Let's pack the dome for the WSF ! WSF ticket sales thread

[almo89]

Those numbers are misleading. The primary reason that WSF attendance is invariably lower than the regular season average (discounting the 'one week to sell the game' factor) is the weather. Folks on the Prairies don't want to sit in the cold anymore to watch games that are available to view in high def in their comfy living rooms. We don't have the wind and cold excuse at BC Place, which is why the 19K gate was all the more disappointing.

The club pulled out all the stops to bring about awareness for the game. Heavy social, :15 second TV spots, print ads, radio and TV station ticket giveaways.....but are just not converting these consumer impressions into ticket sales. Again, I would have done something creative mid-week when it was clear that tickets weren't moving.

* 2 for 1 end zone seats.
* $99 Family Pack (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 soft drinks).
* A massive 50/50 (start with $100K jackpot) and build awareness/attendance with that 'wow' factor
* Dirt cheap group sales for amateur football.
* Anyone with Canucks tickets to the Dallas game could trade them in for Lions tickets (end zone seating)


DH

Those are all great ideas. I like the 2 for 1 end zone seats since those were very empty on Sunday. I don't think Braley is going to bite on any of those types of initiatives because it'll eat into his profits and it "cheapens" the product as he would call it. I think the only thing he cares these days is to try to get as many Grey Cup games as possible.

[Hambone]

Those numbers are misleading. The primary reason that WSF attendance is invariably lower than the regular season average (discounting the 'one week to sell the game' factor) is the weather. Folks on the Prairies don't want to sit in the cold anymore to watch games that are available to view in high def in their comfy living rooms. We don't have the wind and cold excuse at BC Place, which is why the 19K gate was all the more disappointing.
DH

The flip side of that is the fact that prairie teams do benefit from being in relatively close proximity to all of their playoff opponents with the exception of BC. Where in the lower mainland folks are reluctant to travel an hour or two prairie folks don't bat an eye at a 5 or 6 hour road trip. Save Bomber fans travelling to Alberta or vice versa crowds for prairie playoff games will benefit from an influx of fans visiting from their opponent's market area. BC will really only benefit from prairie team ex-pats who have relocated to close proximity of the lower mainland. The two Calgary references BC Fan gave show that. In 2012 with the Riders in town they were 1363 above average. In 2015 with BC they were 4030 under average.

It's hard to get a handle on Rider attendance now. In recent years they reported turnstile counts as witnessed by the against Hamilton in 2014 when many roads were impassable due to heavy rains and their 2014 season finale which were reported as 19285 and 20139 respectively. This year they had 2 crowds where it was blatantly obvious on TV that attendance was barely 20000. Both were reported as just over 30000. In 2014 they used turnstile counts. In 2016 they used tickets sold counts.

[B.C.FAN]

Those numbers are misleading. The primary reason that WSF attendance is invariably lower than the regular season average (discounting the 'one week to sell the game' factor) is the weather. Folks on the Prairies don't want to sit in the cold anymore to watch games that are available to view in high def in their comfy living rooms. We don't have the wind and cold excuse at BC Place, which is why the 19K gate was all the more disappointing.

To look at it another way, this year's WSF attendance relative to regular season attendance compares favourably to the only other time the Lions hosted the game in the Dome, in 1986.

Based on announced attendance, the 1986 WSF crowd of 40,381 was 6,256 less than that season's average of 46,437, or 87% of the regular season average.

This year's WSF crowd of 19,176 was 1,879 less than the regular season average of 21,055, or 91% of that average.

That said, it's hard to compare eras. In the 1980s, home playoff games were blacked out, there was no HDTV and satellite television was in its infancy. I was at the 1986 game but I watched several of the West Finals between B.C. and Winnipeg in the 1980s on satellite in a Surrey gymnasium packed with hundreds of other Lions fans. Satellite was the only option for those who weren't at the game, and few people had home satellite TV. This year's game was televised nationally in HD with no blackout and 1.1 million people watched it, including many local Lions fans and former season ticket-holders I know.

In this era, the stadium experience is paramount. The WSF was a great playoff atmosphere, the best I've experienced in years. The key to marketing in this era is to create that kind of in-stadium experience on a regular basis, and make fans realize they're missing out on the atmosphere by watching at home.

To create that atmosphere, they first have to get more butts in the seats, which is where David's idea of family discounts and regular children's pricing could be effective.

[Hambone]

* Anyone with Canucks tickets to the Dallas game could trade them in for Lions tickets (end zone seating)[/color][/b]


DH

Lions would have to sweeten the pot on that one with a 2 or 3 Lions' tickets for 1 Canuck ticket depending on the value of the Canuck ticket a person would be giving up. The cheapest entry point for Canucks is $57 for a few small sections (less than 100 seats total) in the 400 level which is like going to the upper bowl then going up one more level. That's the only price point that is roughly equivalent to Lions playoff endzone seating. The other 18500 Canuck seats are priced higher.

[David]

It was a cheeky idea for sure Hambone, but I was thinking along the lines of all of those corporate Canuck season ticket holders that have a tough time giving them away to staff (especially with a 1-10 record in their previous 11 games at the time). I 'get' that the actual value of Canucks tickets is higher, but the re-sale (or perceived) value is probably on par or lower than Lions' End Zone playoff tickets. With the stakes of the football game being much higher vs going to mean-nothing Game 16 NHL, there may be a significant number of fans that would take the "free" Lions option.

At the very least, it's out-of-the-box thinking that would garner considerable discussion in this market. Not sure the Aquilinis would appreciate it though....although it serves 'em right for scheduling a Sunday matinee game in November.


DH