Argos/Als

[JuranBoldenRules]

Argos and Lions really close to being out of the playoff race at Labour Day.  Both 5 games out with 8 left to play.

[Zontar]

Toronto, BC, Ottawa are done, imo.

[Fatty Liver]

Love the close camera positions in that stadium it makes for an intimate viewing experience.   I hate games broadcast from Ottawa, the camera angles are so high up it sometimes makes it difficult to see the ball in play.

[Goalie]

Most exciting game of the week. 

[blueingreenland]

2 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

The Halifax expansion is a bad idea for many reasons, but hearing the ownership group talking about playing in 2021 and "playing a couple seasons" in Moncton while a stadium is built in Nova Scotia is complete lunacy.  They'll be bankrupt before they play a game in their stadium.  Based on the crowds showing to these games they are likely to lose $10-15 million a season on operations in Moncton, plus the initial costs of starting up.

There's truly no benefit to the league.  Is TSN going to cough up a bunch of money because there's now a team in the coveted Atlantic TV market of half a million people?

I tend to agree with this comment. I've always thought the best places for expansion would be Quebec City or Saskatoon. I hope it works in Atlantic Canada...but I have my doubts.

[blueingreenland]

33 minutes ago, Zontar said:

Toronto, BC, Ottawa are done, imo.

Yes, a crossover spot is all but a sure thing again.

[wbbfan]

4 minutes ago, blueingreenland said:

Yes, a crossover spot is all but a sure thing again.

It'll be sealed one way or another in the next few weeks. If we sweep the riders suddenly a team like ott is alive and well. 

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

The Halifax expansion is a bad idea for many reasons, but hearing the ownership group talking about playing in 2021 and "playing a couple seasons" in Moncton while a stadium is built in Nova Scotia is complete lunacy.  They'll be bankrupt before they play a game in their stadium.  Based on the crowds showing to these games they are likely to lose $10-15 million a season on operations in Moncton, plus the initial costs of starting up.

There's truly no benefit to the league.  Is TSN going to cough up a bunch of money because there's now a team in the coveted Atlantic TV market of half a million people?

Giving a team to the Maritimes is a huge mistake. If they really wanted a team they'd have packed the park. They didn't. This whole thing is a joke. That's all the CFL needs is another team in constant financial crisis.

[Tracker]

31 minutes ago, blueingreenland said:

I tend to agree with this comment. I've always thought the best places for expansion would be Quebec City or Saskatoon. I hope it works in Atlantic Canada...but I have my doubts.

Quebec city should be a natural. There would be the rivalry with Montreal and in the past decade or so, there have been a lot of good CFL players coming out of La Belle Province.

[Goalie]

Prob be different if they had their own team. Lets be honest if Als played Argos here.. How many would go. However bombers vs either or draws. Moncton or Maritimes isnt being represented so why would ppl go to cheer on 2 teams who dont represent them. 

[rebusrankin]

So they were supposed to present their proposal in June and now its the end of next month. They've gone from a stadium costing $190 million to $130 million and one that will only hold 12,000 with the ability to expand to 20,000. This situation just screams circus down the road.

https://www.thestar.com/halifax/2019/08/25/schooners-partner-anthony-leblanc-on-the-halifax-stadium-debate-and-whether-council-will-get-on-board.html

[JuranBoldenRules]

2 hours ago, Zontar said:

Toronto, BC, Ottawa are done, imo.

6 games between those teams, and 3 of those Toronto/Ottawa.  Chance for one of them to make a run if they don't split.

Edmonton and Calgary have tough schedules, could see one of them ending up at 7-8 wins.

[17to85]

9 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

6 games between those teams, and 3 of those Toronto/Ottawa.  Chance for one of them to make a run if they don't split.

Edmonton and Calgary have tough schedules, could see one of them ending up at 7-8 wins.

Just looking at the schedule, how fortunate for the riders they get BC 3 times this year! 

Calgary is in a tough spot having gassed some games they normally wouldn't,  but in suspect they will still be above .500. Edmonton too should comfortably get there.

[bb1]

Saskatoon and Quebec city are no brainers for their respective provincial rivalries and already established CFL fans....plus no added additional travel costs... 

[SpeedFlex27]

3 hours ago, Goalie said:

Prob be different if they had their own team. Lets be honest if Als played Argos here.. How many would go. However bombers vs either or draws. Moncton or Maritimes isnt being represented so why would ppl go to cheer on 2 teams who dont represent them. 

Well, if they want a team then they should have embraced this game. They didn't. Now the stadium issue is a problem. Time for the ownership group to walk away. Remember how fans in Winnipeg reacted when fans had to pony up for season tickets? There was absolutely no doubt that Winnipeg wanted the NHL back. The Maritimes can continue being the back water of Canada.

