Looks like Saskatoon is poised to become the only Arena Football north of the 49th Parallel. According to this article in the Regina Leader-Post/Saskatoon Star-Phoenix http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoe ... e44d92e677 Doug MacGregor is looking at putting a team here. The article says he owns 9 teams including the Austin Wranglers, who are his other 8 teams? Any of them doing poorly at the box office? The article says he may move a team or might get an expansion team.
He also wants local ownership for the team. I think this would be a perfect opportunity for the Riders to invest in a team. This would be a way for them to "own" the rights to prospective players while getting a chance to see them play in live games. As well, they could use it as a place for their Developmental Squad to actually see game action.
Saskatoon Team?
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Shootmaster_44
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phydeaux72
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[quote=""Shootmaster_44""]Looks like Saskatoon is poised to become the only Arena Football north of the 49th Parallel. According to this article in the Regina Leader-Post/Saskatoon Star-Phoenix http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoe ... e44d92e677 Doug MacGregor is looking at putting a team here. The article says he owns 9 teams including the Austin Wranglers, who are his other 8 teams? Any of them doing poorly at the box office? The article says he may move a team or might get an expansion team.
He also wants local ownership for the team. I think this would be a perfect opportunity for the Riders to invest in a team. This would be a way for them to "own" the rights to prospective players while getting a chance to see them play in live games. As well, they could use it as a place for their Developmental Squad to actually see game action.[/quote]
I've heard from a pretty reliable source that there is a high probability that the Copperheads will be moving "somewhere up north" next season. Saskatoon perhaps?
And from what I've observed, only a small percentage of MacGregor-owned teams are doing somewhat well. The rest are on life support or are headed in that direction, including the Austin Wranglers. Some believe (myself included) that if MacGregor didn't have his hand in so many of the af2 teams that Austin might still be in the AFL. It seams that he might be spreading himself a bit thin by owning so many teams.
He also wants local ownership for the team. I think this would be a perfect opportunity for the Riders to invest in a team. This would be a way for them to "own" the rights to prospective players while getting a chance to see them play in live games. As well, they could use it as a place for their Developmental Squad to actually see game action.[/quote]
I've heard from a pretty reliable source that there is a high probability that the Copperheads will be moving "somewhere up north" next season. Saskatoon perhaps?
And from what I've observed, only a small percentage of MacGregor-owned teams are doing somewhat well. The rest are on life support or are headed in that direction, including the Austin Wranglers. Some believe (myself included) that if MacGregor didn't have his hand in so many of the af2 teams that Austin might still be in the AFL. It seams that he might be spreading himself a bit thin by owning so many teams.
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Shootmaster_44
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[quote=""phydeaux72""]I've heard from a pretty reliable source that there is a high probability that the Copperheads will be moving "somewhere up north" next season. Saskatoon perhaps?
And from what I've observed, only a small percentage of MacGregor-owned teams are doing somewhat well. The rest are on life support or are headed in that direction, including the Austin Wranglers. Some believe (myself included) that if MacGregor didn't have his hand in so many of the af2 teams that Austin might still be in the AFL. It seams that he might be spreading himself a bit thin by owning so many teams.[/quote]
Are the teams on life support because of mismanagement or simply poor attendance? What I'm getting at is MacGregor a poor owner, or are his teams just poorly supported?
And from what I've observed, only a small percentage of MacGregor-owned teams are doing somewhat well. The rest are on life support or are headed in that direction, including the Austin Wranglers. Some believe (myself included) that if MacGregor didn't have his hand in so many of the af2 teams that Austin might still be in the AFL. It seams that he might be spreading himself a bit thin by owning so many teams.[/quote]
Are the teams on life support because of mismanagement or simply poor attendance? What I'm getting at is MacGregor a poor owner, or are his teams just poorly supported?
