Throughout the majority of the 2023 CFL season, the discussion among fans and the media was when will the CFL get its tenth team. Expansion has been the talk of the CFL for quite some time ever since the Ottawa Redblacks came into the fold in 2014 which brought the league up from eight to nine teams making an unbalanced schedule.
Last month at the 110th Grey Cup festivities, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambroise gave a state-of-the-league address, and among the topics was the potential expansion of a 10th team. Since 2016, the league had discussions with Schooner Sports and Entertainment about bringing a team to Halifax but those talks ended once the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
During the state-of-the-league address, Ambroise confirmed that he is currently talking to another potential ownership group who are interested in bringing a team to Atlantic Canada.
“We need to bring this to a conclusion at some point,” Ambroise said. “No matter how much we want to be there, and it would be great to have our 10th team in Atlantic Canada, would be great to be in Halifax. The conversation with this current phenomenal ownership candidate will continue.”
The CFL attempted to put a team in Atlantic Canada in 1984 which would’ve been known as the Atlantic Schooners. However, the ownership group was unable to secure funding and the Schooners never took the field.
Earlier this year, Rod Pederson was quoted on his show saying, “The CFL wants Halifax but Halifax does not want the CFL.” At some point, the CFL are going to need to move on from Halifax. One city I mentioned this year that the CFL should consider expanding to is Moncton, New Brunswick.
Before I talk about the United States, I think the CFL should do whatever it can to expand all across Canada like Red Deer, Thunder Bay, Moncton, and Saskatoon before expanding down south.
When it comes to the United States, the CFL’s first and only attempt happened in 1993 through 1995. The league at the time was on the verge of bankruptcy. The American teams that did play were the San Antonio Texans/Sacramento Gold Miners, Las Vegas Posse, Baltimore FC/Stallions, Shreveport Pirates, Memphis Mad Dogs, and the Birmingham Barracudas. The U.S. teams that did not see the field were Milwaukee, Mississippi, and Miami.
The only U.S. team that succeeded in the CFL was Baltimore, who to this day is the only American team to win the Grey Cup in 1995 over the Calgary Stampeders. Baltimore was the only successful team as the others struggled. However, once the Cleveland Browns left for Baltimore, the Stallions were doomed and relocated to Montreal to revive the Alouettes in 1996.
The CFL did not put together a concrete plan. This U.S. expansion was out of desperation which led to the eventual failure of CFL USA. Now, the CFL should consider trying the United States again. This time, put teams near the border.
Cities like Syracuse, New York, Rochester, New York, Erie, Pennsylvania, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Fargo, North Dakota, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Ashland, Ohio, Duluth, Minnesota, and Missoula, Montana, would make great CFL cities.
However, to get there, the league needs to experiment by playing more than one preseason game in the United States. In addition, they could play a regular season game there as well. In the CFL, the majority of the teams play each other three times a season. In one of those meetings, the league could make one of the games at a neutral site played in the United States. There is money that can be made by playing a handful of games in the United States.
Look at the NFL, they have taken their regular season games to Europe, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. Why can’t the CFL do the same with the United States by bringing a regular season game or two to the United States? They will not know where they stand if they do not try.
If fans do not attend the games, at least they tried and found out. However, if they succeed, the league can continue to grow, make money, recruit players, and get more television revenue by negotiating contracts with American broadcasters.
Introducing the CFL Plus this year was a hit and many American fans got to watch a majority of the regular season and the entire playoffs for free. Adding American teams and broadcasters would boost the CFL Plus.
While the CFL is not perfect by any means, it is still a great product to watch. The games are entertaining and they do not get the recognition they deserve. Over the years, the CFL has been able to broadcast games in the United States and this time around, there are a ton of Americans who love watching the CFL and would love to see them come to play a game in the United States.
Would you like to see the CFL play in the United States? Leave a comment below.
Stick to what you know best and that is not the CFL.
We will pass on the US expansion thank you. Most fans don’t want it, neither do the board of directors.
The US is the home of the NFL and is what all Americans want to see. The CFL should consider Moncton, Quebec City and Saskatoon. Quebec has the best football programs in the country and Quebec City has the population to support a team with a rival in Montreal. Saskatoon has the corporate community and Pop to support a team. Moncton would be your only possibility in Atlantic Canada.
I have said this for years. There are lots of northern US cities that have no chance of getting NFL teams. Play preseason games down there and see where it goes from there.
