Hamilton President Excited About Moncton CFL Game

By Neil Hodge
Published in the Times-Transcript on Wednesday February 23, 2011
Appeared on Page B1

Hamilton Tiger-Cats president Scott Mitchell already has the date circled on his calendar.

His club will battle the Calgary Stampeders in Scotiabank Touchdown Atlantic II on Sept. 25 in Moncton. It will be a 2 p.m. kickoff for the Canadian Football League's second regular season game ever held in Atlantic Canada.

"The only thing better than this would be playing against Calgary in the Grey Cup," said Mitchell. "I've been a life-long CFL fan and the Stampeders were my favourite team growing up.

"I wasn't there for last year's game in Moncton, but I read about it daily for a couple of months leading up to it. It was an event that obviously generated lots of excitement and media coverage. We knew back then there was a possibility that we would be asked to come to Moncton this year."

The Toronto Argonauts were the home team last September in Moncton for the CFL's first regular season game in Atlantic Canada. They lost 24-6 to the Edmonton Eskimos in front of a capacity crowd of 20,725 and all tickets for the historic contest were sold in just 32 hours.

"Everybody said it was a great success," said Mitchell. "The event was flawless and a tremendous experience for everyone. It received great reviews, not just the game itself but all the events leading up to it and the hospitality.

"Everybody talked about the excitement and the festival atmosphere in the community leading up to that game. It was phenomenal. It was a big success and we knew the desire was there from the league to come back to Moncton for another regular season game this year."

Tickets for Scotiabank Touchdown Atlantic II are expected to go on sale in March. A media conference will be held to announce more details in the days leading up to that.

There was some talk the new stadium on the Université de Moncton campus would have an expanded capacity for this year's game. Ian Fowler, the city's general manager of economic development, tourism and culture, said yesterday it's currently slated to remain the same at just under 21,000.

Mitchell, 40, is preparing for his fourth season with Hamilton, all as the club's president. He lived in Calgary until age 12 and then moved to Toronto when his father, Doug Mitchell, took over as CFL commissioner for five years from 1984-88.

Doug is now a Calgary part owner, a member of the CFL Board of Governors and in 2010 was listed by the Globe and Mail as one of the top 50 people of power in Canadian sports. He was CFL commissioner when the league made its first trip into Atlantic Canada for an exhibition game between the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1987 in Saint John.

"My father played in the league and moonlighted as the colour analyst for the Calgary Stampeders radio broadcasts," said Scott Mitchell. "I spent a lot of time with him as a kid hanging out around the team. The CFL was in my blood at an early age.

"I got to travel with my father on some road trips for Stampeders games when he was doing the radio broadcasts. My father was also on the board of governors for the Calgary Flames (of the National Hockey League) so I got to spend time around them, too. I was around professional sports a lot as a kid and have lots of great memories."

Scott Mitchell took over as Hamilton president in January of 2007, bringing a strong background in both football and business. He played university football in both Canada and the United States, but a serious neck injury ended his playing career prematurely in 1995.

After graduating from university, he took a front office job with the CFL's Baltimore Stallions. Since then, he's enjoyed a career in sports broadcasting, management and marketing.

In the broadcasting industry, he worked for Hockey Night in Canada and produced various professional and amateur sports, including the CFL and Canadian university football. He also created his own sports marketing agency in 1999 to help athletes and companies maximize their potential.

"It's a dream come true (working for Hamilton)," said Mitchell. "I always wanted to work in pro sports and I absolutely love the CFL. It's an incredible league that does a lot of great things for the country. We employ 300 Canadians playing in the league."

Hamilton and Calgary have met twice in the Grey Cup - 26-24 for the Stampeders in 1998 and 32-21 for the Tiger-Cats in 1999. In fact, those were the Tiger-Cats' last two times in the championship game.

Calgary, 13-5, finished first overall in the CFL last season and lost to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Division final. Hamilton, 9-9, was second in the East Division and fell to Toronto in the opening playoff round.

When Hamilton and Calgary clash in Moncton, it will be Week 13 on the regular season schedule.

The Tiger-Cats were receptive when the CFL approached them about being the home team.

"The Maritimes have been a long talked about territory (for CFL expansion)," said Mitchell. "The league has a strong fan base in the Atlantic region and there was a nice increase in our television ratings last season in that part of the country.

"It's exciting for our team to play a game in Moncton. We're very happy to do this. The league does a great job to make sure there's no financial shortfall for the home team (in this game). The league and fans in the Maritimes both benefit from putting on a high-profile event like this."

On Hamilton's web site, there's some frequently asked questions about the club's game in Moncton. The Tiger-Cats assure that their season ticket holders will be provided with an exclusive access window to purchase tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

"We've talked to a lot of our players already and they're excited about this game in Moncton," said Mitchell. "Most of our players have never been to the Maritimes before so it's something new for them. I'm sure they're going to enjoy their experience on the east coast.

"The Argonauts and Eskimos had an exceptional experience playing there last season. A lot of our players have friends on those teams and they've talked to them about it. They've heard nothing but how the community embraced the game and the event in the first Scotiabank Touchdown Atlantic."