Bad News Mounts For Halifax CFL Hopes
HALIFAX — The group trying to bring a CFL team to Halifax insists the project is healthy despite a mounting number of setbacks standing in its way.
The latest dent in Schooner Sports and Entertainment’s (SSE) dream of a homegrown Halifax franchise came yesterday when CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced several changes to this year’s season, including the cancellation of Touchdown Atlantic.
Touchdown Atlantic was part of the league’s push to pique the interest of Maritime fans. It would have seen the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts duke it out in a regular-season game at Saint Mary’s University’s Huskies Stadium. Tickets had been sold out for months.
David Wallace is a spokesperson for SSE. He told Huddle the cancellation was disappointing but that the group’s plans “remain the same.”
“While Touchdown Atlantic would have been a great opportunity for SSE to showcase the CFL product to Haligonians and to demonstrate the region’s enthusiasm for professional football… our plans were never predicated on the event occurring,” he said.
“[We] remain confident in our mission to develop a community stadium in Halifax and bring a CFL franchise to Atlantic Canada,” Wallace added.
But those plans are becoming increasingly difficult.
Yesterday’s announcement was the latest in a stream of bad news for SSE that has been trickling out for months.
In March, the CFL cancelled a town hall in Halifax meant to drum up enthusiasm for the league in the city.
Then, late last month, the co-founder and spokesperson for the group trying to bring a CFL franchise to Halifax abruptly took a job with an NHL team.
The recent slew of cancellations by the CFL, particularly of Touchdown Atlantic, is another big blow to SSE’s hopes for a franchise in Halifax.
The sold-out event was an important chance to showcase live league action to Haligonians and spark excitement for the prospect of a homegrown team.
Heaped on top of that glum news is the fact that the future of the entire CFL remains an open question. The league recently asked the federal government for a beefy $150-million bailout as cancellations bite into its profits.
Meanwhile, the $20-million Halifax Regional Council promised to chip in for a stadium to house a CFL franchise appears less secure than ever.
The city is struggling to slash $85-million from its Covid-19-ravaged budget this year, leading some councilors to question the value of pledging so much money to the project.
And as council casts a wary eye to its pricey promise, work on actually bringing a CFL-sized stadium to Halifax has all but stopped.
Council’s contribution hinges on SSE’s ability to find a place to build its stadium. The organization had been working with city staff to try and make that happen but a spokesperson for the HRM told Huddle last month that all discussions with SSE were “on hold until further notice.”
Wallace admitted most of the active work on the stadium project is on pause but said it will start again once the public health emergency has passed.
“Our group’s position since the Covid-19 pandemic began and, frankly, since the other terrible events have hit our province, is that there are currently many more important things for the various levels of government to be dedicating their time, energy, and resources to,” Wallace said.
He said SSE continues to “do our work in the background” and will restart discussion with the government about site funding “when it’s appropriate.”
Wallace also said SSE is “confident” the CFL can survive its current challenges and continue as a league, “as it has many times in the past.”
He added that, when the time comes, “sport, and the communal experience that it provides, is something we believe can be an important aspect of helping Atlantic Canada emerge stronger than ever.”
In a town hall with CFL fans May 20, Ambrose echoed Wallace. He said the pandemic has been all-consuming and has derailed the push for a Halifax CFL team, but that the league will continue to work to bring one to the city.
“Ideas come and go. Dreams don’t die,” he said.