After two years, the Canadian Football League’s latest version of Touchdown Atlantic is returning to the Maritimes, with a game scheduled to take place this summer in Nova Scotia.
The game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts is scheduled for July 16 at Acadia University’s Raymond Field in Wolfville, N.S.
According to a release from the CFL, the stadium will be expanded to welcome 10,000 fans to what will be the province’s first-ever CFL regular-season contest.
“We’re so thrilled to welcome CFL football to Nova Scotia, and we couldn’t be more excited for the return of Touchdown Atlantic!” said CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie in the release.
The average price for tickets will be about $50 and public sale begins on April 26. Ticket-holders for the 2020 edition of Touchdown Atlantic — which was cancelled due to COVID-19 — have already been contacted with information about ticketing and repurchasing.
The release said there will be bus transportation to bring fans from Halifax to Acadia University on gameday, and that day will also feature a pre-game tailgate at the nearby President’s Field with live music, activities, and food and beverages.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Wolfville, Acadia and this amazing part of Nova Scotia and Canada, with its farm markets, vibrant wine industry and heritage sites that are foundational to the entire Country,” said Wolfville Mayor Wendy Donovan in the release.
The game will be preceded by three days of activities, including football camps in association with Football Nova Scotia, block parties with nightly concert series, and football clinics for women and members of the LGBTQ2+ community, in celebration of the 2022 Halifax Pride Festival.
Last game cancelled due to COVID-19
The Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Toronto Argonauts were supposed to play the Touchdown Atlantic Game at the Huskies Stadium at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax back in 2020, but the sold-out game was cancelled due to COVID-19.
The CFL was last in Nova Scotia in 2005, during a pre-season contest at Huskies Stadium.
The previous four Touchdown Atlantic games were held in Moncton, N.B. In 2019, the Montreal Alouettes defeated Toronto 28-22 before 10,126 spectators at Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium.
The game’s return to Nova Scotia is bound to reignite a years-long debate about a potential CFL stadium in Halifax.
While Halifax Regional Council voted in 2019 to provide $20 million to help build the stadium, council decided in 2021 to discontinue work on the project indefinitely due to the pandemic.
Following Tuesday’s announcement, Ambrosie said the CFL is still very committed to expanding the league to the Maritimes and they’re in the process of re-approaching the government.
“Obviously the last two years we’ve all been tending to very important business, but this is a big priority for the league,” he said.
“We’re committed to the Atlantic region and we’ve been quietly working behind the scenes on plans to make sure that we turn that dream into a reality.”
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