Strong attendance, soaring television ratings and exciting football mark a tremendous first half to the 2010 Canadian Football League season, says Commissioner Mark Cohon.
"Thanks to you, our fans, our league is having a great year," Cohon said in a report to fans marking the season's midway point and posted on CFL.ca.
He told them:
• Attendance is strong, at an average of 28,322 per game, on pace with last year and boosted by big crowds this past Scotiabank Labour Day Weekend.
• Television ratings for the CFL on TSN and RDS continue to grow; they're up nine per cent this year over last year.
• On average, more than 910,000 Canadians watch each regular season game, there have been several games with audiences exceeding one million viewers, and audiences for the four games of Scotiabank Labour Day Weekend averaged 1.1 million.
• Almost half (44.4 per cent) of all CFL games in 2010 have been decided in the final three minutes (either the winning points were scored in that time period, or the winning team had a lead of less than seven points and stopped the other team's final drive).
• The big kick return has made a big comeback: the league is on pace to have the highest frequency of kick returns for TDs ever in the CFL, one every three games.
• The passing game is having a banner year: CFL quarterbacks have completed an amazing 62.9 per cent of their passes -- that's on pace to set the record for the highest completion percentage in a season (current record is 62.7 per cent in 2008).
• Overall, scoring is up five per cent over last year, at 53.9 points per game. By the way, that's a 15 per cent increase from 2006.
• While we're seeing the second lowest number of rushes per game ever, at 38.3 rushing plays a game, the average gain per carry is an astounding 6.1 yards, the highest ever.
• This year's 98th Grey Cup in Edmonton sold out last June - one week after tickets went on sale to the general public and five and a half months before the game.
• The league is also looking forward to the 99th Grey Cup in 2011 in Vancouver, and work has already started on the One Hundredth Grey Cup, in Toronto in 2012.
• Excitement is building as Scotiabank Touchdown Atlantic - the first ever regular season CFL game in Atlantic Canada, scheduled for Moncton on September 26 - draws near. The game sold out in just 32 hours.
Cohon acknowledged the fact the game sold out in a matter of hours has prompted lots of questions about whether the CFL will expand to Atlantic Canada.
"There is talk about making the game an annual event, but a lot has to happen before we can seriously talk about expansion to Atlantic Canada," he said.
"The best way I can put it is the tremendous enthusiasm of our fans out east has transformed this idea from a dream to a possibility - not a probability or a certainty, but a possibility."
The league is already on the path to expansion in Ontario, with Ottawa on schedule to rejoin the CFL in 2013, Cohon said.
"City Council there has approved a beautiful redevelopment of Lansdowne Park, including a refurbished Frank Clair Stadium. And our football operations people are already discussing possible expansion draft rules with our teams," he said.
There are also exciting stadium projects that are either underway or have been recently completed in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Montreal.
The Commissioner described the ongoing stadium discussion in Hamilton as a very challenging political situation.
"It's going to take time to work out. I'm hopeful a solution can be found that is in the best interests of the team and our fans in that region," Cohon said.
"And I and my team are working very closely with the Tiger-Cats towards that goal."
He stressed Tiger-Cat owner Bob Young remains on a mission to not only sustain the team, but to actually save it for the long run by ensuring it is financially viable.
A proper stadium in a location that's right for the community and makes business sense for the Tiger-Cats is essential to achieving that mission, the Commissioner said.
"Overall, the CFL is in a strong position," Cohon concluded.
"The credit for that goes to players and coaches that put a great product on the field, a Board of Governors that provide us all with principled and dedicated leadership, partners who are so essential to our success, and most importantly, you, our fans."
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