In doing a little research and I found that Halifax has some more cost friendly options that may fit perfectly with what the needs would be for a Community Stadium to host Univesity events, Concert events, Soccer, and CFL.
First up CREW STADIUM, Columbus ohio. This was the first of the MLS and now CFL intimated specific soccer stadiums.
When built in 1999 it was at a cost of 28.5 million and estimated cost of just about 40 million for 2013 construction
When You take a look at the stadium would this not fit exactly what a multipurpose stadium could be for both Soccer and Football with the adjustment of not pouring concrete into the end zones like at BMO.
http://www.thecrew.com/content/crew-stadium
Crew Stadium has all the amenities that are needed for the modern sports fans experience. Perhaps a suite for the Universities that contribute to smooze players and Alumni or even one for the Mayor and the City council to try to sell a national or international event that could be perfect for the Atlantic Region. Even SMU may want to use its suite for football recruits showing where they will be playing there home games or CFL Commish Cohon can bring possible ownership groups for an expansion team or the council could show a group interested in bringing pro soccer NASL or even MLS into the Region since it is based on the MLS model stadium
http://www.thecrew.com/tickets/premier-suites.
Also ideas about how to use premium seating for not just a big corporation but rental of club boxes that anyone can do
http://crewstadium.com/premium-suites/
Granted Crew stadium does not have the curvy roof like Investors group or the big seats like Pan Am stadium for people Big Butts but these are all things that would be based on how much there is to spend but certainly a stadium like crew stadium would be a model stadium for a City Like Halifax and the cost is right.
Anyone else who has info on stadiums that would be suitable for Halifax that does not have to cost 250 million feel free to share.
I commend you cflsteve for continuing to beat this dead horse called Halifax.
However history has on multiple occasions detailed how the city and its loony tone politicians want no part of a stadium.
So there are currently two chances slim and none and a long time ago slim left the building.
They aren't loony they are GREASY. One of councilor that opposed the Dartmouth Stadium owns SIX HUNDRED properties DOWNTOWN halifax. She voted for absolutely everything that made her properties in the downtown core go up in value but finds an excuse for absolutely everything that does not advantage her personaly and most of them are either mega landlords or working for landlords at least 10 of them. The only way Halifax gets a stadium is if Aliens drop one from the sky.
Iye yes the politicians. there greasy slimmy politicians have been outed though on more than a regional Halifax basis as there selfish agendas are beginning to affect the rest of Canada. Commonwelth games that was on them but the FIFA world cup soccer is something that Canada would have liked to have in that region at a better stade then Moncton. Now the CFL is becoming more popular the lack of the stadium is holding progress.
The reason I posted Crew Stadium is that it comes to a cost of just 40 million to build something that perhaps a smart business man may see as a steal for the revenue that could be generated from a spring and summer series of concerts alone without even having a football or socccer tenant yet.
It is coming and it is coming soon if an idiot like me can figure out that a feasable stadium for the region can be built at 40 million/ The idiot politicians with their landlord money will be the first to buy a suite to be a big shot in the region to pay for the stadium costs
Yup, politics is equivalent to corruption, they have access to money not on their dime and want only what is best for their riding, not a city or municipality. A joke really. Communism in some or perhaps many aspects is more giving to the average joe. And that is sad for me to actually think like that here and there in a country like Canada.
The city council in Halifax have had a very poor attitude for big time sports for the last 40 years - they won't even try to raise the monies for any type of stadium or stadium expansion , they sit back with their hands out to the Feds.
the public sector may be closed but with such options as a Crew stadium I can see cohon and some private league corporate sponsers getting involved knowing that a 10th team will mean more pofrit for the big time sponsors. Let the private sponsors of the cfl that have grown with the league build such a venue like crew stadium in columbus and have all the crooked politicians have to buy there own private suites.
Seems though the recent NHL deal has people in Halifax thinking more long term of an NHL team and if that's the case, forget a CFL type stadium, not enough money to do both I'm sure:
TAYLOR: The Nova Scotia Lobsters: Some think it’s not far-fetched
Taylor- must not know the financial framework of Canada very well - Saskatoon would clearly get an NHL team over Halifax , the financial strength and population growth right now is in Western Canada ( stats Can )
It is ironic to see the commissioner of the CFL wondering if there is a business base in the maritimes to support a CFL franchise, while some dreamers believe an NHL franchise to be a possiblity. I would say yes for the CFL and definitely no for the NHL.
