Ultimate CFL Expansion Plan For The Future.

[tigerrr22]

I'd chronologically order CFL expansion this way. (Phase three being the toughest step but save this for last.)

PHASE ONE: add Ottawa and Moncton. (Winnipeg placed back into the West.)
WEST: BC, Edm, Cal, Sask, Winn. EAST: Tor, Ham, Mon, Ott, Monc. Playoff format sees 7/10 teams make the playoffs. Division winners are seeded 1 and 2 (in order of regular season records). Then in order of regular season records the remaining teams are seeded 3 thru 10. Division winners are awarded Division Winners' Trophies. 1st seed gets a bye. 2vs7, 3vs6, 4vs5 in Grey Cup Quarter Finals. Reseeded the Grey Cup Semi Finals see 1st seed vs lowest remaining seed and 2nd highest seed vs 3rd highest seed. Winners advance to meet in the Grey Cup Game.

PHASE TWO: add Quebec City and Halifax. Break the league into three Divisions:
WEST: BC, Edm, Cal, Sask. CENTRAL: Winn, Tor, Ham, Ott. EAST: Mont, Que, Monc, Hali. Playoffs see division winners seeded 1,2,3 in order of win/loss records. Division winners are awarded Division Champions Trophies. (Central Division Trophy added.) Rest of the league seeded 4 through 12 in order of win/loss records. 10/12 teams make the playoffs. TOP TWO SEEDS GET A TWO WEEK BYE & 3vs10, 4vs9, 5vs8 & 6vs7 play the Grey Cup Preliminary Round of the playoffs. Winners advance & are reseeded to form The Grey Cup Quarter-Finals Round (within the 3 thru 10 group of seeds that advance.) Highest seed plays lowest remaining seed, and 2nd highest seed plays 3rd highest seed. Two winners then advance to play the Grey Cup Semi-Finals Round and are reseeded with the TOP TWO PLAYOFF SEEDS. Grey Cup Semi-Finals winners then both advance to play in the Grey Cup Game.

PHASE THREE: add a Dominion Division to the CFL. A Division of predominantly Canadian players playing the CFL game in smaller markets, smaller stadiums, smaller operating budgets, fewer regular season games and for lower pay. A Division that also offers teams a "full maple leaf" Dominion Division championship trophy to the team that finishes the regular season with the best record. A group of 6 teams that only play each other twice, in a 10 game regular season, to gain the last three CFL playoff seeds. (No regular season games against the primary CFL teams either.) Top three Dominion Division teams , in order of records, are CFL playoff seeds #11, #12 and #13 in the CFL playoffs. Dominion Division teams to be added are: Victoria, Saskatoon, Brandon, Kitchener, London and ST Johns. The league would then have 4 divisions and 18 teams all with the goal of winning the Grey Cup. If any of these smaller markets can excel in ticket sales and move up to bigger stadiums then they could also be considered, as future primary teams in the CFL. Also the Dominion Division would be a feeder system of primarily Canadian talent for the 12 primary CFL teams in future seasons. The key is to start the Dominion Division regular season a few weeks after the start of the Primary 12 CFL teams regular season. (The Dominion Division teams would be made up of Primary 12 training camp cuts and any walk ons that can make the grade in the Dominion Division training camps. One year contracts for every Dominion Division player so that Primary 12 team rosters are the yearly goal for such Dominion Division players to make those teams' lineups. (A feeder system of primarily Canadian players who no longer play University Football on either side of the border and were never drafted or were drafted but could not stick anywhere in pro football.) The overall 18 team CFL would be as follows:

WESTERN DIVISION: VANCOUVER,EDMONTON,CALGARY,REGINA.
CENTRAL DIVISION: WINNIPEG,TORONTO,HAMILTON,OTTAWA.
EASTERN DIVISION: MONTREAL,QUEBEC CITY,MONCTON,HALIFAX.
DOMINION DIVISION: VICTORIA,SASKATOON,BRANDON,KITCHENER,LONDON,ST JOHNS.

Playoffs would be as follows.

Winners of Western Division, Central Division & Eastern Division are seeded #1, #2 and #3 in order of records. (They are also awarded division championship trophies before the playoffs start. West, East and Central. New Central Leaf Trophy created for the new Division.) The rest of the teams, from these three Divisions, are seeded in order of record #4 thru #12. Top 10 primary seeds make the playoffs. Then, from the Dominion Division, the top three teams are seeded #11, #12 and #13 for the CFL playoffs. (Primary teams #1, #2 and #3 get a bye.) First round of playoffs see 4vs13, 5vs12, 6vs11, 7vs10 & 8vs9. Winners advance to form the Grey Cup Quarter Finals Round. Reseeded so #1 plays last remaining seed etc. Next round reseed the Grey Cup Semi-Finals. Then the next round you have your Grey Cup Game matchup. (Highest seed always has home field advantage until the Grey Cup game.)

