"That's one of the questions we're going to be asking fans: can we move it up earlier in June?" Cohon told CBC News. "And it's something we're going to consider 'cause from a business perspective, we want our stadiums to be full and if it's -20, it's more difficult. So it's something we're going to contemplate."
I would like to see the season pushed forward a couple of weeks.
Once Rogers Center is out, there will only be 1 covered Stadium in the league.
That is in Vancouver, which has the most temperate climate in the Country.
Division semis would start the 3rd week of Oct.
I also think he wants to get more games on NBCSN & ESPN in June when there is no other football being played. Pre-season in May and the regular season starting 1st of June would be acceptable with the playoffs in October and the GC the first week of Nov.
Don't do it Cohon! The CFL starting on Canada Day and having Playoffs and the Grey Cup in November before the Xmas rush, and just as the galmour of the new Hockey and NFL season has died down and become routine. Keep in on the last Sunday of November.
With Ottawa coming back on line I thought they would increase the number of games in the season. Starting earlier would cover this and still keep the GC on the last Sunday of Nov
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I like having Labour day as the sort of mid-season pivot. Plus more summer games means more fans lost to the cottage/camping.
I love this idea, like others have said it makes the last few weeks and playoffs played in better weather. I wouldn't do a huge jump but 2 weeks sounds nice.
I wouldn't mind if they moved it up a week or two. With more and more Grey Cups being held in outdoor stadiums in places like Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and Edmonton that can be - and in fact usually are VERY cold by late November the CFL really risks some Grey Cup games becoming a bit of a farce rather than a great showcase for the two best teams in the league that year.
By the sounds of it we are really dodging a bullet this week with Sunday's temperatures expected to be somewhat reasonable (although still wind chills likely below -10C). Had the Grey Cup game been played yesterday the temperature and wind chills by late in the 4th quarter would have been temperature -25C with wind chills of -33C. Really that would have been a bit of a debacle in my opinion.
I would hope something as drastic as changing the start and end of a season would be a few years down the road…
I say keep the schedule the way it is, I LOVE watching football in inclement weather in the fall, makes the game much less predictable and exciting in my opinion!
dont do it its the CFL which stands for Canadian Football League in canada we brave the elements were not like those guys that play in the south. i love the cold weather games its CANADA AT ITS BEST.
KEEP IT CANADIAN
Have you ever been to a game in Green Bay or Buffalo in late December? 60,000 plus in well below freezing!!
So I think NFL fans have more experience at braving the elements.
Oh yeah, Ottawa… So the season will probably go to 20 weeks (instead of 19) with each team getting 2 byes, and they’ll likely have to move the start up a week.
I agree, my family has always said the Christmas season starts the week after the Grey Cup, we wouldn’t want Christmas to start in September or October, would we?
Cohon may have a point. On that CBC story there is a poll at the bottom of it to which so far about 2600 people have voted. It seems the poll specifically relates to moving up the schedule so that the Grey Cup Game would be played earlier. (The reason for possibly wanting to start earlier is to end earlier, nothing to do with extra bye weeks or anything like that). The breakdown of votes so far:
22.8% - Leave it as is cold and snow is part of the tradition
68.3% - Change it this is football not hockey! (my vote)
9% - All future Grey Cup games in dome stadiums only