There has been much speculation/media attention regarding adding a CFL team in Atlantic Canada (Halifax/Moncton)
yet no mention regarding Quebec City as a possible destination which is perplexing. Not sure why this is. :?
Quebec City is the 7th largest Metropolitan in Canada at approximately 750,000, has rabid indigenous support for local football, (has sold out a few Vanier Cups) and a stadium (PEPS) that can hold 19,000+ and is also strong contender to bring back the NHL to town. Not sure if PEPS can be modified to hold 25,000 although it may be worth a look.
Imagine the intense rivalry with Montreal Alouettes, as well as with a new Atlantic team.
A 12 team league would be ideal IMO, split with 6 teams East and 6 West.
West
Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, BC, Sask, and possibly Victoria or Saskatoon EAST
Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax or Moncton
You're new. Be prepared for the wrath of we "oldsters" who have seen this discussed multiple times.
QC needs indigenous support. There hasn't been interest from the region so far... and the stadium is pretty much under the control of the Laval university team. The actual stadium regular seating is just over 12k. I love the idea and have for years but so far it seems to be a "no go."
Both Victoria and Saskatoon have population problems.
Thanks for sparing the Wrath Mark. I get enough from the wifey at home.
Anyway, Moncton only has approximately 150,000 pop and the league is seriously considering this as a possible new site.
Victoria has approx 350,000 pop while Victoria has approx 250,000 thus I don’t see why this is fine for Moncton yet not the other two?
I think it’s because the CFL already exists in BC and Saskatchewan, so people in Victoria and Saskatoon already have a local team to support. After all, they are the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders, not Vancouver Lions and Regina Roughriders. New teams in Saskatoon and Victoria cities would probably be siphoning off fans from the other teams in their respective provinces, rather than getting new fans. One the other hand, there is no CFL team at all in Atlantic Canada, so there is a better chance of attracting fans to the league rather than shifting fans from an old team to a new team.
Oh, and I believe PEPS Stadium in Quebec City has been expanded to hold 19,000 for a few Vanier Cup games.
(so says Wiki)
You would think Laval University would love to have such national exposure for the school as well as a revenue/leasing tenant.
Not sure why there hasn't been any interested groups in QC thus far....strange
A ten team league would be very good thing (Maritimes expansion). It's pure speculation on my part (and I suppose every other opinion on this topic) but I don't see expansion after that number in the foreseeable future. With Ottawa's return and a team in either Moncton or Halifax the league will be coast to coast and in every major city in the country. Bigger isn't necessarily better.
p.s. To the rookies, this is usually a topic we kick around here during the off-season.
But that has more to do with location. Mississauga is larger than Quebec City, and they won’t ever get a team. Well, unless the Argos move there.
I know that Quebec City isn’t as close to Montreal as Mississauga is to Toronto, but if we’re talking pure population size, Mississauga would have the same case as Quebec City.
Any City in Canada that has a 25,000 seat or larger Stadium would get a Franchise.
Victoria or Saskatoon do not.
I believe Moncton and Halifax will.
Not to sure about QC
Wow. That’s a pretty stupid thing to say even on these forums. Did you not follow this years Federal Election? The Bloc was crushed by the NDP. It’s a thing of the past. Smarten up. Now…back to football talk.
Ten teams in the next five to ten years is realistic and would allow for a balanced schedule. Twelve teams would be the outer limit for the league, IMHO – otherwise it’s another US expansion fiasco on tap.
I think the feds should get involved in this.
Sprinkle a few hundred million and watch the CFL grow, and the votes pour in.
Money for TO, Hamilton, QC, Maritimes, Sask.
Take the money from the CBC budget.( $1.1 BILLION)
I agree. Let’s get the Ottawa re-start completed and a team on the field there first so we’re back to nine. Ten would be great, and I’ll take whichever of Quebec, Halifax or Moncton can come up with a stadium + owners + sponsors + fans in the stands regularly. Doing that by 2020 will be enough of a challenge.
Quebec, Moncton, Halifax???? the problem is there is no known support for CFL football in any of these cities. You can build 20,000 seat stadiums but without a rich owner to pay the bills and a corporate sector to pump in advertising money you can't expand. David Braley is trying to run two CFL franchises, how long can he put up with 19,000 fans a game in the biggest market in Canada. The CFL needs to deal with the problems of dwindling attendance in Toronto before it looks at any expansion. Hamilton is another problem, access to the biggest population base in Canada but low attendance. But with a new stadium being built, there is a potential for Hamilton.
It's likely that in 3 or 4 years we will still have 8 teams.
Hamilton doesn’t have access to the “largest population base in Canada” because Hamilton is not the hub of that base. Toronto is, and Toronto has a team. That’s like saying the teams in New Jersey have access to the New York City market. Sure, there is a close proximity, but New York fans are covered by New York teams. Rangers fans aren’t going to Devils games.
Three years is 2014, when Ottawa is expected to reenter the league. So in three years, there should be nine teams.
