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Updated report on possible CFL team in Halifax ‘tenatively’ set for council meeting on Oct. 30

Saskatchewan Roughriders running back Marcus Thigpen battles through a crowd during first half CFL action against the Edmonton Eskimos, in Regina on Monday, Oct. 8, 2018. Mark Taylor / The Canadian Press

Football fans in Halifax can get a little more excited as an updated report on a possible CFL team in Halifax is “tentatively” set to come in front of council on Oct. 30.

A spokesperson for Halifax Regional Municipality confirmed the report to Global News in an email on Tuesday.

“The report will include a project status update and may include a recommendation on the next steps in the process to bring a final recommendation to Regional Council on a site-specific financial arrangement,” wrote Brendan Elliott.

The meeting will be held in public.

READ MORE: Nova Scotia premier says the province will not use taxpayers dollars to build a CFL stadium in Halifax

City staff have been engaged in preliminary negotiations with the company hoping to bring a football team to Canada’s East Coast, Maritime Football Ltd., since July 17.

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Few details have been made available on what Maritime Football wants in terms of support from the municipality, although councillors have previously speculated that it would likely involve financial support for the construction of a new stadium with at least 25,000 seats.

“A stadium of this size will cost at least [$200 million],” Tim Outhit, councillor for Bedford-Wentworth, wrote in a Facebook post in July.

WATCH: ‘Now’s the time to do it’: Atlantic football fans want CFL in Halifax

Click to play video: '‘Now’s the time to do it’: Atlantic football fans want CFL in Halifax'
‘Now’s the time to do it’: Atlantic football fans want CFL in Halifax

Nova Scotia’s premier has said that he expects the province will be included in any request for funding by Maritime Football, although he has already ruled out at least some options from the province.

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Stephen McNeil said in July that taxpayer dollars are off limits for Maritime Football.

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“Let me be clear, general revenue is not part of our conversation. I am not going to be reaching into general revenue to build a football stadium,” McNeil said, ruling out adding a stadium to the province’s capital budget.

READ MORE: When the ‘other people’s money’ that builds sports stadiums is actually ours

Halifax has seen an influx of sports teams over the past year with a professional soccer team, the HFX Wanderers, set to begin playing in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) in 2019.

The National Lacrosse League is relocating the Rochester Knighthawks to Halifax, becoming the league’s fifth Canadian franchise.

Halifax’s team will begin play during the 2019-20 season at Scotiabank Centre, with many of the players on the current Knighthawks’ roster.

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