Do you think that the CFL needs expansion???

Question

Not in the U.S., but do you think that the CFL would be more profitable if there were more teams in Canada?

Answer 1

I think that the CFL needs to add one more team, in order to balance out the divisions.  But I don't see the need to expand beyond 10.  Seeing as Ottawa will be that tenth team, that leaves Halifax as the only major city without a CFL franchise, and there's no place to build a CFL-sized stadium on the waterfront.  The current stadium out there only seats about 2,000 people, if I remember correctly, so it would need a major expansion, which I don't see happening.

Sure, it would be nice to bring the Maritime market into the league, but I think that having an equal number of teams in each division is important.  Assuming that Ottawa will come back, which is a very likely possibility, you would need to add a team to the Western Division to compensate for Halifax in the East.  And I can't think of any Western Canadian cities without a current CFL franchise that would be large enough to support one.  Therefore, I doubt that Maritime expansion will happen anytime soon.

Answer 2

Yes, the league should expand...

To the east coast, like Halifax

Halifax has a great University football tradition.

This would be a great location.

Ottawa....

The so called football fans there are fickle and unless they have a winning team, no one will show up.

Answer 3

Well...Almost anywhere.

Answer 4

I think there should be 10 teams.  I really think there should be a team in the Maritimes first and foremost.  It would also be great if Ottawa could get their act in gear and field a team as well.  

I'm not sure about profitability improving but at least with 10 teams there's some balance and with a team in the East the league is truly national in nature.

Answer 5

I think they should at least get the Ottawa team back, but I am against having to many teams. That is not what the CFL is all about. With only eight teams every year all the teams have a legitimate chance of winning it all, and with the new salary cap there are even better odds of any team winning. Unlike the NFL where with 32 teams you know every year that there are a bunch of teams that don't even stand a chance. That is sort of depressing for the fans, knowing your team sucks and has no chance at winning it all. So I am in favour of getting back Ottawa and possibly adding a tenth team but that is enough.

Answer 6

Yeah would be nice Ottawa come back into league also add one more team from East coast

Answer 7

As the others mention, having 10 teams would be ideal with Halifax and Ottawa most often mentionned.  London and Windsor have toyed with the idea.

A cynic might say that putting a real team in Hamilton might work as well.

Answer 8

Yes, it would be nice to see 1 or maybe 2 more teams in the East, however I think Ottawa has proved they are not ready for the return of football to the Nation's Capitol.  I guess that leaves a franchise in the maritimes and possibly one in a major Ontario city such as London.

Answer 9

no. its not popular anywhere. expansion would put the sport under.

Answer 10

Yes, there should be an expansion.  The league needs one more team in the East just to balance things out and it would help for over-all profitability by making for an even more attractive TV package.

There's an ownership group in Ottawa working on this right now.  They have a real estate/property management background and they're football fans.  The stadium needs to be rebuilt but I've read that the ownership team is talking about creating a multi-use property out of Lansdowne park and Frank Clair stadium.  A real estate company would see the tremendous value in that location.

Quebec City and Halifax would be other potential spots.  Football is huge in the province of Quebec, but the Als probably consider the whole province to be their territory and they might fight an expansion to Quebec City.  They do promotional and good-will tours all over the province, even up to northern aboriginal communities (Mistassini).  On the other side of the coin, a Quebec City/Montreal football rivalry would be awesome.  The Als could make that their fan appreciation game and play it at the Big O and pack 'em in.  It would sell out for sure - 68,000 fans.  Tabernac!

Answer 11

Yes of course but its gotta be considerable, not just some random team like Ottawa that never makes it.