New Halifax stadium could boost economy, CFL says
Halifax partners, Ambrosie tout stadium as economic recovery engine, job creator
The Atlantic Schooners are a work in progress, not a makework project.
But if the construction of a Halifax home stadium for a football team in waiting blurs those lines, acting as a post-pandemic economic stimulus and job creator for the region, that's an angle the Schooners are willing to sell.
Canadian Football League commissioner Randy Ambrosie certainly took that tack on Monday, telling a fan town hall that the ownership group believes the stadium project would involve 1,400 construction jobs and 1,400 more in service industries.
“An estimated $100 million a year of economic activity would result from having a stadium in the Atlantic region in Halifax. When they talk like that, I realize the dream is so alive,” said Ambrosie.
On Tuesday, Schooners' founding partner Gary Drummond said the project has been on a pandemic pause, of course, but stadium as stimulus will be at the core of their strategy whenever they can go forward.
And he stressed that the most optimistic scenario is one that allows a stable CFL to get back on the field in 2021, for stadium construction to begin in a timely fashion, and for the Schooners to play the 2022 season in a temporary location in Moncton or on the campus of Saint Mary's University in Halifax.
“We could do that for two years if we chose to, but certainly one year would be quite possible,” said Drummond.
Before that happens, they need a year to assemble a football operations staff, starting with a general manager. There are scouts to hire and details of an expansion draft to hammer out with the league.
“I think we probably need nearly a year on the football operations side. That would be the minimum, really,” said Drummond. “If we get going in the spring (of 2021), we would have that year, and that would be sufficient. That would be the most optimistic case. But (the debut season) could slip one more year to 2023.”
The Schooners had been making considerable progress before COVID-19 put the brakes on everything. Drummond said the group has a “pretty good idea” where the stadium will be located in Halifax but cannot commit to it publicly. In December 2019, they received a commitment from Halifax Regional Council for $20 million toward the construction of a $100 million stadium, but there is no guarantee those funds are still available. Without them, building a stadium would be more difficult, but Drummond said “it wouldn't be a death knell.”
Either way, the project requires the ownership group to raise significant money, and Drummond said a government bond issue was a possibility.
“And the good thing of that is, our studies show that bond can be repaid out of incremental revenue, so there wouldn't be a cheque (for government) to write directly. I think it will be a good fit.”
They want to be a good fit for the CFL, the community, the region and its economy.
“There's a lot of things we can't control, obviously vaccines and the international border, quarantines and travel restrictions. Given a certain amount of time, they will resolve themselves.
And when they do, I think every level of government — municipal, state, provincial, in Canada and the U.S. — their main focus will be trying to jump-start the economy, get people back working.
“We might not fit directly in the middle of an infrastructure program, but I don't think it's a big stretch. It's not just the construction jobs and the ongoing entertainment and related jobs.
“We would be promoting the idea, and we have to some degree already, of the esprit de corps if you want to call it, of Atlantic Canada. To have a shiny new stadium under construction and a CFL team on the way, and some of the major concerts they would be able to attract, I think it's good for the industry that has probably been hit the worst; food, beverage and entertainment. I think it's a pretty good fit.”
For now, they are cheering for the CFL to get its house in order and its teams back on the field, and for the pandemic to abate so they can build momentum.
“Randy and all the governors are working really hard to ensure the league has a good plan going forward and will be stable and operating even more efficiently than in the past, with a really exciting product. So on the football side, I think we have to wait until that evolves a bit more.
“And on the local, Atlantic Canada side, the travel restrictions are kind of the pressure point of when the various levels of government would welcome our attendance. Today it's a bit too early, but I'm hoping by, call it March or April, that we would have a good audience there and be able to get busy.”