CFL team for Halifax a good idea but still years away: commissioner

HALIFAX – The mayor of Halifax says the city should have its own mixed-use stadium and he likes the idea of having a CFL team as an anchor tenant, but Mike Savage says discussions with the league and potential private partners are just starting.

Savage, who met with CFL commissioner Mark Cohon today, declined to discuss timelines or the degree of corporate interest.

Cohon says establishing a CFL team in Halifax is part of the league’s long-term plan, but he, too, declined to name any of the national or local business leaders that he and the mayor are talking to.

The commissioner pointed to the new CFL franchise in Ottawa as a potential model for Halifax, but he stressed that the discussions that led to that team’s rebirth took seven years to come to fruition.

No one was expecting a big announcement today, considering Cohon had said last week the Halifax meetings were just exploratory.

Still, Cohon suggested that Halifax is a logical location for a future franchise, saying that even though there has been significant interest expressed in Moncton, that market is probably too small to support a team.