[WBBFanWest]

9 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Well, if they want a team then they should have embraced this game. They didn't. Now the stadium issue is a problem. Time for the ownership group to walk away. Remember how fans in Winnipeg reacted when fans had to pony up for season tickets? There was absolutely no doubt that Winnipeg wanted the NHL back. The Maritimes can continue being the back water of Canada.

Actually, they are the front water of Canada

[SpeedFlex27]

Bottom line is Maritimers could have a great thing going but they choose not to embrace it. We have friends in rural Nova Scotia. They make regular trips to see the New England Patriots. Their son & daughter in law live in Boston. They feel nothing for the CFL. That seems to be the way a lot of people feel out there.

Edited August 26, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[blueingreenland]

4 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Giving a team to the Maritimes is a huge mistake. If they really wanted a team they'd have packed the park. They didn't. This whole thing is a joke. That's all the CFL needs is another team in constant financial crisis.

Anyone know what the attendance was for the game vs. what the park holds?

[Deiter Fan]

5 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

If they really wanted a team they'd have packed the park. They didn't. 

Did I not see in the broadcast that capacity was 10,000 and they sold 10,125?

[SpeedFlex27]

24 minutes ago, Deiter Fan said:

Did I not see in the broadcast that capacity was 10,000 and they sold 10,125?

Ton of empty seats.

[Goalie]

It was a sell out. Those empty seats were sold to the ppl sitting on the grass. U know like how 5500 fans chill at the rum hut all game here. 

[BomberfanMKS]

Gotta say - Even though he's lost a bunch of games MBT has been surprisingly decent this season.  

Both of his last two losses have been reasonably good outings (200 yards passing, 38 rushing with 2 TD's and 0 INTS against EDM's defense earning 26 points is good enough to win if your other two phases make it a game).

Makes the decision in TO more difficult when guys get healthy

[blueandgoldguy]

On 2019-08-25 at 11:51 AM, JuranBoldenRules said:

The Halifax expansion is a bad idea for many reasons, but hearing the ownership group talking about playing in 2021 and "playing a couple seasons" in Moncton while a stadium is built in Nova Scotia is complete lunacy.  They'll be bankrupt before they play a game in their stadium.  Based on the crowds showing to these games they are likely to lose $10-15 million a season on operations in Moncton, plus the initial costs of starting up.

There's truly no benefit to the league.  Is TSN going to cough up a bunch of money because there's now a team in the coveted Atlantic TV market of half a million people?

Yes, a CFL team in Moncton playing in a stadium with over half the seats as temps and mostly in the end zone is a non-starter.  Even if they managed to fill a 20,000 seat stadium for all 9 games for 2 seasons, they would likely lose several million dollars each season.  They can't charge a high price point for end zone seats, there are little to know suites or club seats, few club seats, limited opportunities for advertising (no ribbon boards, one smaller big screen).  

Just because this team will be advertised as Atlantic Canada's team, it doesn't mean people will flock to the stadium from Moncton and New Brunswick, knowing full well the team will be relocating a few hours away to another city in a couple seasons.  When the Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans, they played a few seasons in Memphis while they waited for their new stadium to be constructed in Nashville.  The team was branded as a Tennessee team and yet they typically drew poor crowds in Memphis...because the team was using the city as nothing more than a temporary stop.  Moncton would be no different.

I hope Halifax can build a stadium and get an expansion team, but imo given its unproven nature as a market, I would ask for minimum 3- 5 year commitments from season ticket holders and 7 -10 year commitments for suites if I were the owners.  This is similar to what True North asked for from Jets season ticket subscribers and corporations when the team relocated from Atlanta.

[blueandgoldguy]

On 2019-08-25 at 12:04 PM, rebusrankin said:

I believe they also missed 3 separate dates to present their proposals to the Halifax city council as well.

Additionally, its a market that isn't growing, with governments that have debt issues so severe that they have to cut essential services.

Halifax is growing actually and has been for the past several years.  Same with Nova Scotia.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000901

 

Demographics are a concern though.  Unlike the Western provinces, NS has an increasingly aging population.

[JCon]

2 minutes ago, blueandgoldguy said:

Halifax is growing actually and has been for the past several years.  Same with Nova Scotia.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000901

 

Demographics are a concern though.  Unlike the Western provinces, NS has an increasingly aging population.

That kind of fits in with the CFLs demographics.

 

My recollection is that any team in the Atlantic provinces would require a lot of fans from outside the area. So, they'll need to draw people from NB and NS to get this thing to fly. So, why not start in Moncton and hope to keep some of those fans?