Third time poised to be charm for CFL in Ottawa

[Jesse834]

The history books will show June 28, 2010, as the date city council voted 15-9 to go forward with a $250-million rejuvenation project at Lansdowne Park that will not only add bars, restaurants, shops, office towers and condos to the cherished site in the heart of the nation’s capital, but also a beautiful new 24,000-seat stadium.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/sports/fo.../14599936.html

[transplant99]

Good for them. The CFL is a better league with 9 teams than 8.

[troutman]

24,000 seems a bit small. If that is all it takes, surely Quebec, Moncton or Halifax can get in.

[shermanator]

Perhaps Ottawa is following Montreal's recipe for success? Montreal played in a 20000 seat stadium for years, which raised demand for the product.

Either way, I'm pretty sure Ottawa's last CFL franchise did not average 24000 in attendance.

[octothorp]

No question that 24,000 is viable if you sell it out every game, and a small, packed venue has better ambiance than a large, empty stadium. But Montreal also has the added benefit of playoff games in Olympic Stadium, so the margins are going to be a lot tighter in Ottawa. Parking revenues and such will be crucial there.

[Hades]

Originally Posted by troutman

24,000 seems a bit small. If that is all it takes, surely Quebec, Moncton or Halifax can get in.

Would be nice if one of those cities got a team, to balance the conferences. If I remember correctly, Winnipeg goes to the West when Ottawa is in right?

[getbak]

Yes, Winnipeg should return to the West with the addition of Ottawa.

The redevelopment plan for Landsdowne actually looks really good. The stadium is in pretty bad shape right now (the south grandstand side is missing lower level seats entirely), and even the Civic Centre (which is built into the lower part of the north grandstand) looks like it could use an overhaul.

The new ownership group seems to be well-organized and committed to Ottawa, not the freakshows they've had there in the past. Hopefully they hire some good football people and actually put together a decent team.

[troutman]

Will this result in the return of the Panda Game? U of Ottawa vs. Carlton U. IIRC, Carlton suspended their football program.

[Matty81]

Do people who follow the CFL feel that it is going to work this time? I didn't follow them in previous incarnations so I'm not sure if it was attendance or ownership that resulted in the previous 2 or 3 failing.

[calgaryrocks]

I feel like it will work, the CFL has learned from the mistakes of the past and has made sure Hunt and his team are in it for the long haul and want it to work in Ottawa. previous issues were fan support and ownership. when the ownership is bad and the team suffers as a result, as well as fans not liking the owner, poor attendance results. I'm pretty sure the Gliebermans are long gone from the CFL (they were the owners the last two times the Ottawa teams folded).
Stadium was also a major issue as the stadium was falling into disrepair and that also hurts fan support.
they seem to be going about it right and not rushing into it this time

[Tyler]

Could be nice:

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Good for them. The CFL is a better league with 9 teams than 8.

I prefer a league with Ottawa versus not, but an odd number of teams does make the schedule annoying.