With playoff seeds taken from each division it would ensure that no playoff year is the same. That any match ups are possible & this would make the games more interesting from year to year. Geographical rivalries could even be featured, rarely, in a Grey Cup Game this way too.

An 18 team CFL playoff system like this would allow small market teams & large market teams to all fall under the Grey Cup tradition. It would allow for more Canadian players to take part in their countrys' football glory & the Dominion Division teams could have a "game of the week" on national television as part of the TV deal the CFL has with any such networks in the future. A playoff system that melds the CFLs' 12 primary teams with the 6 Dominion Division teams is all it would take to see football grow substantially in Canada (both as a television audience from coast to coast and also in seeing more players choosing football as their game of choice to play) while maintaining a solid footing in dealing with money issues amongst the big & small market teams alike. Maybe the more teams that make the playoffs the better as the Grey Cup playoffs is when the TV ratings soar. (10 of 12 CFL Primary teams & 3 of 6 Dominion Division teams.)

6.1 million viewers watched the 2009 Grey Cup game. That's up from 2008's 3.6 million that tuned in on TSN to watch that Grey Cup game won. (Significant TV audience growth.) Maybe we have reached the age of "Build it and they will come" in Canada. Big markets or small. The idea of smaller markets being helped by the bigger markets is key as well. The CFL has never been a money making venture. It's really been about the team owners & their love of the game & cutting their losses as much as possible. I think an 18 team CFL is viable & much closer to being a reality than most might think. Right now Canada!

Dominic In Vancouver

[Solar Max]

Excellent work on this Dominic.

[Blue In BC]

Laughable. You must have had too much time on your hands. Even getting to 12 CFL teams is a giant leap of faith.

No owners and no stadiums yet in those other cities.

Current teams can't find enough good NI's to play and you want to increase the number of teams to 18?

[tigerrr22]

Upon completion of Phase 3 you'd see the newly named Vancouver Lions & Regina Roughriders. Renamed to honour Victoria and Saskatoon into the league with their respective city names known to share the same provinces of Saskatchewan and B.C. The entire league would be city named teams "only" along with their customary nick names. No longer a provincial league it would embody all of Canada from coast to coast. The people want it in Canada? Then buy tickets. Write your MLAs, Mayors, MPs and even the PMO. Encourage private business to form up expansion team ownerships and divide the stadium building between public and private interests. Watch the games on TV and spend some money on the greatest form of football in the world with season tickets, 3 game packs and single game ticket purchases. Per capita this league is as well supported as the NFL at the gates. (NFL has 4 times the teams and 10 times the population. So if you divide 4 into 10 you have 2.5 times the attendance per game. This means a crowd of 25,000 in Winnipeg is per captia the same as 62,500 fans at an NFL game.
(25,000 X 2.5 = 62,500)

Dominic In Vancouver

CFL kicks the NFL in entertainment value too.

[tigerrr22]

Laughable. You must have had too much time on your hands. Even getting to 12 CFL teams is a giant leap of faith.

No owners and no stadiums yet in those other cities.

Current teams can't find enough good NI's to play and you want to increase the number of teams to 18?

Where do all the Canadian University players go after they're done and not drafted by the NFL or CFL? They disappear from the game of football. They need a place to play to develop their games further in a part time job setting that could pay them $25,000 playing close to home. Hoping one day to make it on a CFL primary 12 team. Crowds of 10,000 - 15,000 would be needed for a Dominion Division of 6 teams to fly. Is this impossible? No doubt it would be the toughest step to take in completing this vision of CFL expansion but I think it is attainable. The key for these teams would be private ownership. Owners that are not so much in it to make money but rather in it for the love of the game and their communities. TV revenue and side line advertising would help them too with a CFL Dominion Division game of the week included in the TV deal between the CFL and any such TV networks such as TSN.

Dominic In Vancouver

P.S. Phase 2 completion would be excellent on it's own too.

[WestCoastJoe]

I think you are about 30 or 40 or 50 years into the future with your plans, tigerrrr.

Population dictates.

I used to think Vancouver should have a Disneyland. Not anymore. Critical mass determines feasibility. IMO a Disneyland needs about 10, 12, or 15 million people nearby to support it, not counting tourists.

A CFL team needs what ... 300,000 supporting population? Regina has 195,000, with support throughout the province and beyond. Saskatoon has 260,000.

Moncton has 127,000.

Metro Quebec City has 716,000.

Halifax has 283,000.

Toronto with its great population barely supports the Argos.

I have not looked at the feasibility studies.

