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Originally Posted by someone123
The shared team idea is weird because the stadium itself is the main thing holding back the CFL in the Maritimes. It's been hard to get 1 stadium built and that plan requires 2.
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The stadium is what's holding Halifax back - Moncton is held back due to size, as its stadium would simply have to be renovated and expanded to be suitable if the metro were large enough.
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Originally Posted by someone123
The long-term demographics to be honest are not very favourable to Moncton either because it has a relatively small population. The outlying areas that would be more important for a team there than a Halifax team are stagnant or declining.
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Firstly, nowhere in Atlantic Canada can compete with Metro Halifax's growth, let's just get that out of the way.
Secondly, Halifax can host a franchise without having to rely on the Wolfvilles or Bridgewaters, but the notion that Moncton could host a team today is wishful thinking at best anyway. Why people compare the two is beyond me. If Moncton doubled in size overnight it would theoretically double periphery places like Sackville and Shediac, let alone the impact this would have on nearby PEI.
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Originally Posted by someone123
Over the past 3 years, Halifax added 15,000 people, Moncton added 5,000 people, and Saint John was -300.
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SJ plays little to no role in this whatsoever outside of some potential periphery STHs. I know people like to hype up the idea of fans travelling long distances but I really don't see the upside in relying on this for attendance at games or merchandising.
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Originally Posted by someone123
In the future I think economic development in the Maritimes is increasingly going to be concentrated in areas near the Halifax-Moncton corridor, with the two (small) exceptions being Fredericton and Charlottetown because they are capitals.
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I've long said that the Southern NB (Fredericton-SJ-Moncton triangle) combined with PEI and the corridor towards Halifax are the only growth areas in the region (and the numbers from 2016 back that up). NB's stagnant population at times doesn't show the deeper numbers at work, which are the three cities still growing (SJ likes to do the opposite, at times) despite the rural populations emptying out. Southeastern NB (Moncton) accounted for 23% of NB's population in 1991, and today is closer to 30%. Northern, rural NB drags down most of NB's population and demographic numbers.
What we're seeing in NB and NS is a centralization of the population as older residents move into the cities and older rural residents move on. Centralizing populations in urban centres makes life easier for governments, businesses, etc. as it's easier to tap into central markets without having to rely on people commuting or driving long distances, and makes things like sports teams easier sells.
It'll take time, but eventually Moncton will be over a third of NB's representative population, which still won't be enough for a CFL franchise anyway.