now do you see where I am getting at.
This thread is a ecomonic comparision.
The Prairie League is a different story all together. The teams all existed in the prairies so travel to LA,Washington and Pittsburge were out of the question.
In the Prairie League it was Brandon vs MooseJaw, not little Minot vs Miami or Atlanta
The players took a bus to their away games.
Minots players have to fly.
And it was the Prairie League as a whole that was hurting more so than independant teams.
The Prairie League did not have the heavy travel costs that Minot has.
No its not NBA, but is still costs larger than what little Minot can handle, yet, they are handling it quit well.
Not sure how this differs from say from the WHL hockey, there are teams in big cities and small town. The fact is that they have much smaller payrolls than their senior leagues, that is why they are able to play in small places.
Would you seriously think that Regina could have a NHL team? No, it is not big enough.
Now could Moncton have a CFL team? Possible, but like the Riders they would require major government support.
Outdoor stadiums are very different things from arena's. An arena are often used every day of the year, stadiums are lucky to get 30 days use.
More good points from you Leeing.
WHL Hockey is a great example.
I do not know how much how much WHL players get paid, but I can tell you, that CBA players make $1000- $1500 per week.
Add plane fairs, hotels, coaches, manangers, ect and you will find that is a very large budget for a small place like Minot.
And most WHL teams play other teams in Divisions so travel is not as bad as a team from Minot flying to LA and Miami.
My point is Minot is a small pond with a catering to a very large fish.
True Outdoor Stadiums are different than Arenas and this could work towards Monctons advantage.
They are already getting a new stadium build.
So what is it going to be used for afterwards once the games leave town?
The odd outdoor concert? High school football?
Moncton stadium would be in a possition where a yearly tennant would get a great deal on the venue. Cheap rent on the venue would really help a team survive in Moncton.
Either way, when you look at ratios, Minot is to Moncton what the CBA is to CFL.
Moncton is bigger than Minot and the CFL is bigger than the CBA. The Ratio balances out.
Actually now that I think about it, on a per week basis CFL and CBA players almost make the same amount when its broken up into weekly pay checks.
Could someone correct me on that.
CBA players make form $1000-$1500 per week. What would the average CFL player get per week.
Ok now here is another city that can be compared to Minots ecconomic ratio.
London Ontario that already has a new stadium with a CFL grade feild.
http://www.2006worldlacrosse.com/1_Venue.php
Welcome to London Ontario.
A stadium that already exists.
CFL Grade turf that already exists.
With a population of 352,395 ( exactly ten times the population of Minot) plus populations of many towns and cities from surrounding areas would give London a bigger fan base than Regina. Londons Metro area population is 457,720
If you ask me, give Londons stadium a few more seats and the team should be ready to go.
Minots leads by great example.
Minot is used as an inspiration to other non CFL Canadian markets
If Minot can have a pro team then any larger Canadian city should have a CFL team.
The CFL should start pursuing these Canadian markets.
Right now there is no team to move unfortionatly.
Some questions I would raise are:
Who are these rich families? Anyone inparticular?
What big corporations is London known for?
Is there any talks in the streets or on the news about London pursuing the CFL?
Here is a map of North Dakota and the little red Arrow is where Minot is.
Its really in the Middle of no where with nothing around it.
I would say Brandon, Manitoba is the closes city to it and thats 2 hours north. LOL