As has been mentioned, stadiums are the next thing you need, along with the population.

Getting to 10 teams will be a big step, and it will be the last for quite some time, IMO.

[tigerrr22]

You can also see that the smaller the region's population then the better the fan support seems to be at the gates. (Especially in cities that have no other pro sports teams outside of the CFL representing their respective cities.) It would be all about passion of the people. Like Green Bay in the NFL where the city feels like a ghost town unless you're at the stadium enjoying the game. Mass appeal and an opportunity for these kinds of cities to stand up together and be something on the National stage. Personally I think supporting the CFL is a no brainer. It's a terrific game with tradition and it's a lot cheaper than NHL hockey ticket prices. I think a CFL game is a much greater battle to behold, for ticket buyers, than any one NHL regular season game. The games mean far more and the wins are much bigger and the losses are much bigger too. Also Victoria would have the entire Island to draw fans from.

Dominic In Vancouver

[joe kapp22]

Well, I do believe the CFL needs two more Franchises, but I also think that Stadiums maybe have too much capacity as it is.

If the new teams want new stadiums, imho they should be smaller affairs.

Imho historical attendance trends across the league should dictate the size of new facilities, why build a 40,000 seat facility when on average 25,000 show up consistently and have for decades?

Granted attendance has peaks and valleys, the long term trend should be the guiding idea imho.

[Gary]

Phase one will take at least ten years.
Phase two will take another ten.
Phase three seems unlikely in even fifty years.

[sasklionsfan]

The only thing I see different is that saskatoon should be a CFL division team, as its the biggest city in saskatchewan, and we are 2 1/2 hours closer to people coming from the north. Plus I hate regina :P And the saskatchewan roughriders used to be the regina roughriders and there was a Vancouver team named the grizzlies that played one season in 1941 :P Realistically this is a pipedream as the cfl seams most financially stable with 8 teams, because the 9th team usually is in some financial trouble (*cough* ottawa *cough*). I wish we could have more teams, but even getting ottawa back won't happen till at least the 2013 season :(

[Blue In BC]

Laughable. You must have had too much time on your hands. Even getting to 12 CFL teams is a giant leap of faith.

No owners and no stadiums yet in those other cities.

Current teams can't find enough good NI's to play and you want to increase the number of teams to 18?

Where do all the Canadian University players go after they're done and not drafted by the NFL or CFL? They disappear from the game of football. They need a place to play to develop their games further in a part time job setting that could pay them $25,000 playing close to home. Hoping one day to make it on a CFL primary 12 team. Crowds of 10,000 - 15,000 would be needed for a Dominion Division of 6 teams to fly. Is this impossible? No doubt it would be the toughest step to take in completing this vision of CFL expansion but I think it is attainable. The key for these teams would be private ownership. Owners that are not so much in it to make money but rather in it for the love of the game and their communities. TV revenue and side line advertising would help them too with a CFL Dominion Division game of the week included in the TV deal between the CFL and any such TV networks such as TSN.

Dominic In Vancouver

P.S. Phase 2 completion would be excellent on it's own too.

You said it. They disappear from the game of football just like the imports that don't find work in the pros. Not every player in university is good enough to play in the pros.

Even in the pros, many teams can't find good QB's as a starting point. Not in it for the money? Those guys are more scarce than QB's.

[ziggy]

I can see Ottawa and Quebec city coming in, but other than that I think it will be quite awhile before we see any other teams.

[cromartie]

You have room for one team in the Maritimes (either Moncton or Halifax, but not both) a team in Ottawa, and a team in Quebec City, and all three are fraught with liabilities Moncton would be a struggle because of the size of the business community and, even though QC loves football, my hunch is that a new stadium and an NHL team would make the corporate money hard to come by for a CFL team. Halifax doesn't have a facility and Ottawa has a transient population and corporate money that goes mainly to the Senators.

If you think minor league sports of the type of a Dominion League would work, please hit Google and let me know who won the seventh annual Jenkins Cup.

[WestCoastJoe]

I like the idea of a minor league to the CFL. For smaller communities, it could be a good community organization, and great for all the guys who did not quite make it to the top level. It builds the grass roots too. Look at all the high schools in the US with great support in small towns. It shows the possibilities. The legendary Paul Brown himself got started in a small town high school.

Brown gave up a brief attempt at law school in 1932 to become at age 23 the head football coach of his hometown Massillon Washington High School Tigers. In his nine years at Massillon Brown posted an 80–8–2 record which included a 35-game winning streak.-

--the Wik

Traveling through Ohio, I stopped in to see one of the practices at Brown's old high school. The tradition had carried on in a big way. I got to talk to the Head Coach, etc. It was very cool. Football is like a religion there.