The group looking to bring a CFL team to Halifax has launched a "season ticket drive" on Ticketmaster, according to Keith Doucette of the CP. Season-ticket deposits are $50 (all figures C) per package, and "place fans on a priority list for season ticket membership and seat selection on a first-come, first-served basis." CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said that the league has "no minimum number of season tickets it wants to see." Former Coyotes President & CEO Anthony LeBlanc added that it is "important to get a 'nice base of season ticket holders' to help fill a proposed 24,000-seat stadium" (CP, 11/7). TSN.ca's Dave Naylor noted those "putting down deposits can vote for one of four proposed team names -- Atlantic Convoy, Schooners, Storm or Admirals -- or submit their own suggestion." The team name will be "selected by the ownership group, with fan input and response being a significant consideration." The winning entry will be announced on Friday of Grey Cup week in Edmonton (TSN.ca, 11/7).
NEED TO BUILD: LeBlanc said, "For this to become a reality, we have to have a stadium. We have started those conversations with Halifax Regional Municipality, with the province. We have been working an enormous amount of time on finding the right location. It took us longer than we expected but we couldn’t be happier with where we are right now." In Halifax, Francis Campbell in a front-page piece notes the group is looking to "secure an eight-hectare piece of land in Dartmouth’s Shannon Park on which to build" a $190M, 24,000-seat stadium. The ownership group "plans to contribute a significant amount of private capital toward the purchase of the Shannon Park property and has approached HRM with a tax increment financing proposition in which the new stadium would provide a catalyst for other development in the park." LeBlanc said that he will have a more "concrete financial proposal to bring to city staff in the next three or four weeks." He said that a stadium will "take about 18 to 22 months to build" and that it is imperative it be "used 12 months of the year." He added that the goal is to field a team by '21, with the "possibility of starting a season in Moncton while the Halifax stadium is under construction" (Halifax CHRONICLE HERALD, 11/8).
