CFL to Quebec City?

Would be a great move and an unbelievable rivalry with the Als, like the Habs vs. Nords.
Unfortunately, three words why it won't happen - No Political Will -

The guy who was looking to bring a team to Quebec City doesnt have the political clout required nor deep enough pockets. He ran for mayor, but lost to the eventual mayor of Quebec City. The current mayor is buddy buddy with Tanguay who bankrolls the Rouge et Or and has no interest in seeing a pro team set up shop. As a result, PEPS (where Laval plays) is out of question.

Also, Mark Cohon has never really been bullish on Quebec City for whatever reason. Unfortunately, I think the CFL will be a 9 team circuit for a while.

No, no owner !

But…but…the whole reason there is a team in Laval is because of the existance of the Montreal Alouettes. The whole reason the RESQ has 6 teams instead of three is because of the Montreal Alouettes. If there was, as you say, a second Quebec team, it can only enhance interest in football…

they couldnt even keep their hockey team.

Until the Als can get enough of a fan base to successfully move back to Olympic stadium, no team in Quebec city.

that may be a very difficult task as the Als would have to increase/maintain a constant the fan base of at least 45- 50,000 in order to appear adequate in the cavernous 68,000 seat Big O.

Most CFL teams have difficulty attaining a 30,000 avg., let alone near 50.

exactly.

Quebec city is too close to Montreal to share existing fan base.

It is highly unlikely that Quebec City, being 3 hours away, would affect the attendance of the Alouettes, who derive the vast majority of ticket sales from it’s local Metropolitan of nearly 4 million.

and a team in QC would, in all probability, garner additional interest/awareness in the sport of gridiron football throughout the province.

It is highly unlikely that Quebec City, being 3 hours away, would affect the attendance of the Alouettes, who derive the vast majority of ticket sales from it's local Metropolitan of nearly 4 million.

and a team in QC would, in all probability, garner additional interest/awareness in the sport of gridiron football throughout the province.


Agreed, why would QC 3 hours away effect the Als?
Will Ottawa affect the Als attendance? after all it’s closer to Montreal than Quebec city is. Ottawa to Montreal - less than a 2 hour drive.

is the head of Quebecor (Pierre Peladeau) not somehow involved in trying to get an NHL franchise in Q.C.?

having a team in Q.C. would more than likely have a positive effect for the Als and the team in Q.C. Similar to the days of when the Nordiques were part of the NHL.

There’s probably a certain segment of the QC population that are already Als fans. I’d be less worried about affecting the Als’ attendance than I would having to overcome that to build the QC fanbase.

It’s similar to when the Senators joined the NHL. There already were a number of Habs/Leafs fans that didn’t convert.

It’s a not huge deal, but it’s a factor.

I agree that if there is no interested owner etc... that it will not happen despite the regions population and regional rivalry potential. However, It doesn't hurt to try and generate the interest if you are the CFL. I would propose that you target the region with neutral site games or even play Montreal's annual pre-season home game there (on a trial basis). At best, you pack Laval's stadium, generate regional interest for the Al's and demonstrate the franchise potential to future owners. At worst, the interest is not there and you strike it off the list and move on. I believe that CIS and CFL football can co-exist and even feed off of each other if done in the right way. Of course, you would have to convince Laval and its interested parties of this. If they won't let you in the stadium, it is a mute point.

The league is a bit stale with 8 teams. Soon we will have 9 with Ottawa. Realistically, Moncton and Quebec City are the only two locations with half capable stadiums for a 10th. Moncton has been explored a bit by local interests. To explore Quebec City, I think the league needs to take the initiative. I would have no problem with some league revenue going towards this. I may be in the minority however.

You can't force the interest but you can try and generate it.

My 2 cents on it anyways.

Québec needs to bid on a major sporting event, such as the Commonwealth Games (not gonna happen), or the Pan Am Games so it can get major government funding to upgrade its facilities. But, with all the debt in that province I just can't see this happening unless a very rich white knight comes along and drives the financing.

I kind of wish that city would wake up and join the rest of North America. It's rare to hear anything from there about any topic except an NHL team.

I am really curious to see how this NHL thing pans out for QC. Bettman was very direct when he said there was no plan to move a franchise to QC and now we understand why. They want the 500 million expansion fee. The thing is Peladeau figured he could buy a team on the brink for around 200 million. I don't think he has the 500 million dollars plus the startup costs to make this happen. Just blows my mind when you see the crumbling infrastructure in that province. You litteraly take your life in your hands driving on the bridges and expressway around Montreal and most of their hospitals are old and contaminated and they go and build a 500 million dollar rink plus they will renovate the old rink and keep maintaining it ! And they don't have a deal in place for a team.

