Photo courtesy: Ville de Quebec, service de communications
Positive momentum is building towards CFL expansion in Quebec City, according to a new report.
Sylvain Bouchard, a veteran journalist and talk radio personality for FM93, stated on his show, Bouchard en parle, this week that conversations have been ongoing for over a year regarding the possibility of a CFL stadium in the city, with several prominent business leaders involved.
The tentative plan, which has yet to be formalized or presented to the government, would see the construction of a 25,000-seat open-air stadium on the site of the Colisée de Québec, the previous home of the NHL’s Quebec Nordiques. That venue has been closed since 2015 and is slated for demolition in 2027, opening up prime real estate beside the Centre Vidéotron.
The cost of this new facility is estimated at $350 million, and it could be completed by 2030.
While Bouchard made clear that the idea was a long way from final approval, he indicated that prospective investors have already travelled to Toronto to meet with CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston and that the league is in the process of vetting them. One source working within the league told the commentator that they had complete confidence that Quebec City expansion would take place. A potential name for the franchise was even floated: L’Attaque de Québec.
3DownNation has reached out to the CFL for comment on the report. This article will be updated if one is provided.
Former CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie began to float Quebec City as an alternative expansion destination in 2022, after a proposed Atlantic Schooners franchise fell through in Halifax. His successor, Stewart Johnston, has continued to cite it as a possibility, despite taking a longer-term approach to expansion.
Bouchard said he believes that Johnston’s interest in the provincial capital is legitimate and that it is his favoured destination for expansion. Sources told him that the CFL’s increased emphasis on bilingual signage and anthems at last year’s Grey Cup was meant to signal their desire to the overwhelmingly Francophone market after previous criticisms.
The commissioner declined to address rumours about Quebec City expansion during an interview with 3DownNation last week.
“I’m not going to comment on any specific files. We’ve been so pleased with the inbound interest in expansion across the country, multiple locations, and then also from some very interesting individuals who didn’t come with a market in mind, but wanted to talk to us about how to get involved with the league,” Johnston said. “Multiple conversations are going on related to various locations, and if I have something to update, I will do so at the right time.”
According to Bouchard, Pierre-Karl Péladeau, the owner of the Montreal Alouettes and Québecor, the company which operates Centre Vidéotron, is fully in favour of adding another CFL team in the province. So too is Jacques Tanguay, the powerful benefactor behind the Université Laval Rouge et Or football program.
In a recent interview, Tanguay said that he and the team would be “the most ardent supporters” of a CFL expansion franchise, believing it to be good for the city overall. That has dispelled long-held beliefs that the Rouge et Or would be an obstacle to the project, though Tanguay was adamant that a new stadium would be required.
Those interested in the Colisée site project are aiming to resolve that issue by the end of the decade, though Bouchard indicated that there is an appetite to get the team established in the city before the opening of the new building. While Stade Telus at PEPS is insufficient to permanently house a CFL team, both the league and Rouge et Or would reportedly be comfortable with sharing it temporarily for a season or two.
Quebec City’s existing football fanbase has long made it an intriguing destination for the CFL, though previous forays into the market have been met with mixed reviews. A 2015 exhibition game between Montreal and the Ottawa Redblacks drew just 4,778 fans at Laval. In 2003, a crowd of 10,358 attended a preseason clash between the Alouettes and the Ottawa Renegades.
Bouchard believes that fan interest will build with time and that Quebec City has enough wealthy benefactors to make expansion possible. As of yet, nothing is concrete, but talks are trending in the right direction.
