We don't need to stress the Canadian economics of having to line up ten wealthy ownership groups who each year have to support 10 CFL clubs. It's better to have more wealthy folks available for the existing 8. Don't gamble.
Keep the current 8 and appease the Atlantic/Ottawa folks a few times a year by having some regular season games moved to Ottawa and Atlantic Canada stadiums. For example,...
When BC plays at Toronto, move that game to Atlantic Canada and have Toronto wear the throwback uniforms logo/team colors of the Nova Scotia Schooners. Do the same thing with Ottawa. Pick a game from the regular season schedule and have one of the teams wear the throwback uniforms of the Ottawa Rough Riders.
Money doesn't grow on trees. Run a balanced budget.
I don’t buy that. Keep the Ottawa folks in the loop so they could step in and takeover one of the existing eight teams when some other existing owership group has to bailout. Give them the opportunity to move an existing team to Ottawa as an incentive to buy into the league.
Spreading yourself too thin isn’t a good policy. If the existing eight had sellouts regularly, that’s a different story.
What don’t you buy, that there is an ownership group in Ottawa? It’s a fact. It’s headed by Jeff Hunt. Whether you like it or not, once the issue with the stadium gets sorted out, there will be a team in Ottawa.
Atlantic Canada, right now, is unknown. But with a stadium feasibility study being done in Halifax, and the success of the first Touchdown Atlantic, there will probably be a team there in the next 10-15 years.
Teams might not be selling out stadiums, but ratings are through the roof and CFL programming is a hot commodity. The belief among many people is that the next TV contract could be a big one, with a potential bidding war between as many as four different networks (TSN, Sportsnet, Global, CBC). By the time a team in Atlantic Canada is ready to take the field, it will be a much different league than it is today.
How is going from 8 teams to 9 stretching ourselves too thin? If people always remained conservative there'd never be any progress. I agree that I don't want to see the league expanded to the point where the talent pool is shallow. You see that in other leagues. However, I don't think that'd happen with 9 or 10 teams.
Also, why would either team wear Ottawa's old jersey? I know the Toronto Raptors wore the Huskies jersey last season, but the Huskies were a Toronto team. Having any team wearing Ottawa's old jersey doesn't make sense.
In reference to the person making 4 TV contracts bidding -- don't count your chickens before they hatch.
To Chief: It would be pretty classy for a team to wear the throwback uniforms of Ottawa and Nova Scotia. West Virginia offered to wear Marshall's jersey and play out Marshall's schedule after the plane crash. In the same way, that would be a class act by the league to recognize Ottawa and Nova Scotia's enthusiasm. The players don't care as long as they get paid. So what, they wear a team jersey that has nothing to do with their current team.
Some other person said it would take 73 NFL teams to equal the population divided up to equal the existing eight in Canada.
I'm sorry, but I don't want to see the past disaster when Montreal played a preseason schedule and announced they were withdrawing from the CFL, about six days before the season opener. I think that was the year after Vince Ferragamo.
You may have 10 wealthy folks right now, but that doesn't mean there's going to be 10 wealthy folks next year...or for that matter 10 days from now.
I’m not counting my chickens. These aren’t even my chickens. I don’t have any chickens.
Seriously, though, it’s just what people are saying. I don’t think anyone is counting on it. But with all the success that the CFL has had the past few years, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the TV contract will go up significantly.
That, sir, would be me that said that.
You don’t seem to understand, the CFL will have nine teams. Ottawa is getting a team, so it’s not critical that the CFL stays with eight because the plan is already in place to expand to nine. It’s happening, so you should probably learn to deal with it.
Interesting statement, since Canadians elected Stephen Harper in the last federal election… now, do you see your own major contradiction(assuming you voted Conservative) there?..
As for expansion… I believe there is enough talent to go to 10 teams… I’m not sure if Ottawa will work, since its failed there twice… a lot of casual fans will take a wait and see attitude, but are there enough die hard football fans in Ottawa to make it work? IMO, I don’t think there is…
:roll: There is no contradiction because being politically Conservative (notice the capital 'C') has nothing to do with being conservative (notice the lower case 'c'). But this is so far off topic that I will not respond to any further posts about it.
Ottawa failed those two times because of ownership. Nothing more, nothing less. The teams weren’t doing very well on the field, but ownership was the major problem. Horn Chen and the Gliebermans were the worst thing that ever happened to the Rough Riders/Renegades. Saying a team failed in Ottawa is like saying the Jets failed in Winnipeg or the Browns failed in Cleveland. The loss of the team had little to nothing to do with fan support.
Conservative is conservative, no matter if you capitalize the ‘c’ or not…
Average attendance in Ottawa in their last year- 18K and change… so how many fans will show this time around, the die hard CFL fans(I’m guessing anywhere from 13 to 16K and two X-factors)… 1)those casual fans who are prepared to give it another chance… and 2)new fans-- and who knows how many are out there… they will be critical to keep the franchise going…
No, it is not. There is a difference between Conservative and conservative. Just like there is a difference between Liberal and liberal. Please, stop arguing this. You’re just wrong.
