Atlantic Schooners
Encyclopedia
The Atlantic Schooners were a conditional Canadian Football League
(CFL) expansion team that was to begin play in 1984 out of Halifax
, Nova Scotia
.
On May 13, 1982, Maritime Professional Football Club Ltd. was granted a conditional expansion franchise. The team was to pay a $1.5 million expansion fee and could begin play in 1984 if a suitable stadium was built in time for the league opener. The team name was selected based on a study followed by a name-the-team contest in which "schooner
" was the winning selection. The logo was a stylized "A" in the shape of a schooner that rode on four waves, each representing the four Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotia
, New Brunswick
, Prince Edward Island
and Newfoundland
. Acadia Axemen
coach John Huard
was named the team's first head coach. The Schooners proposed home was a 30,000-seat stadium located on leased land in the city of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
, said to be built at a cost of $6 million. The owners purchased a scoreboard from the New England Patriots
for use in their new stadium. The Schooners were unable to meet the deadlines set by the league, including the deadline for a financing plan for the new stadium. On June 16, 1983, Maritime Professional Football Club Ltd. officially withdrew their application for a franchise. Since then there have been endless rumours of a stadium being built in the area and with it, a CFL team, although none has yet been built.
Fan desire for a team in the region remains strong. There is a group on Facebook
that was formed in hopes of building a stadium and starting a franchise. It has over 3,700 members.
One urban legend
around the Halifax area is that the old scoreboard from the Foxboro Stadium
is in a warehouse in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
, left there awaiting the proposed stadium. Another legend is that J.I. Albrecht had already bought turf for the stadium. When the club folded he took the turf and threw it into the Atlantic Ocean
.
On June 11, 2005, a CFL exhibition game
, called "Touchdown Atlantic
" between the Toronto Argonauts
and Hamilton Tiger-Cats
, was held in Halifax. This game served as a gauge for possible CFL expansion. The venue was Huskies Stadium
(capacity 11 000) on the campus of St. Mary's University. Tickets for the event, which cost upwards of $60.00, sold out rapidly. The game ended in a 16–16 tie. Another CFL exhibition game would have taken place on June 3, 2006, but the suspension of the Ottawa Renegades
, who were scheduled to play the game, forced the game to be cancelled altogether.
If Halifax had landed the 2014 Commonwealth Games
, a stadium likely would have been built for the event, which would have removed a major hurdle facing Atlantic Canada's chances of getting a franchise; however, Halifax withdrew its bid for the games in early March 2007.
Nevertheless, a Schooners delegation took part in the festivities at the 2007 Grey Cup. A ninth CFL team
has been located in Ottawa
, meaning were the Schooners to join the league they would become the tenth club. The CFL has been extremely cautious about expansion in recent years, following the failed expansion into the United States
of the mid 1990s and the failure of the Ottawa Renegades
in 2005. It is believed that the league are keen to have a tenth team (Ottawa is slated to return to the CFL with a revamped franchise
no later than 2013, which would give the league nine teams), with five in the eastern division and five in the west. This has been seen as supportive of the idea of a team in Halifax making the league "truly national".
Also in the Atlantic region of Canada, Moncton, New Brunswick
(a city that is roughly 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) from Halifax, which is slightly longer than the distance between Ottawa and Montreal), built a 20,000-seat stadium (New Moncton Stadium
) to host the IAAF 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics.. There is also hope that the stadium will help land a CFL team for the city, someday. To test the feasibility of expansion to Moncton, a regular season game dubbed Touchdown Atlantic was played between the Toronto Argonauts
and the Edmonton Eskimos
on September 26, 2010. The game was won by Edmonton 24 – 6 and the game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 20,725 spectators. There are plans for a new game to be hosted by Moncton in 2011, with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
hosting the Calgary Stampeders
on September 25, 2011.
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
(CFL) expansion team that was to begin play in 1984 out of Halifax
Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
Halifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Regional Municipality had a 2006 census population of 372,679, while the metropolitan area had a 2010 estimated population of 403,188, and the urban area of Halifax had a population of 282,924...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
On May 13, 1982, Maritime Professional Football Club Ltd. was granted a conditional expansion franchise. The team was to pay a $1.5 million expansion fee and could begin play in 1984 if a suitable stadium was built in time for the league opener. The team name was selected based on a study followed by a name-the-team contest in which "schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
" was the winning selection. The logo was a stylized "A" in the shape of a schooner that rode on four waves, each representing the four Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
and Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
. Acadia Axemen
Acadia Axemen
In their history, the Axemen Canadian football teams have appeared in four Vanier Cup national championships, winning two of those in 1979 and in 1981...
coach John Huard
John Huard
John Roland "Big John" Huard is a former National Football League linebacker and Canadian Football League coach.-Playing career:...
was named the team's first head coach. The Schooners proposed home was a 30,000-seat stadium located on leased land in the city of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...
