And the CFL would never admit to buying the XFL until a deal is reached either…Does that mean the CFL is buying the XFL?
Sorry but very faulty logic
If the CFL was in the midst of buying the XFL, yes they would not be saying anything.
Now a full merger may not be happening. Whatever is will stay behind closed doors. CFL and it’s stakeholders won’t say anything but agree the media will throw anything against the walls and see what sticks
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Exactly, this is classic negotiations of something controversial. If you don’t say then we can’t ask the obvious questions and they don’t have to respond with they don’t know yet. After twenty times of that we will assume they are incompetent not that they haven’t gotten that far yet.
Why? Because of social psychology. As individuals we can rationalize such things, but as a group in passionate setting on an issue that that only takes one person being ignorant to start an emotional tsunami, yeah we forget reason and instantly get sucked in.
Nothing good can come from it. Also then there are those who are brats and if they knew the specific direction would work to undermine it and force it to fail. Because they don’t care what the rest of want or what the league may truly need. They are selfish and it is their way or the highway. So to them sabotage is justified.
A lot of drama is avoided by just not saying anything.
They are behaving exactly like they did when the sold the Montreal franchise.
And the same way with every CBA negotiations plus return to play talks. They should have been more tight lipped with Halifax talks too instead of letting Tony LeBluster keep yapping.
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Like I said, plenty to be concerned about but lack of statements is normal and suggests at least what options are on the table.
Certainly possible some CFL owners are tired and want throw in the towel and or getting Redbird directly vested in the success of CFL seen as a way to lock in good behavior.
Lord knows, we need more info, past patterns give us a lot, but our speculation should be based on what we know informed by history.
But them not saying a thing is not abnormal if they are keeping merger as an option on the table.
Most CFL owners can sell out and actually make money on a sale. I’m sure they are going to jump at the chance if Redbird shows them the money.
Even the Esks investors would probably jump at it.
St. Louis was the only city of the three to come up with a new stadium plan per the NFL relocation guidelines. STL already started purchasing land for it. This matter is the subject of a $1B lawsuit which is scheduled to go to court in early 2022.
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Exactly, why I think St. Louis was screwed and why I was very opposed to the relocation and thought the NFL made a huge error.
I hope St. Louis wins that suit, also CFL should have given them a team.
I wrote back in 2019 that the CFL's failure to expand there and to the other jilted NFL cities was a critical error and left open a window for the XFL to close on any expansion possibility to the US.
Then advocated the CFL buy the XFL, now here we are years later, hope the CFL finally moves forward and takes this chance. St. Louis deserves pro football and I hope not only does the court rule in favor of the city but also order the Rams to have to return to St. Louis, LOL.
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The CFL doesn’t give any city a team, just like the CFL didn’t give Halifax a team. The CFL waits for a submission from investors wanting a team. Would a CFL field fit inside that dome stadium in St Louis?
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Well sort of, the league has to announce it is willing to expand and entertain bids from either the prospective city or from multiple cities seeking the slot.
The folks of St. Louis petitioned the CFL, they flat out refused to entertain the idea. If they had ownership groups would have appeared fairly quickly. They have to know an opening is available, otherwise why put in the work.
Regarding stadium I am sure the city would have been willing to entertain modifications to fit CFL regulations, certainly would have been a lot cheaper than the new shiny NFL stadium they were prepared to shell out for.
If the CFL had announced in 2016 it would expand the league by 3 franchises and that US cities were eligible so long as the bid included how a CFL regulation field would be acquired.
The NFL put stadium over everything, even media market size. If in 2016 we had done that i think you would have been stunned by the number of groups that would have filed bids.
The CFL blew it. Now they have a second chance, a chance to work with the XFL and dramatically expand and become a true global brand. CFL should have brought Halifax online at the same time as the RedBlacks, would have kept things even and made a bigger impression.
Also stunned why the CFL has sought teams in Quebec City, London, Kitchner, etc. The league has been completely and totally unwilling to evolve in anyway. Now we have to, sincerely hope that any deal with the XFL includes adding Halifax.
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I don’t know if a CFL field would fit in the dome. However, a new 22,500 seat (expandable to 25K) MLS stadium is currently under construction. As far as the Rams being forced to move back to St. Louis, goes, the unconfirmed rumor that keeps popping up is that it is the Chargers, not the Rams. Interestingly, one of the Spanos’ siblings is going to court to try to force the family to sell the team. Things are getting interesting.
not possible, Chargers are in an iron clad contract to remain at that stadium in LA, that said I am honestly shocked the NFL didnt do with the Chargers what they did with the Browns.
Let the owner keep the team but transfer the name and logo to be used at a future point in time. At this point St. Louis’ only shot at a pro team is through CXFL. Though the NFL has been known to wheel and deal just like in the Baltimore/Cleveland situation.
Where in that case Ohio’s power US Senators were bringing down the full wrath of government and calling in every marker, in exchange to get the gov dogs off their back the NFL came up with the Browns name/history transfer and worked out a new stadium deal with the city.
St. Louis lawsuit is well over a billion dollars, which their odds of winning get better and better the more time goes on, certainly bet there are more than a few owners who would rather not have their text messages dumped into the public record. They will cave and settle, question is will St. Louis take cash or tell the NFL it will forgo the lion’s share of what would be a one time cash payment, in exchange for a franchise that would sign a mega long term lease and economic driver to the city?
The lawsuit with St. Louis is going to get very very expensive for the NFL, Gooddell should be fired for letting it happen, certainly there were other ways.
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Personally, I hope the Chargers move back to San Diego, where they belong. I would rather have a team that is ours. Getting other town's teams isn't really working out for us (St. Louis). I would actually prefer a CFL or XFL team to the NFL. The problem is that the CFL doesn't want us and the XFL can't sustain itself.
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It’s not that the CFL doesn’t want San Diego. it might be too far for travel. The Edmonton, Montreal and possibly Halifax would log a lot of air miles if San Diego had a team
I didn’t make it clear in my post, but I was referring to St. Louis.
Well if San Diego is made part of the XFL branch, or if they add more locations. St. Louis, SD and Oakland all share a common fan base that is salty with the NFL.
Then there is Texas, San Antonio in many ways is a once and maybe future NFL city / New whipping stick city. 25 years ago it had respectable CFL level attendance and in the AAF it was number one with 27k average attendance.
There are some other locations, but I think its all a matter of how the XFL and CFL partner up and how they handle expansion. Certainly I think a Seattle Dragons and BC Lions rivalry will be pretty awesome.
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There were allot of good markets that were not available to XFL 2.0 since they were taken by the AAF. So I could see San Antonio and San Diego be part of the new league along with Orlando, likley a relocation of Tampa Bay.
Though not realistic, I would like to see Baltimore so see if it can add to the city's football legacy. Only city to have a Superbowl winner (from each conference), a Grey Cup and a USFL championship. Adding an XFL title will give them a football grand slam never to be matched
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San Antonio might be worth a try if you pair it up either a team in Monterrey, Mexico, for a cross border rival or in Austin Texas for a state rivalry. Both locations have access to soccer stadiums to fit CFL dimensions.
Yeah, the Seattle and Vancouver rivalry would go through the roof in that one
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