Halifax CFL proponents team launch ticket drive, reveal potential names

HALIFAX – The group is looking for a new edition of the Canadian Football League team in Halifax.

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

They will be considered to be interested in a deal for Atlantic Canada.

"Fans will be presented with an opportunity to submit their own name," said Anthony LeBlanc of the Maritime Football Partnership.

"We've been talking about the community, but we're not going to be one of those," said LeBlanc. "We can be blown away with some of the suggestions that are put to you in your own name."

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

Bruce Bowser and CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie.

Season ticket deposits are $ 50 per package, and place on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ambrosia said the league has not seen it.

"We have not established an artificial threshold for what we determine as success," said Ambrosie. "We're going to be looking at Bruce and Anthony and Gary to help us understand their perspective."

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

"It's possible an artificial number but I think it's possible to see you in the market. and go out and sell the vision … but this is an opportunity for people to really take action. "

Maritime Football is made up of Arizona Coyotes co-owners LeBlanc and Gary Drummond along with Bowser, president of AMJ Campbell Van Lines. The group is looking for a conditional expansion franchise to begin play in Halifax in 2021.

"It will not be the end of the world if that is a year," LeBlanc said, while revealing that a potential team could start a season in Moncton, NB, while a stadium is being built in Halifax – a process he said take 18 to 22 months "ounce shovels are in the ground."

"We do not have any real definitive answers on that (Moncton) yet," LeBlanc said. "Those sort of discussions will continue."

Efforts to a team in Halifax, Canada Atlantic Canada's largest city, a major city in the United States.

The partners have proposed Shannon Park, vacant land on the east side of Halifax harbor, as the stadium site, and say the $ 170-million to $ 190-million project would need public money.

While the funding model is the most important issue in the world, LeBlanc said the biggest roadblock to success would be a good job of "sharing the story and sharing the plan" the public.

"We're confident that we will remove all of the roadblocks, but no, I do not anticipate that it will be a smooth ride to the end of the stadium," he said. "There might be a bump or two along the way."

Ambrosie said the CFL is ready to eventually welcome a tenth team into the league and he wants it to be Halifax.

"Ambrosia said," We are going to be able to get these things done, "Ambrosie said.