No playoff appearances plus the Gliebermans as owners contributed to that. Having talked to many Ottawa football fans, the Glieberman name is dirt in that city. With Jeff Hunt – who is universally respected in the city – that won’t be the case. Hunt owns the 67s, and is well liked. His name being attached means something to people in that city. The fans are there. The league wouldn’t put a team there and Jeff Hunt wouldn’t waste his time and money if each didn’t believe that it was a worthwhile investment. That’s why they’re taking their time and no rushing things. The return to Ottawa will be a success.
Well you are quibbling over capitalization... a conservative is a Conservative, a Liberal is a liberal... I don't care how you want to split hairs.. :roll:
As for Hunt being well liked, that does not translate into them buying tickets for a football team... casual and new fans are the key to any success the franchise will have, just because you like him doesn't mean you will shell out money to support him... there are a lot of variables... how well the team does, if there is hope that the team will improve over time... and a whole host of other factors, how the "new" stadium looks, prices for food, beverages... overall entertainment value... just to mention only a few... don't assume that just becaue people like him, it doesn't necessarily translate to fans buying season or single game tickets...
Roll your eyes all you want. People who know, know there is a difference. I’ll take the word of multiple political science professors at the University of Toronto over some guy named sambo42 on a CFL message board.
Actually, liking the owner does translate into buying tickets. I know this first hand as a Tiger-Cat fan. The team won the Grey Cup in 1999 and attendance was abysmal in 2000. Bob Young assumes ownership at the end of 2003, and the team stinks until 2009, but the park has 22-25 thousand for most games. Liking the owner can play a role. It’s not the only reason, but it can make a difference. If you think the guy who signs the cheques actually gives a crap about the on-field product, you’ll be willing to give him a lot more benefit of the doubt than someone else. That means that even in lean years, you’ll shell out the money because you know the guy in charge cares. You believe that he’s doing everything he can to put the right people in charge to make the team successful. It makes you feel like you’re a part of something. You might not understand that as a Roughrider fan because your team doesn’t have that identifiable owner, but trust me, it matters. Bob Young, for the most part, is beloved in the city of Hamilton, and because of that, people will fork over money to watch the Tabbies in good times and bad.
Well the conservative and liberal thing is just my opinion... I see it differently than he does... but I guess I'm not entitled to disagree? I guess we all should have the same beliefs... :roll: :roll: ( I guess you really want to argue about this, even after you said you wouldn't comment after the first time )
As for the tickets, I can maybe see a few hundred or a couple of thousand, but 5 to 10K buying tickets because they like Hunt? I don't see it... but it happens, more power to him...
So what you’re saying is that when someone dresses conservatively, they’re dressing in a way that advocates free markets (liberal markets, if you will)? I did my undergraduate degree at a liberal arts college. Please tell me what that has to do with the Liberal Party of Anywhere.
A Conservative is not a conservative, nor a liberal a Liberal, anymore than a party in a new democracy has the same beliefs as the New Democratic Party. The two main parties in the US are the Republicans and the Democrats, but every indication suggests that both parties hold both republican and democratic values. The name of a party does not determine the ideology after which it is named, nor vice versa. It’s not a mere quibble. It’s reality. The capitalization is just an artifact of our orthography.
Sure, you’re entitled to have your different opinion. And we’re entitled to think it’s absurd.
Thank you! Perhaps now he’ll understand. Though I doubt it because it seems nothing anyone says will allow him to even slightly alter his POV.
You keep making absurd statements. It’s not about an opinion. Read what PiCat wrote. If even after that you don’t change your tune, you’re hopelessly lost.
You might not see it, but I have. 18K per game up to 23 per game. That’s what happened here in Hamilton, and the only thing that changed was the owner. The team was terrible, but people kept coming. It has an impact, but for some reason you want to deny it.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Ottawa’s attendance actually better than Hamilton’s at the time? When Ottawa comes back, they’ll be getting a new stadium in addition to a new, popular owner. When Young bought the TiCats, we only got a new owner, and it still made a big difference. Furthermore, the CFL as a whole is in much better shape than it was when the Renegades tanked. I’m optimistic.
I think this thread has goen a better direction then where it started. I am sure the league did quite a fesibility study before putting another team in ottawa. i think its sometimes quite amazing what will bring fans in and what will keep them out. in the case of ottawa, the former owners were the major problem. we saw the same hting in Clagary before this current ownership gourp. going 4-14 didnt help either. but we are still filling the ripple effects from the F-group. dunnagan as a coach, owners son as qb, the wally thing... but thats a topic for another thread. A good ownership group that is popular in the city... that will go a long way. i think though, they need to be promiting now. im not in ottawa, so maybe they are doing so. I would hope some billboards are going up... maybe some radio spots and advertisements, start working on the name so they can open a store or something to start with some small un-numbered merch. or start selling some old jersies. get people in the mood! get the people excited. when they put the first shovel in the ground, get a countdown clock put somewhere to the countdown to the first regular season game (similar to the counter on the CFL.ca that counts down to the season start). im not a marketing expert, but some small things like this wont hurt the cause.
I hope the trolling that started this thread is done.
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