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phydeaux72
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[quote=""Shootmaster_44""]Are the teams on life support because of mismanagement or simply poor attendance? What I'm getting at is MacGregor a poor owner, or are his teams just poorly supported?[/quote]
I could be wrong, but I believe it could be a little bit of both. Not so much that MacGregor is a bad owner. I just think he has spread himself too thin. I don't think there's anything wrong with owning 9 teams. The problem I see is that he aquired those 9 teams in such a short period of time that he hasn't been able to accomplish his goal of finding suitable local owners to run the teams the way that they should be run. I think back in the day when he just owned the AFL Austin Wranglers and 1 or 2 af2 teams, things were going pretty well for him. But just over the past 2 seasons he has gone from that to owning 9 or more af2 teams. And that's where I see things start going south. I mean, I hope the guy can turn things around. But from what I can see, things aren't working out to well for the guy.
I could be wrong, but I believe it could be a little bit of both. Not so much that MacGregor is a bad owner. I just think he has spread himself too thin. I don't think there's anything wrong with owning 9 teams. The problem I see is that he aquired those 9 teams in such a short period of time that he hasn't been able to accomplish his goal of finding suitable local owners to run the teams the way that they should be run. I think back in the day when he just owned the AFL Austin Wranglers and 1 or 2 af2 teams, things were going pretty well for him. But just over the past 2 seasons he has gone from that to owning 9 or more af2 teams. And that's where I see things start going south. I mean, I hope the guy can turn things around. But from what I can see, things aren't working out to well for the guy.
[quote=""phydeaux72""]I could be wrong, but I believe it could be a little bit of both. Not so much that MacGregor is a bad owner. I just think he has spread himself too thin. I don't think there's anything wrong with owning 9 teams. The problem I see is that he aquired those 9 teams in such a short period of time that he hasn't been able to accomplish his goal of finding suitable local owners to run the teams the way that they should be run. I think back in the day when he just owned the AFL Austin Wranglers and 1 or 2 af2 teams, things were going pretty well for him. But just over the past 2 seasons he has gone from that to owning 9 or more af2 teams. And that's where I see things start going south. I mean, I hope the guy can turn things around. But from what I can see, things aren't working out to well for the guy.[/quote]
He also seems to be taking on projects that were already in trouble, or are too recently removed from trouble. Perhaps picking a relatively pristine market like Saskatoon might work. Perhaps not, though, when you factor in travel and other costs, like passports.
He also seems to be taking on projects that were already in trouble, or are too recently removed from trouble. Perhaps picking a relatively pristine market like Saskatoon might work. Perhaps not, though, when you factor in travel and other costs, like passports.
Mean Spirited Blogger #24601
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This league (NIFL) is like a frickin' cockroach. You could throw a nuclear bomb at it and it would still survive
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So I'd rather spend a quarter of an ABA franchise to repair my car, as opposed to spending a franchise and a half to get a new car that might have some planned obsolescence that causes it to break down 5 days after the end of the warranty period.
-Chuck the Writer
Accused of being a Cyber Terrorist by Joe Newman.
This league (NIFL) is like a frickin' cockroach. You could throw a nuclear bomb at it and it would still survive
-tony-o
So I'd rather spend a quarter of an ABA franchise to repair my car, as opposed to spending a franchise and a half to get a new car that might have some planned obsolescence that causes it to break down 5 days after the end of the warranty period.
-Chuck the Writer
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phydeaux72
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[quote=""exit322""]And the Texas Copperheads aren't getting the job done on, or off, the field.[/quote]
That is true. But Laredo was in the same boat and that didn't stop MacGregor from moving them to Peoria. But, like you pointed out, Saskatoon is an untapped market, which could be his ace in the hole.
That is true. But Laredo was in the same boat and that didn't stop MacGregor from moving them to Peoria. But, like you pointed out, Saskatoon is an untapped market, which could be his ace in the hole.
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Shootmaster_44
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[quote=""exit322""]If done right, though, Saskatoon could be pretty successful. But they could use a couple other canadian teams...gotta start with one, though.