As an avid American fan, I would love to see expansion in Canada, I lived in Calais, Maine for several years and was hoping the league would expand to Atlantic Canada somewhere. I moved west for 10 years where no one is really interested, I lived in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. I have relocated to western New York so when you mentioned Syracuse, Rochester and Erie, I’m close to those cities, just not sure how they would draw on a continuing basis, especially with the avid support of the Buffalo Bills. I much prefer the CFL but have found very few people that are interested here, either. The league would have to promote heavily and have a decent TV package, it was disappointing here in the States this year, CBSSports was hit or misss and the CFL+ streaming service with its endless music and still during commercials was not enjoyable, not to mention not being able to pause the broadcast at all. Thanks for the article, would love to see movement in the expansion of the league, just needs to be controlled and week-planned out to be successful.
Give it a shot, nothing to lose
As an Oregonian that has enjoyed the CFL for decades, I would love the league to return (and come to Portland), but I think it would be a tough sell.
Absolutely!!! With a comprehensive plan in hand. It doesn’t have to be quick or massive…gather information. For instance, find out which areas in the U.S. are watching the CFL on tv. Find out and target which cities might be good choices for expansion. Look into potential ownership groups. Which cities have stadiums and fields that can handle our field size. On and on, so many small but significant things they could be doing while still trying to expand in Canada. A little growth at a time is good. And no harm if it fails. There’s a bunch of American teams playing junior hockey in all three Canadian Junior leagues, I believe, especially out west. Tremendous opportunity that the league is overlooking. I think it would be great if by this point, we had 12 Canadian teams an 4 to 6 American teams competing in the CFL. We could make small waves…just trying to make and hold onto our niche/small place in the msrket…and slowly grow the game. The ideas in your article were good 👍
Why? So they can fail at U.S. expansion again?
Most stadiums in the U.S. do not have the possibility of holding a Canadian Football field. The stadiums and fields are simply too small. Plus, the CFL, back in the 90’s failed because of lesser talents and general front office mismanagement. The CFL can ill-afford that type of a fiasco to take hold in the league once again. I can’t envision the CFL succeeding without pouring in millions of dollars into stadiums where a profit will most likely not be made.
Expanding to the U.S with NFL,NCAA and the UFL is just a terrible idea. Saskatoon would be best option or Moncton and Halifax. Problem is no vision as well no stadium. As well need to stop building stadiums for a team. Build a dome (roof) and spend the extra 30 million it will cost and use it all year round for events. Spending for a stadium just for the CFL is stupid and can only use half of the year.
Where? Field configuration would be a problem. I went to a Baltimore Stallions game. 33,000 there. They understood the game, but look at the usfl and xfl. Doubtful they’ll even play this year.
Everyone keeps forgetting the player ratio
In the US because of there laws it won’t fly. Baltimore, Shreveport etc had rosters 100% American.
Then as someone already mentioned the size of the field… quickly ghost are just 2 setbacks. Canada only please!
I think it’s a great idea to look at expansion into any area that would be open to it. However there are some things that the CFL needs to look at doing.
Ratio is already on the way out so that isn’t a concern. If you look at the 90’s it was 10 starters. After Ottawa expansion it went down to 7. After 2022 CBA it might get down to 5 because of the Naturalized American rule. The current independent Chairman of the Board of Governors has had past experience with locking out Unions so I wouldn’t be surprised if history repeats itself. Even in the 90s the ratio wasn’t an issue. 20 of the Canadian teams losses vs American teams were by 8 points or less. BC split the season with Baltimore in 95 and their loss came when Julio Carravetta was playing.
The league does need to look at the salary cap issue and take cost of living into account. BC, Montreal and Toronto should have the highest. Saskatchewan and Winnipeg’s should be higher than any American team due to the dollar exchange and tax differences.
Marketing expansion has to come before actual expansion. The CFL should allow the CFLPA to be somewhat involved in this as well. Currently, at the end of the season, most Americans clean out their lockers and head home. The players that decide to stay behind have an opportunity to do acts of corporate and community service for extra money. The down side is that players on other teams like the Philpots don’t have an opportunity to make money in BC. However, if they changed the rules so that they could do an act of service and have the CFLPA bill the Lions that would be ideal. If a francophone BC Lion player does an act of service in Quebec City then Montreal should be billed.
The CFL should be looking at populated cities within 1,000 km from current team locations. Some of these areas overlap so they should be divided amongst the teams within reason. For example, BC should be charged for visits to Seattle, Spokane and Portland. Calgary should be charged for visits to Kennewick & Pasco, WA. Edmonton should be charged for visits to Prince George, BC. Saskatchewan should be charged for visits to Fargo & Bismarck, ND; Billings, MT; & Rapid City, SD. Winnipeg should be charged for visits to Thunder Bay, ON; Sioux Falls, SD; Minneapolis, St. Paul & Rochester, MN. Hamilton should be charged for visits to Chicago, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Columbus, OH; Indianapolis, IN & Washington, DC. Ottawa should be charged for visits to Gatineau, QC; Syracuse, NY; Allentown, PA & Toms River, NJ. Montreal should be charged with visits to New York, NY; Boston, MA & Newark, NJ.
