Friday, April 10, 2015

Still No Announcement for Grey Cup 2016 Site, Toronto the Holdup?

It seems pretty strange that no site has been announced for the 2016 Grey Cup which is basically 18 months away. I've argued in the past that Hamilton has a pretty good shot for it, with the new stadium. Ottawa looks to be the 2017 pick with the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

With the Toronto Argonauts still not sold, there were rumours that having three Grey Cups in ten years was a requirement for a buyer and it seems likely that this has something to do with the 2016 announcement, as 2016 would likely be one of the ten. That would be a blow to Hamilton's chances, as Toronto in 2016, Ottawa in 2017 and then Hamilton in 2018 would be three in a row for Ontario which would be a bit much.

Hamilton's 1996 Grey Cup, the last held in the city, wasn't super successful. However with Bob Young's ownership and the greater popularity of the event compared to 1996, and considerably more hotel rooms downtown, a 2016 Grey Cup would likely be a great success for the team and the city especially if the team is decent.

How long can the league go without naming where the 2016 event is? For an event as big as the Grey Cup, including all its ancillary events surrounding it, one would think that it pretty much has to be awarded at least 18 months in advance.

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