And the Texas Copperheads aren't getting the job done on, or off, the field.[/quote]
I wonder if this is just the beginning for Canada? Perhaps MacGregor is hoping that if Saskatoon does well, that some of his other 9 franchises will also work in Canada. However, he has very few markets that I would attempt to go into though. I'd avoid all current CFL markets, which leaves very few with large enough arenas. Does af2 have a minimum seating capacity? The only other major arenas in Canada in a non-CFL cities are Pepsi Colisee in Quebec City and the Metro Centre in Halifax.
I just hope he finds a local ownership group to partner with him here in Saskatoon. From all the buzz I've heard on message boards it seems no one here is against the idea. Even hardcore CFL fans are interested in it.
The passport thing could pose a problem, however if a team like Billings from the UIF or a team in North Dakota emerged, teams could travel by land to Saskatoon. I believe the passport rule by land goes into effect January 1, 2010, so they would be able to acquire passports over that season. The other thing teams could do, is cross the border by land into Calgary and fly from there. Plus technically getting here won't be a problem as Canada doesn't require a passport to enter the country, the US simply does to return into the US.
Travel will be a slight issue for teams though. I'm not sure how teams travel (whether the fly or bus) but the only two cities Saskatoon has direct flights to in the US are Minneapolis on Northwest and Denver (as of September 1 of this year) on a Delta affiliate. So teams would need to at least switch planes once before coming here. Once in Canada, there are many direct flights to other Canadian cities from Saskatoon, so they could conceivably fly those airlines.
And the Texas Copperheads aren't getting the job done on, or off, the field.[/quote]
I wonder if this is just the beginning for Canada? Perhaps MacGregor is hoping that if Saskatoon does well, that some of his other 9 franchises will also work in Canada. However, he has very few markets that I would attempt to go into though. I'd avoid all current CFL markets, which leaves very few with large enough arenas. Does af2 have a minimum seating capacity? The only other major arenas in Canada in a non-CFL cities are Pepsi Colisee in Quebec City and the Metro Centre in Halifax.
I just hope he finds a local ownership group to partner with him here in Saskatoon. From all the buzz I've heard on message boards it seems no one here is against the idea. Even hardcore CFL fans are interested in it.
The passport thing could pose a problem, however if a team like Billings from the UIF or a team in North Dakota emerged, teams could travel by land to Saskatoon. I believe the passport rule by land goes into effect January 1, 2010, so they would be able to acquire passports over that season. The other thing teams could do, is cross the border by land into Calgary and fly from there. Plus technically getting here won't be a problem as Canada doesn't require a passport to enter the country, the US simply does to return into the US.
Travel will be a slight issue for teams though. I'm not sure how teams travel (whether the fly or bus) but the only two cities Saskatoon has direct flights to in the US are Minneapolis on Northwest and Denver (as of September 1 of this year) on a Delta affiliate. So teams would need to at least switch planes once before coming here. Once in Canada, there are many direct flights to other Canadian cities from Saskatoon, so they could conceivably fly those airlines.
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50 Yard Fan
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This may not happen....
[quote=""Shootmaster_44""]I wonder if this is just the beginning for Canada? [/quote]
I received an e-mail containing a petition to support a Bill that, I believe, was created to stop the NFL from moving into Toronto.
If passed, and if I have read it correctly, it would stop the AF2 from moving into Saskatoon.
http://www.larrycampbell.ca/articles/S-238_1.pdf
I received an e-mail containing a petition to support a Bill that, I believe, was created to stop the NFL from moving into Toronto.
If passed, and if I have read it correctly, it would stop the AF2 from moving into Saskatoon.
http://www.larrycampbell.ca/articles/S-238_1.pdf
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nksports
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Define what is is
This could be a violation of NAFTA. And on the face of it (unless you could prove that Arena Football (TM and all that) and indoor football do not meet the strict definition of American or Canadian football), would exclude the AFL, af2, AIFA, UIF and CIFL. However, the APFL would not be affected, since one could argue about it being an organized league. 