The Columbus stadium is more like the stadium (after it had been expanded to surround the field) that the former mayor pushed for the Women’s FIFA tournament. The investors didn’t go for it because it wouldn’t work for a CFL team.
I am not a dreamer like some who post that a Quebec City team would be an overwhelming success because people go to Laval games (which cost comparatively little). A Halifax team would face challenges being in the league’s second smallest metro area in a region of the country that isn’t as well off as it could be. A Halifax team couldn’t also be saddled with the burden of having, say, only 15k seats between the goallines and needing to sell many thousands of endzone seats if they are to have any hope of breaking even. I recognize that it will take a higher per capita effort than in most other CFL cities to make a franchise successful. All that being considered, I believe that there is a market for the CFL in the city and the region.
If the politicians of Halifax can not get a CFL sized stadium built at the lower end cost for a MLS/CFL specific stadium how in the world would they be able to get together to get a 250 million dollar NHL arena built and yes that what it will cost. Where the CFL and MLS will allow for a a little more than a Crew like stadium something between Crew Na d Pan am in Hamilton would probably be the minimal the NHL will not allow for notheing less then what is going up in Quebect City.
The NHL will Go to Quebec City first in its retreat back to Canada. second would be another GTA team whether it be Hamitlon of the site of the proposed new venue being built the blockade that the Leafs and Sabres have put on Hamilton will eventualy be overrun by the NHL as contraction instead of relocation would be disasterous for the NHL. The GTA much like the New York.New Jersey Area would be able to support 3 teams better than any other metro area in North America
Halifax, as much as I love the area, is a total joke to the NHL (compliment in some ways to the Halifax area as it means it isn't a populated area which I'm starting to like more and more as time goes on) while another team in the greater GTA isn't a joke at all (and interesting as I would love to leave southern Ontario in a heartbeat if I had the chance to do so job wise).
Yes thank you they are worse than what you would get with a stadium such as crew. All the CFL teams, the CFL, and TSN realize how much more revenue can be generated by having a 10th team in an untapped region of fans. When TSN began to show all the Montreal games on RDS they tapped into a whole new fan base in the province of Quebec. Before that CFL fans to the east of Montreal did not exist as part of the Television market. CFL television audience only existed in the province in the more bilingual areas to the west in the Ottawa Gatineau region and Montreal itself. Montreal games regularly draw a television audience of 400k to 500K on a regular basis. Adding additional games for the first time this season to the RDS/RDS2 line up have began to make those not just ALS fans but CFL fans in general. Ottawa would most likely also gain by having all games on RDS or RDS 2. Most Frnaco fans in the Ottawa-Gatineau region are Montreal fans by tradition but with a new younger fan base.
The CFL, its owners, and TSN may need to take it upon themselves to invest into the Atlantic Region.
There is a strong presence of Junior Hockey in the Atlantic Region no which could get together and make a good ownership group with already having a sponsor and Marketing presence all across the Region could adapt their Marketing departments to work year round for some revenue opposite the Hockey season much like the OSEG and the Calgary Flames owners with their now majority share in stock. The Remperts and Laval rouge et or also have a similar model.
Another team in the Gta would be a huge risk the only way you even look at it is if the Argos attendance increases and they have a large season ticket base.
Actually, if you think outside the box a bit, a second team in the GTA, if marketed correctly, might help the Argos and CFL. You put it in a place like North York (York U) or even Markham and try to create a cross-town rivalry (possibly having a set date each year for the “Battle of Toronto”, maybe a yearly Thanksgiving Day matchup). You also try to build up a three way rivalry including the Ti-cats (we have a good three way rivalry going with Edm., Cal, and Sask.), you have the cross-town rivalry between the two GTA teams as well as giving Hamilton another Toronto team to hate.
Of course you wouldn’t be going after existing CFL fans, wouldn’t make sense to steal fans away from the Argos, you’d try to market to new fans. Anyway, just a thought. Just wanted to thrown that out there, another team in the GTA if marketed right wouldn’t necessarily hurt the Argos. Of course, I don’t see this ever happening as I don’t think there would be anyone who would take the chance (and I doubt the league would approve another GTA team either as they would be afraid it would hurt the Arogs, but it’s something to think about)