, said to be built at a cost of $6 million. The owners purchased a scoreboard from the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
for use in their new stadium. The Schooners were unable to meet the deadlines set by the league, including the deadline for a financing plan for the new stadium. On June 16, 1983, Maritime Professional Football Club Ltd. officially withdrew their application for a franchise. Since then there have been endless rumours of a stadium being built in the area and with it, a CFL team, although none has yet been built.
Fan desire for a team in the region remains strong. There is a group on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
that was formed in hopes of building a stadium and starting a franchise. It has over 3,700 members.
One urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
around the Halifax area is that the old scoreboard from the Foxboro Stadium
Foxboro Stadium
Foxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts...
is in a warehouse in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...
, left there awaiting the proposed stadium. Another legend is that J.I. Albrecht had already bought turf for the stadium. When the club folded he took the turf and threw it into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
On June 11, 2005, a CFL exhibition game
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
, called "Touchdown Atlantic
Touchdown Atlantic
Touchdown Atlantic is a series of Canadian Football League games played in the maritime provinces .In 2003, the league had struck a committee to examine the feasibility of adding a tenth team, with the leading candidate cities being Quebec City and Halifax. An exhibition game between Ottawa and...
" between the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
and Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
, was held in Halifax. This game served as a gauge for possible CFL expansion. The venue was Huskies Stadium
Huskies Stadium
The Huskies Stadium is a Canadian football stadium in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that is host to Saint Mary's Huskies. It has a promoted capacity of 9,000 to 11,000 that is achieveable via temporary seating, but the actual permanent seating is only 4000. It was built in 1970...
(capacity 11 000) on the campus of St. Mary's University. Tickets for the event, which cost upwards of $60.00, sold out rapidly. The game ended in a 16–16 tie. Another CFL exhibition game would have taken place on June 3, 2006, but the suspension of the Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades was the most recent name of a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, seven years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded...
, who were scheduled to play the game, forced the game to be cancelled altogether.
If Halifax had landed the 2014 Commonwealth Games
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 20th Commonwealth Games in 2014 will be held in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The winning city was announced by the Commonwealth Games Federation on 9 November 2007 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Games will run over 11 days of competition from 24 July to 3 August 2014...
, a stadium likely would have been built for the event, which would have removed a major hurdle facing Atlantic Canada's chances of getting a franchise; however, Halifax withdrew its bid for the games in early March 2007.
Nevertheless, a Schooners delegation took part in the festivities at the 2007 Grey Cup. A ninth CFL team
Ottawa CFL
The Ottawa Canadian Football League team is an unnamed conditional CFL franchise that has been awarded in the city of Ottawa. On March 25, 2008, an ownership group led by Ottawa 67's owner Jeff Hunt was awarded the franchise. The team is expected to play at Frank Clair Stadium if the stadium can be...
has been located in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, meaning were the Schooners to join the league they would become the tenth club. The CFL has been extremely cautious about expansion in recent years, following the failed expansion into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of the mid 1990s and the failure of the Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades was the most recent name of a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, seven years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded...
in 2005. It is believed that the league are keen to have a tenth team (Ottawa is slated to return to the CFL with a revamped franchise
Ottawa CFL
The Ottawa Canadian Football League team is an unnamed conditional CFL franchise that has been awarded in the city of Ottawa. On March 25, 2008, an ownership group led by Ottawa 67's owner Jeff Hunt was awarded the franchise. The team is expected to play at Frank Clair Stadium if the stadium can be...
no later than 2013, which would give the league nine teams), with five in the eastern division and five in the west. This has been seen as supportive of the idea of a team in Halifax making the league "truly national".
Also in the Atlantic region of Canada, Moncton, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
(a city that is roughly 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) from Halifax, which is slightly longer than the distance between Ottawa and Montreal), built a 20,000-seat stadium (New Moncton Stadium
New Moncton Stadium
The Moncton Stadium is a track and field stadium on the campus of the Université de Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, built to host the IAAF 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics. The $17 million venue opened in 2010...
) to host the IAAF 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics.. There is also hope that the stadium will help land a CFL team for the city, someday. To test the feasibility of expansion to Moncton, a regular season game dubbed Touchdown Atlantic was played between the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
and the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
on September 26, 2010. The game was won by Edmonton 24 – 6 and the game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 20,725 spectators. There are plans for a new game to be hosted by Moncton in 2011, with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
hosting the Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
on September 25, 2011.
See also
- Canadian Football Hall of FameCanadian Football Hall of FameThe Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
- Canadian footballCanadian footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
- List of Canadian Football League seasons