Hurdles remain for proposed Canadian Football League team on East Coast
HALIFAX — Atlantic Canada’s long-held dream of wooing the CFL east of Montreal has been reignited after the league confirmed it’s in talks with a “professional, enthusiastic and impressive” group of prospective owners rallying for a Halifax franchise.
But advocates and experts acknowledged Friday that sobering questions remain: Does the East Coast have the fan base to support a Canadian Football League franchise? Is the business community interested in sponsoring a team? And, perhaps most importantly, who will foot the bill for a new Halifax stadium?
“The CFL is going to want to see a stable ownership group with deep pockets, which appears to be the case,” said Moshe Lander, a Concordia University professor who specializes in the economics of sports.
“The fight is going to be who is going to pay for the stadium.”