Randy Ambrosie has embraced a game plan that extends far beyond Touchdown Atlantic.
The CFL Commissioner hopes that Saturday’s game in Halifax between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts will be a catalyst for the eventual establishment of a franchise in the Maritimes.
The immediate objective, though, is for this weekend’s football festival to assist and entertain Nova Scotians who have been affected by recent events.
“Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the torrential rainfall and flooding across the province,” Ambrosie said.
“The league office, the Argonauts and the Roughriders are working with the local organizations to raise awareness surrounding donations and to urge fans to support relief and recovery efforts.
“Our incredible partners at Purolator and their Tackle Hunger program will be set up at the Touchdown Atlantic Tailgate with proceeds going to Feed Nova Scotia.
“I look forward to seeing our CFL community come together and help those in need.”
Looking forward beyond this weekend, there is the priority of establishing a professional football foothold in the area.
“It’s almost feels that we’re at this moment of inflection,” Ambrosie said. “We’ve come and demonstrated our commitment to them.”
The league’s first four Atlantic Canada-based regular-season games were played in Moncton, N.B., in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2019.
There were plans for the Roughriders and Argonauts to meet in Halifax in 2020, only for COVID-19 to wipe out the entire season.
Touchdown Atlantic returned on July 16, 2022, when the Roughriders — making their debut in the event — lost 30-24 to Toronto at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S.
The Roughriders and Argos are to meet again on Saturday at Huskies Stadium in Halifax (2 p.m., Saskatchewan time, TSN, CKRM).
“This time, we’re right there (in Halifax),” Ambrosie said. “Last year, we had an economic impact of $14 million in Halifax and we didn’t even hold our game there.
“With the fact that we’ll be in the community, we know there will be thousands and thousands of CFL fans who pour into Atlantic Canada. They’ll go for the game and stay for a vacation, which is a theme that we’ve been talking about.
“It’s an exciting time, but it’s a time that has meaning as well. We’ve offered that a great place for them to start is a humbler version of a stadium that might resemble the way many of our current CFL cities started. Mosaic Stadium as we know it today didn’t always exist.”
The league announced on June 15 that all seats had been sold for Touchdown Atlantic.
Huskies Stadium has been expanded to accommodate 10,000-plus spectators. In response to the voracious appetite for tickets, seating in the Church Brewing Party zone was expanded so that another 1,000 fans could attend.
“Fandom is changing,” Ambrosie noted. “You’re not necessarily building seats. You’re building fans’ social areas. That can become a big part of the reason why somebody comes to a game. That opens the door to all kinds of possibilities as far as creating more open spaces.
“We’ve seen what Ottawa has done with the bar rails and how popular that is with their fans. We’ve seen what Winnipeg has done with the Rum Hut and what the Roughriders have done with Pil Country.
“That gives rise to the idea that stadium design and stadium development today is far different through the lens of, especially, the younger fans. Those are the fans we’re all coveting — that next generation.
“They have a different way of taking the game in than our traditional fans do, but that’s a positive as it relates to what we might do in a market like Halifax.”
Last year, a sellout crowd of 10,886 watched the Roughriders and Argonauts at an expanded Raymond Field in Wolfville.
Ideally, that “pop-up stadium” model will serve as a template that could allow for CFL expansion and the establishment of a 10th team.
“We’ve conveyed a message to Atlantic Canada that we’d be quite pleased if they start with a simpler version of a stadium and, five, seven or 10 years from now, if they decide on something that is more sophisticated, that’s a choice they can make,” Ambrosie said.
“That seems to have been well-received, because the price point for a (full-scale) stadium development would be far, far different.”
Saying that, there are similarities to consider.
Ambrosie feels that a Maritimes-based team would attract a following that is reminiscent of the manner in which the Roughriders are supported and, moreover, beloved.
“(Halifax and Moncton) are vibrant communities and they are growing,” Ambrosie said. “Lots of people are choosing to go to the East Coast to retire. These communities are really progressing and you think about the ability for a CFL team to be part of a community.
“A special part of what makes us unique is our connection to the community. We can go there with our game — fun, fast and entertaining — and there’s the effect that we can have on that community as a centrepoint about which everyone can be so proud, much as we see in Saskatchewan.”
Ambrosie noted the parallels during a recent visit to Mosaic Stadium.
“I saw all the people on the streets, many of them wearing their Riders gear on game day,” he said. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s a natural for a community like Halifax, where that point of proud would be so obvious,’ and I think it’s so attainable.
“I’m convinced that could be a great place for the CFL, which is why I’ve been so passionate about it. What we’ve tried to say to that market — and I hope we’ve said it thoughtfully and considerately — is I think it’s clear that we love them.
“I feel like we can say that they’ve shown us a lot of love in return, but now it’s time for that market to decide if it’s time for them to have a team of their own.
“We’re going to go and pour our hearts into that wonderful part of Canada. Then, as we have been doing, we’ll have a sit-down with the community leaders that we’re talking to and see whether this is the right time for them.”
TD ATLANTIC TIDBITS
- Riderville Touchdown Atlantic is to be held Friday and Saturday at The Marquee Ballroom (2037 Gottingen St., Halifax), from 7 p.m. to 2 p.m., both nights. The Mellotones will provide musical entertainment, along with DJs. The event will be hosted by Roughriders receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker and the second-leading rusher in franchise history, Wes Cates.
- A youth football camp is slated Friday, noon to 2 p.m. (Halifax time), at Huskies Stadium.
- The aforementioned pre-game tailgate party — with the Tackle Hunger component — is to begin Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Halifax time, or 3½ hours before kickoff.
