For Immediate Release 

February 23, 2024

Football Ontario Seeks Bids to Host 2025 and 2026 RedBlack Weekend

Football Ontario Accepting Bids to Host RedBlack Weekend in 2025 and 2065

Hamilton, Ontario – Football Ontario is  announcing that bids are open to host sites for the 2025 and 2026 RedBlack Weekends.

“The RedBlack Weekend is the epitome of high-performance amateur tackle football in Ontario, celebrating our athletes as the future stars of University, CJFL, and CFL football. As bids open for the 2025 and 2026 events, we seek hosts who understand the event’s significance, offering top-notch facilities and support. This is more than a football showcase; it’s an opportunity for communities to become the epicentre of football excellence in our province.” says Aaron Geisler, Chief Executive Officer, Football Ontario.

RedBlack Weekend is the final step of the evaluation and selection process for the Team Ontario Male Tackle Program. Following the event, the Team Ontario coaches will make their final decisions and the Football Ontario Top 40 will be selected to take part in the Football Canada Cup (U18) and the Eastern Regional Challenge (U16). The event also features the U14 Male Tackle group as the last phase of their Team Ontario pathway.

The event features 270 of the province’s top athletes with players aged from 12-17. The event also has spectators in attendance from across the province, in 2023 there were approximately 800 tickets sold for the event.

The RedBlack Games and Draft are also streamed live on YouTube and featured a combined 7500 views last year. On social media, RedBlack Weekend related content reached over 94 000 accounts on Twitter and Instagram. These streams and social media posts are a great way for a host site to gain positive exposure and showcase their site/facilities.

The event spans Friday-Sunday with coaches arriving on the Friday before putting the athletes through a mini-camp on the Saturday, followed by the three Red v Black games on the Sunday.

The chosen host facility must have the following available:

• Full Day Field Availability
• Change Rooms
• Stands/Spectator Area
• Meeting/Film Rooms
• Operations Center for Football Ontario Staff
• Concessions
• Press Box
• Volunteer Infrastructure
• Room/Housing Options for Athletes, Coaches and Staff for Friday-Sunday
• Other Amenities to be Considered 

The most competitive and comprehensive bids will be reviewed by the selection committee for consideration.

“We would first like to thank our Coach Marshall and our Western Mustangs family for graciously hosting our 2022, 2023 and 2024 RedBlack Weekends. Thank you to our London Junior Mustangs and London Beefeaters family for helping to provide us with the human power that makes this all possible. We are enthused to see what the future has in store for our Team Ontario Men’s Tackle program.” says JT Tsui, Director of Culture and Sport, Football Ontario.

All bids will be reviewed and decided upon based on favourable host support and amenities. The deadline to submit applications is April 1/24. 

All applications should be submitted to Aaron Geisler, Executive Director of Football Ontario, via email at ageisler@footballontario.net and JT Tsui, via email at jtsui@footballontario.net.  

If your organization/business is interested in partnering with Football Ontario and/or sponsoring RedBlack Weekend please contact ageisler@footballontario.net and sponsorship@footballontario.net

 FOR MORE INFORMATION:

www.footballontario.net
ABOUT FOOTBALL ONTARIO: Football Ontario is the sanctioned provincial governing body for football in Ontario, through its focus on transparency, growth, alignment and excellence, is engaged in providing football opportunities for all of Ontario. Football Ontario is driven by a commitment to deliver football programming, opportunities and resources for its members and the provincial football stakeholders. Please visit: footballontario.net