Go long, Charlottetown
CFL expansion group pitches Atlantic Moose team to city committee
In the days before settlement, moose walked tall in the woods and meadows of Prince Edward Island.
Now, an organization based in Ottawa is trying to bring back the moose, but it isn’t a conservation group.
A representative from the Atlantic Moose, a proposed CFL expansion team, pitched his team to Charlottetown’s committee for economic, tourism and cultural development last week.
Years of work towards an Atlantic team in Halifax and Moncton had apparently stalled, leaving the door open for P.E.I. and Charlottetown, Raymond Samuels said at the March 26 committee.
Prince Edward Island’s tourism-based economy makes it more open to ideas that could pull in visitors, he said.
“This is a great initiative for the Island,” he said. “It is a multifaceted proposal which incorporates with that an outdoor stadium, the Island’s first outdoor stadium. It would be multipurpose in concept, and an extensive sort of social housing infrastructure as part of the concept.”
The idea includes a new, 25,000 seat stadium, tentatively called Confederation Square. The organization had spoken with some local property owners but did not have a location picked yet, Samuels said.
COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
The committee had several questions.
Coun. Trevor Mackinnon, who chairs the meetings, asked who Samuels represents and who the potential funding partners would be.
Samuels said he speaks only for the Atlantic Moose initiative, which he described as a non-profit consortium of community stakeholders.
The Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce supports the idea and wrote a letter in support. Samuels had also spoken with MP Heath Macdonald and Cornwall’s CAO, he said.
He also noted getting city and local business support would be the first step, before looking for wider buy-in from sponsors.
The business model would be a community-owned team, rather than the property of a single rich owner or corporation. This would include a social housing project, which would help pay for the stadium, Samuels said.
“We cannot implement the social housing component without the involvement of levels of government.”
Coun. John Mcaleer asked what the group had done to gauge interest in P.E.I.
“I’m just finding it hard to get excited about, personally,” he said.
Samuels repeated the support from local politicians and businesses but did not mention speaking to residents or fans.
TRIAL GAME
Instead of immediately pursuing a whole team, Coun. Mitchell Tweel suggested the city look into hosting a single game to test interest.
It would allow the city and province to see how much interest Islanders have, he said.
“We’re brainstorming more than anything else at this stage,” Tweel said.
Department manager Wayne Long added the city had been in contact with the CFL multiple times in the last two years, and the league said it had shifted its focus from the East Coast and to the West Coast. The league also told him it was more focused on large metropolitan areas, such as Halifax or Moncton.
INTERVIEW
Saltwire followed up with Samuels on April 5, asking who else is involved with the project, what he has heard from people outside the business and political sphere and potential obstacles, like the Confederation Bridge toll.
Samuels wanted to wait for word from the city council on its next steps before revealing details about other collaborators.
He did expand on who has shown interest, saying 95 per cent of people he’s spoken with in business and community organizations have been keen on the idea.
“This is the kind of energy we’ve been getting from people in Charlottetown, outside of Charlottetown, on the Island.”
He suggested the bridge toll may not be a major issue, given the success of other tourism events in P.E.I., such as the Fall Flavours festival.
CHAMBER
Samuels also forwarded a letter from Bianca Mcgregor, the chamber of commerce executive director, which says the organization supports all economic growth in the region.
“The proposed communityowned Atlantic Moose CFL franchise suggests Charlottetown area businesses could opt in to be members of the bid’s management committee and that by working with the province and the city of Charlottetown, the franchise could see tourism increase.”
The chamber supports the idea “in principle,” the letter said.
Saltwire contacted the city on April 2 to ask what the next steps could be.
“An external group made a visionary presentation to the economic, tourism and cultural development committee. The committee received the information. The group is to come back with more information at some time in the future,” a spokesperson said.