These visits should only be once per year whenever it’s possible to complete the task. 12 cities per team per year is the minimum.
The next stage is narrowing down the choices while still marketing to the other cities. The CFL currently needs teams in the east so they should look at a) cost of living, b) interest in the CFL, and c) population. In my opinion, the league should look at areas within 200 km of Quebec City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Grand Rapids, & Chicago. Then you figure out which area can host of training camp. The people who say that Americans don’t have big enough stadiums to fit a CFL field don’t know what they are talking about generally speaking. The issue is capacity in most cases. Some examples of cities that have a stadium that could accommodate a CFL game are Bethlehem, PA; Cumberland, MD; Grand Rapids, MI, Joliet, IL; Parma, Portsmouth & Dayton, OH.
After the locals have wet their appetite for the CFL, they can enter the next stage: pre-season games. Travel, & food should save the teams a little bit of money as some distances are driving friendly. The CFL should hire a celebrity to pump up the game, and the money from the celebrity breakfast at the stadium should help cover the cost. At the end of the year, the celebrity that represents the city that produced the least amount of revenue should be fired. However, a conversation with your broadcast partner regarding which city they would prefer should also be part of that decision.
When you have enough revenue to justify a regular season game then they should go ahead with it. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount but it should be higher than your worst revenue generated game. For example, you would either pick 2023 TD Atlantic or 2023 BC visiting Toronto as a measurement, whichever is lower.
Once you have one remaining city, you try to find an owner. The owner should have 400 million in assets to qualify and be willing to absorb losses until a stadium can be built. If an owner can’t be found then you start the process over with different cities. Even if you aren’t successful the first couple of times, you are still growing the game so it’s not a waste of time. The NFL has been doing neutral site games in Europe for years and still haven’t expanded. The CFL can take their time.
Blog Boy, please. The CFL is distinctly Canadian, and American CFL teams would be lost amid the noise of American sports space. The only thing less informed than that idea is the guy saying, “Why not? Nothing to lose.”
Some of you have no idea why things are the way they are. And you don’t think things through.
The CFL isn’t distinctly Canadian.
Most players are not from here.
Americans used to play 3 downs in the late 19th – early 20th century.
The forward pass was borrowed from America and came into being in 1929.
The American goal posts used to be at the goal line originally.
The penalty flags used to be orange and now they are yellow.
The hash marks in the CFL currently resemble American football’s hash marks.
It CANNOT happen under US labor laws – since the CFL rules stipulate teams must field:
Maximum of 19 American players
Minimum of 21 National (Canadian) players
Including one nationalized American
Minimum of 1 Global player (outside Canada and US)
US labor laws prohibit hiring on basis of citizenship so US teams could only be stocked with American players.
The only workaround I can see is drawing a “circle” around each US team’s home stadium containing 40 million people (current population of Canada) and 21 of the team’s players must come from within that circle.
Absolutely NOT.
Give it a try. Just like the MLB did back in 1957. That is when the Brokeland Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to California.
1. nail down a few more major sponsors…. then…
2. University stadiums (like McGill) usage in major cities, like…
3. London, Quebec city, Halifax/Moncton, Saskatoon, and maybe Victoria.
4. Then if the u.s. is an option, just some preseason games and a couple “international” games to appease the cfl plus crowd. You’ll have the Canadian expansion teams with more fans and more sponsors and a shared commitment with the universities. it’s a win, win, win situation. once we have that all set, then maybe in another decade consider the u.s. then it’ll look like an expansion and not another desperate attempt to save the league like last time.
I’d like to see a Quebec City team!
They get 10,000 fans to college football, near Argo support already.
I’m not sure hold up, as CFL team in Quebec City, with great football culture, home grown players, population over twice Regina CMA (nearing Winnipeg) and the evil NHL ignoring Quebec City leaves great chance to get foot in the door.
Quebec City also has good flights to Toronto and Montreal, which would create natural rival games.
Next round could be Monitor and Saskatoon in smaller stadiums.
Would love to see it. You have to lose before you can win. Do it again and get it right this time.
Expand only states closer to canada. Montana, or Eastern Washington areas. Do not even consider North Dakota or Minnesota due to the NFL. Spokane or Great Falls would be good teams
Great idea 🙂
It would be interesting to know which northern American cities have a stadium, which could accomodate a CFL field 🙂
Forget about expansion to Victoria, & Saskatoon. Amar Doman has already said no to expansion in BC. Roughriders have the entire province of Saskatchewan as their territory. They would block Saskatoon in a heartbeat.
People interested in American stadiums should look for ones that have a track around an American football field. The best ones are in Amherst, NY (UB Stadium), Ypsilanti, MI, Ithaca, NY, Philadelphia, PA etc.