Published on August 27, 2015 10:54 PM
No surprise since stadium talk is dead in Halifax.
I think politics has evolved, and capital projects aren’t dangled in front of voters as much now as in the past. Combined with views that stadiums shouldn’t be built for the benefit of private sports enterprise and there is little interest for politicians to even talk about non-financial support, let alone financial support.
I don’t think the feds are miffed over the city’s past withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games bid. The Conservatives have a policy and they will consistently maintain it. They won’t visibly cater to a small, wealthy constituent, but instead have policies to attract all the wealthy, middle class, and low income through various methods, with the wealthy being the biggest benefactors.
Halifax needs that group to champion a stadium, a mouthpiece, and a message that every major centre in Canada has built stadiums with public money. A community group that is prepared to operate the stadium and proposed football tenants will also dispel the idea the stadium is for the benefit of individual private enterprise. In may not bring federal money, but it will help bolster public opinion when the opportunity does arrive for the support to be there to bring Halifax into the confederation of cities capable of hosting events.
Published on August 26, 2015 10:00 PM
Week 9 sees the number of players fined increase by 1, with Randy Richards getting a strong message from the league.
Published on August 21, 2015 10:58 PM
With the news of tickets for the 2015 Grey Cup at Investors Group Field being 70% sold, come this news that they have reduced capacity to 36,634. If sold out this would be the smallest Grey Cup crowd since 1998 in Winnipeg’s Winnipeg Stadium (and the smallest capacity since the 1970s).
The new stadium was supposed to deliver the comfort to bring back the Winnipeg fans to Grey Cup events. The original planned temporary capacity of 40,000 was substantially less than what most hosts have, which means higher ticket prices. Too high apparently for Winnipeggers. With a further reduction in seats, profits will be cut into and there are still about 10,000 tickets to sell. If this doesn’t go well, will Winnipeg ever be able to successfully bid on a Grey Cup again?
Published on August 21, 2015 10:06 PM
Robert Wetenhall has been an anchor holding the Alouettes in Montreal for two decades, but sometimes still gets a bad rap. Great to hear the family has plans to keep the team in Wetenhall family hands for the long term. Until a francophone steps up as willing to own the club, Montrealers should support the Alouettes with Wetenhall who has been supportive of Montreal.
Published on August 20, 2015 7:35 PM
Chris Skinner (9 seasons, 84–93, EDM, OTT, BC) has been appointed Vice President of Sales for BobCAD-CAM in Clearwater, FL. Congratulations Chris!
Published on August 20, 2015 7:28 PM
Two on-field actions warrant fines in Week 8.
Published on August 18, 2015 8:57 PM
This is sure to sweep the league in the next few years; dedicated positions for rules coaches, working to bring down penalty rates and gain an advantage over other clubs.
With player and coach education taken care of, the officials and league should turn next to the fans. But you still can’t get a 2015 Rulebook (or a 2014 one for that matter) so that tells you where the league’s priorities lie — keep the fans ignorant. No ability to read the new rules in their true form, not summaries, leads to anger and frustration in the ticket purchasing fans, which can’t be good for a grassroots league.
Published on August 12, 2015 11:09 PM
Sounds like the early stages of the project that is ready go public to achieve consensus on the vision and gather support financially and politically.
Update: Another hint this is long term with a 7-10 year horizon. Three years from now or three years from when approved, there is a massive amount of work required for what is expected of the plan. They aren’t replacing these facilities today, they are replacing them in 5-10 years.
Published on August 12, 2015 11:07 PM
Ellis with the first social media fine this year, along with LaBatte with a fine for an on-field action.
Published on August 5, 2015 8:04 PM
The CFL is being vigilant in making sure unacceptable behaviour on and off the field, during and after the game, receives punishment.