Moncton CFL game sees decent turnout despite some hurdles for fans

Halifax could get stadium proposal this week After Moncton gets 10,000 fans for CFL game, group plans next play in bringing team to Halifax. Kate Walker reports.

Professional Canadian football officially returned to the East Coast on Sunday with Touchdown Atlantic.

Fans lined the sidewalk hours before kickoff for the first CFL game played in Atlantic Canada in six years.

"We had gone before when they had the Atlantic Bowl here, so it's been quite a few years since they've had it so it's very exciting that they brought it back," said fan Paula Neuendorf.

Getting to the game proved to be a bit of a challenge when the city of Moncton announced there would be no on-site parking at the stadium -- instead offering a park-and-go shuttle service from the Moncton Coliseum at a cost of $15 per person.

"Well, I was shocked that the price was a little high, I thought it should have been $10, but that's okay," said fan Mike Read. "It is convenient and it'll help us get there and back safely and that's all we're concerned about."

Neuendorf said the price didn't bother her, however.

"They have to have people come and do this and they spend a lot of hours being here waiting," she said.

Officials say ticket sales were never a concern for the matchup that saw the Montreal Alouettes go head to head with the Toronto Argonauts, despite prices being slashed just weeks after going on sale.

"As of (Sunday) morning we were close to a sellout and I noticed that the box office was very busy," said Atlantic Schooners founding partnerAnthony Leblanc. "I don't know if we'll go clean, but we're certainly going to have a very full house."

Prices and parking didn't stop fan Read, whose father played for the Montreal Alouettes when the team first launchedin the 1940s.

"My first game, I think, was at the age of five," Read said. "I'm now 71, and that was at Molson Stadium and we had tickets to go to the games for years and years."

For some, Sunday's game was bittersweet.

Dale Russell was asked to perform the traditional coin toss after her son, 19-year old Triston Reece, a promising young football player, was murdered last month in Halifax.

"I could feel his presence, so it was a bit overwhelming," said Russell. "I just wanted to make sure I did it right, because I can hear Triston saying 'Mom, toss it right' so I've been practising for a couple of days."

Donning her late son's jersey, Russell says the day was filled with mixed emotions

"I was overwhelmed when the CFL called because that was just his dream," Russell said. "He wanted to play professional football. Football was his life, so when they called, I had to do this for him."

There were 10,126 fans in attendance to watch Montreal beat Toronto 28-22. Officials for the Atlantic Schooners say they're optimistic that Sunday's turnout will help reinforce the support needed to bring a permanent team to the Maritimes.

The Argos-Alouettes match-up attracted fans from all across Canada.

"At the end of the game, people didn't want to leave the stadium," said CFL podcaster Wray Dunn. "They wanted more!"

This type of game has helped the hype surrounding local football in Moncton.

"Every year after the first Touchdown Atlantic, we saw a spike in attendance with minor football registrations," said Dennis Ronan, president of the Greater Moncton Football Association.

Tailgate and pre-game parties filled restaurants and hotels in the Moncton area.

"Crowds like this that travel great distances, it's a real shot in the arm, a real boost to the economy," said Moncton chairman of events Greg Turner.

While many things went well, the Atlantic Schooners acknowledge there's room for improvement. So do those in the football community.

"The attendance was really spurred on by football community and word of mouth," said Ronan. "We're football people and we pay attention to buzz, media, marketing advertising. There really wasn't a lot of that."

There's now talk of another Touchdown Atlantic game in Moncton after a boost of confidence from the Schooners that Atlantic Canada was the right choice for their franchise.

On Monday, Schooners sports and Entertainment co-founder Anthony Leblanc, said that a proposal for a stadium at Shannon Park in Dartmouth will be submitted to Halifax Regional Council sometime this week.

Leblanc also said that if they do get a stadium, things will likely start out in Moncton first, while things at Shannon Park are under construction.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Eilish Bonang and Kate Walker.