The CFL is negotiating with Moncton to bring an annual regular season game to the city for the next five years.
A CBC report said yesterday the deal could begin as early as fall 2010. The games would be hosted at the Universite de Moncton’s new 10,000-seat facility — expandable to 20,000 — for the world junior track and field championships.
Commissioner Mark Cohon had told Metro Halifax in June it was his intention to host a regular season game in Moncton in 2010 and he encouraged Nova Scotians to make the trip. At the time, Halifax wasn’t considered an option for the game.
“Because there is no stadium in Halifax, it makes it very difficult for the league to consider big events there,” Cohon said.
Prior to Cohon’s term as commissioner, Halifax hosted a CFL exhibition game in 2005. That drew a crowd of 11,148, thanks to temporary seating at Huskies Stadium.
“The way I look at it is this is great for sport in the region,” said Trade Centre Ltd. interim president Scott Ferguson, of a Moncton game. “Any team in Atlantic Canada would have to be a regional team and this just spreads the word.”