Yes. Problem number 1a.

The problem the CFL faces in expanding anywhere it seems is Stadia and Owners, and the lack of same. One thing the CFL can do re: the owner problem is hire the services of an investment bank, in the same manner that any large corporation seeking to acquire other companies (or divest themselves of operations for that matter) does. They could identify markets they would be willing to expand to & see if an investment bank can drum up any interested investors, corporations, owners, civic minded rich etc.

Who knows? It may not be likely but there may be someone out there with the wealth or ability to form a group that has been previously ignorant of this as a field of opportunity. Maybe someone would like to do something like what is being done in Ottawa with other development as part of a football / soccer venture. I would think it would be worth a shot if the league didnt have to pay too much up front, unless / until they got an interested capable party willing and able to pay a reasonable expansion fee and also able to be financially capable of building up a team from scratch, weathering any losses in the early going.

I would think that owning and running a CFL franchise would be both very exciting & a lot of FUN for the right well heeled businessman or woman. You get to be a mini Jerry Jones, hire and fire mgmnt coaches and players, get to build a team, there are wins and losses along the way with the potential of being at the center of a Grey Cup winning champion one day. You would probably get to host a couple of Grey Cups in the early years in a new city, with all the fun and excitement that would provide. And nowhere is it written in stone anywhere that you have to take a financial bath of red ink. With the right marketing and a real effort put into building a winning team you should be able to attract & hold fan support.

I dont know how you folks feel about it, but an investment bank could also reach out to American potential owners and investors, and to American TV networks as well to try to heighten interest in the CFL down South. The teams wouldnt have to be in American cities, I know thats not popular here. I do think it would be smart to add one American team in a border city somewhere, working out something about the Import rule along the way. I feel certain something could be worked out on that point that would satisfy everyone, including governments & laws. I know thats probably not popular with most of you, but I would think you want to grow your game, without losing control of it like with the NHL so many years ago.

The other issue is Stadia. My only answer to this is that I think you can build a nice stadium seating 35,000 with seat back chairs, good well planned concessions on concourses below the stands, luxury boxes/suites for a lot less than most people would credit. You can look and see whats been done at many American colleges in recent years. University of Akron in Ohio would be one Great example. The seating areas at Irwindale Toyota Speedway in California are another example. They seat 5000 or so in one section and have a nice concourse area below with concessions and rest rooms. Six such seating units would give you a 30.000 seat stadium at a reasonable cost. Plus if you have additional development ala' Ottawa that creates more money to add more features like a restaurant-club with field views etc.

I think the CFL should invest in a temporary stadium like Empire Field in BC to be moved around & used in cities without adequate venues. This would be for showcasing the league in exhibition & eveb regular season play. This would spark interest in cities that dont have teams. It could even be used for one shot games in places like Thunder Bay or Brandon or Saskatoon that arent ever probably getting teams, just as a show the flag, interest building, reach out to the fans kind of thing.

This is partly why the next TV contract is so important, and why continuous, consistent marketing of the CFL in all markets is critical to keep the league growing, however slowly. If teams can be assured 2/3 or more of the operating budget from a TV contract, that begins to look more and more like a possible money making situation.

As for the McCains, what are they talking about “no corporate interest”? Between them and the Irvings they probably own a huge portion of the wealth in the Maritimes, and their businesses probably affect 100% of the population in one way or another. If the huge companies those families control coughed up even .01% of revenue they could build a stadium complex and support a team forever. So if there is “no corporate support” it’s all on them :roll:

Great post there Eagle. I think this is a brilliant idea that the CFL should seriously consider if it hasn’t already. Maybe after the next TV contract they can make it happen. My only fear is that some group would put together a proposal for a team with a conditional stadium, get the temporary stadium from the CFL, then renege on the deal to build one, hanging the CFL out to dry.

Yes that is an idea that I have mentioned before and of course there are always those that are quick to snub it but Mosaic has come out with the latest in temp seating. the Temp seating that they put up in their end zones are sectional and can be taken down by section and moved. That is what they are going to do with the seating when the new stadium is built donate a section of the seating to differnt organzations to place up at their football field. If the CFL where to invest in a whole bowl of this type of seating it can be stored and moved to any existing field that has the space and place the seats around it. If the field already has a proper grandstand on one side then only the sections needed can be moved or put into place. Each comes with its own mini suite. Check it out on the Riders CFL sight if you have not. it is under the Grey Cup Legacy project. It is actually a pretty cool. They are constantly building temp bleacher seating for Grey cups. here they will already have proper seats stored with mini suites. It also shows how the Riders will build the standard temp beachers behind them for the cup in 2013.