Admirals, Schooners or Storm

Halifax CFL group release potential team names

The group aiming to bring a Canadian Football League team to Halifax added a little more colour to its proposal Wednesday, announcing a name-theteam contest and an initial short list of names aimed at reflecting the regional nature of its bid.

Among the proposed names: The Atlantic Admirals, Convoy, Storm, and Schooners.

They will be considered in a contest that will be exclusive to those who sign up during a season ticket drive aimed at gauging interest in a franchise for Atlantic Canada.

“Fans will be presented with a number of options as well as an opportunity to submit their own name,” said Anthony Leblanc of Maritime Football Partnership.

“We’ve been out talking to the community and getting what we feel is the short list, but we are not sitting here saying it will be one of those,” said Leblanc. “We may be blown away with some of the suggestions that are put in through the opportunity to write in your own name.”

He said the team name would be announced at a Nov. 23 event during Grey Cup festivities in Edmonton.

The season ticket drive was to begin immediately on Ticketmaster, Leblanc said during a news conference in Halifax with group partner Bruce Bowser and CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie.

Season ticket deposits are $50 per package, and place fans on a priority list for season ticket membership and seat selection on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ambrosie said the league has no minimum number of season tickets it wants to see.

“We haven’t established an artificial threshold for what we determine as success,” said Ambrosie. “We are going to be looking to Bruce and Anthony and Gary to help us understand their perspective on how well this campaign for season tickets goes.”

But Leblanc said it is important to get a “nice base of season ticket holders” to help fill a proposed 24,000-seat stadium.