Analysis on Halifax stadium needed
The ownership group working to bring a 10th Canadian Football League franchise to Halifax is knocking items off its significant to-do list at a steady clip.
Maritime Football Limited Partnership has put together a specific proposal for a 24,000-seat stadium in Halifax, to be built at a cost of between $170 million and $190 million, and will require public funds. Halifax Regional Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to ask its chief administrative officer to compile a thorough business case analysis for a stadium and surrounding district. That report and a recommendation on whether to continue with the stadium proposal or not is due back to council in 90 days.
So the MFLP group, which consists of Anthony LeBlanc, Bruce Bowser and Gary Drummond, will not be able to stage a definitive coming out party at the Grey Cup in Edmonton next month.
CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a pre-season interview that he hoped it would be known at Grey Cup whether the Atlantic franchise was good to go. However, he said on Monday that he is happy with the progress made to date and is optimistic of a positive outcome.
“While I can’t be more specific about an exact timetable, I am hoping at a minimum that we can go to Grey Cup and share with fans from the Atlantic region that we are making great progress and that we are hopeful that we are going to see the 10th team in the CFL before too long.”
The Halifax Regional Council’s chief administrative officer will also work with the Nova Scotia government on a tax agreement on a stadium and a Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) model that could contribute to the debt financing of the stadium.
“My hope is if that (Tuesday council) meeting goes well, we will be inviting Maritime Football to a meeting with the governors that will be happening in early November for an update on what is happening in Halifax, including the stadium development progress,” Ambrosie said Monday.
“And from there we’ll see how it all unfolds. But there have been so many important steps taken, all the hard work. Maritime Football group have been working with a number of our teams on their business plan, and all of that work has been done.”