One of the continuing issues on CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon’s plate is CFL expansion in Canada, especially now that Ottawa has returned to the league.
That elusive tenth (or more) Canadian franchise that his predecessor Tom Wright once promised is still sometimes being used by the fans and media to judge the prosperity and future of the CFL.
Since 1954 the league has had nine Canadian teams and 60 years later after dipping to eight teams for various periods, the league is back at that obstinate number nine. Breaking that barrier might be viewed as a turning point for the league.
It is unfair to compare the CFL to the “big four” leagues because economic realities and the population of cities in Canada are much different for the struggling league. Nevertheless as the population of Canadian cities continue to grow, the feasibility of having more Canadian franchises has grown too.
It is important to remember that back in the 1950s, the population of all the current CFL cities was much smaller and yet they were able to support a CFL team. Equally important is that the smallest Canadian CFL city, Regina, is only 18th in Canada in population and can support a team (though with the help of the rest of the province of Saskatchewan).
The next city on the scale is number nine, Hamilton. That leaves a gap of cities 10-17, plus number seven, Quebec. Population wise, it seems that CFL has several markets it could consider a feasible option.
Still given CFL economics, it is unreasonable to expect investors to mindlessly line up to get a CFL franchise and build new stadiums. The CFL needs to find ways of showing investors that there are markets for its football in Canada, and that owning a CFL franchise may be a profitable venture.
One way is to watch the current attempt by Quebec City to get its NHL team back and build a $400M arena as well. This is important, because while the CFL would jump at an opportunity to expand to Quebec City, the NHL can afford to say “see ya”, no matter how much Quebec tries to get a team.
Quebec Nordiques fans have tried several different means of demonstrating to the league and investors that a n NHL team is feasible. The CFL could learn from two of their approaches to pave the way to expansion not only to Quebec but also anywhere else in Canada.
First, Nordiques fans banded together and 80,000 of them signed a petition calling for the return of their team. This got the attention of politicians, the NHL, and investor Quebecor that there was a market for NHL hockey.
Second, the Montreal Canadiens played an exhibition game in Quebec and sold out the arena. This also told politicians and investors that Nordiques fans were prepared to put their money where their mouths were both for a returned franchise and a new arena.
The NHL recently announced that it may consider expansion in the near future, and Quebec and Seattle are now the front-runners to get a team.
There is a lesson here for the CFL. The petitions are a good idea and so is an exhibition or regular season game outside of the CFL’s current borders.
Regular season and exhibition games in non-CFL Canadian cities have been successful for the CFL. Besides the Moncton Touchdown Atlantic games, they have been held St John, Quebec City, and Halifax, and all but one has been a sellout. The possibilities are tantalizing for the CFL.
More importantly, an exhibition or regular season game might stir local interest for petition activity and a new stadium and franchise.
So besides Quebec and Moncton, which cities are in that 10-17 gap? They include Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, London, St. Catharines, Halifax, Oshawa, Victoria, Windsor, and Saskatoon.
Obviously not all of these cities are suitable for a CFL franchise, but the CFL could certainly gauge the level of public support for a team in several of them.
Touchdown Atlantic was a success. It is time to take it across Canada.
