Laval Rouge et Or president Jacques Tanguay ‘ardent supporter’ for CFL expansion to Quebec City if stadium included

Photo courtesy: Jacques Tanguay

One of Quebec City’s most important power brokers may be changing his tune when it comes to the prospect of CFL expansion in the provincial capital.

Jacques Tanguay, the deep-pocketed businessman behind the success of the Laval Rouge et Or, told Stéphane Cadorette from Le Journal de Québec this week that he would be on board with the idea, so long as it came with new infrastructure to support it.

“With a stadium project, we would be the most ardent supporters of the arrival of a professional franchise in Quebec,” he insisted.

“The problem is we can’t even think of a CFL team at PEPS. Even at McGill, where the Alouettes play, it’s not very appropriate for the league and not just in terms of the stands. We are talking about basic services like bathrooms, catering, and corporate suites. When you go to a stadium like Regina, you are in another world.”

Tanguay was the key force and monetary backer behind the launch of the Universté Laval football team in 1996 and has served as president of their board of directors ever since. The Rouge et Or have become a national powerhouse, in part due to their unique financial structure, winning a record 12 Vanier Cups.

Getting Tanguay onside has been viewed as essential for any expansion pitch in Quebec City, given his deep football ties and expansive business connections. He has expressed pessimism about the possibility in the past, stating as recently as 2023 that the idea could not even be considered because the private sector had no interest in investing in the required infrastructure.

His comments this week struck a much more positive tone, though he made clear that any proposal to expand Stade Telus, the Rouge et Or’s home stadium, to accommodate a CFL franchise was pure fantasy. The venue officially seats only 12,750 fans, though a record attendance of 20,903 was set with standing room tickets in 2024. The facilities may be good enough to satisfy the Montreal Alouettes for training camp, but they aren’t getting any bigger.

“It is not even a question of will. It would be extraordinary to be able to start from the base we have here because it would probably be the easiest thing to do to reach 30,000 seats. But look at what there is to the east and look at what there is to the west,” Tanguay emphasized. “You can’t even add a row of seating; you’d need to destroy the indoor stadium that was built. On the other side, you can’t add either because you are up against the PEPS building.”

“You could add 3,000 seats (in the end zones), but those are the worst tickets in the stadium. Expanding your stadium with the worst seats, that’s not an investment you can justify.”

Former CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie began to float Quebec City as an alternative expansion destination in 2022, after a proposed Atlantic Schooners franchise fell through in Halifax. His successor, Stewart Johnston, has continued to cite it as a possibility, despite taking a longer-term approach to expansion.

In March, Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia told the media he believed Quebec City was “by far the best option available” for a new CFL team. The region’s existing football fanbase has long made it an intriguing destination, though previous forays into the market have been met with mixed reviews. A 2015 exhibition game between Montreal and the Ottawa Redblacks drew just 4,778 fans at Laval. In 2003, a crowd of 10,358 attended a preseason clash between the Alouettes and the Ottawa Renegades.

Tanguay confirmed that he believes the league’s renewed interest in the area is very real, though he did provide one important caveat.

“Except the commissioner will never write a cheque!” he joked, referencing the need for public or private funds to build a stadium.

“I’m convinced that he is pushing, and with good reason, to develop his league in the East. Here, my organization would be the first to encourage the coming of a professional team to Quebec. It would be a market for our players, but above all, an activity of major importance for the public. You have to think of our city, because sports bring more than just a team and a game.”

Things that Tanguay believes are important for Quebec City have a tendency to come to fruition, which is good news for fans clamouring for a 10th CFL franchise. At the very least, it doesn’t appear that he’ll stand in a team’s way.