2012 WDF Attendance

[bc49]

Here is an example where the affordability of a Lions game gets out of hand for most.
Suppose you want to take a family of 4 to regular season game. And you want to show your kids some good seats so you sit between the 20 yard lines, top deck.
You're looking at $85 per seat
Factor in the $8 stadium fee and ticket charges we'll call it $95 each.
Already your down $380
To park the car $20. Pops and hot dogs....I will lowball that @ $20.
All in you're football evening has cost a whopping $420

For comparison purposes lets say that same family lives in Edmonton and wants to take in an Eskimos game.
You can sit in the upper deck mid-field for $35. Let's say $40 with ticket fees.
With parking and refreshments being equal your family football outing has set you back $200
Vancouver is $220 more expensive than Edmonton for the same product.

To compare pro sports in the same city, a family of 4 can take in a Canucks game for an entry level price of $260 (if they can find tickets)
Additionally the Canucks have a Family Nights promotion where a family of 4 can attend starting at $195
Agree these are not centre ice seats but it's a hockey arena so you are never far from the action no matter where you sit.

To compare ticket prices in the same building, you can score mid-field seats for a Whitecaps game for $55 each. Say $65 after fees.
Your soccer entertainment package for 4 works out to $300

I am concerned the Lions current ticket pricing is a barrier in attracting new fans to attend. The TV numbers now show the province is the number 1 market in the CFL for TV ratings. (saskatchewan is now second as of this year) But this does little for revenues (stadium advertising rates would be better) if your admission prices make watching on TV the preferable option for a lot of people.

If I was in charge this is what I would do starting next season: Family Packages in the top 3 price categories. Give the kids a break and grow the game.
And that damn upper deck LESS than the lower deck. Oh and Crazy P = gone.

[vanhalendlrband]

Are you seriously comparing the lowest of the lowest professional soccer league in the world to Canadian Football?

You're also comparing the cheapest Canucks seats to the 2nd most expensive Lions seats? How about the 2 tickets at 7-11 that gets you in the lower bowl for 80 bucks, FOR TWO TICKETS!!! This is the most messed up comparison i have ever seen. And to park the car blame the genius CITY OF VANCOUVER that wants to CHARGE UP THE you know what everyday. I got out of the hospital and i was in wendy's, i was walking to my car watching a police man stand by my parking meter and wait for it to tick down and then he started writing and i started yelling at him "hey, hey" he's not even done writing i'm arguin with him, "i'm like i just got out of the hospital and i was looking at my car and you the whole time". So if you don't pay there the other private businesses are of course gonna cash in on that. I don't know how much of it the Lions do but they can't be givin people free parking if they even control that, or if thats the BC Pavillion Corp or whatever is called. It's only gonna get worse unless we stop the government sucking all of our tax dollars into an impossible to pay compounded interest debt that costs are country 144 million dollars a day and makes us build brand new toll bridges when in all reality are taxes should've been able to pay for 50 of those bridges just in the Vancouver Area alone. Not to mention the fact that joke of a company that even Greater Vancouver officials are seriously doubting the budget of, Translink. Seriously they need to go, i don't get why Mission, abbotsford, victoria, kamloops, kelowna all get BC transit and we don't. Somehow we are like being punished and we have to pay 15 cents a litre translink gas tax and nobody knows where it goes? Lets look at the real culprits here, our piece of every expletive in the book government! but anyways lol

First you compare the MLS which is not only a sport that is full of people that grab peoples arms and make someone punch them in the face to get a card, not only is it full of wimps and most people in canada hate the sport but we have it shoved down our throats in school, and by everybody who never grew up in Canada, but its not even on the same level, not even close to the popularity of the CFL in Canada. Not even the NFL is as popular as the CFL in Canada. I just really think that's an unfair comparison and i hate soccer with a passion its a horrible sport full of divers and i can't wait for the Whitecaps to die off again like they did before.

Secondly you compare the cheapest Canucks tickets to not even the cheapest Lions tickets. I have been sitting in the endzone since 2002 buying 7-11 tickets and I've never had a problem with that.

You forgot to mention the Vancouver Canadians, you can take a family of four to a game for 40 bucks and watch a Single A dynasty. And its the Blue Jays premiere rooking training grounds, those guys probably have salary and endorsements that probably make the whitecaps look like nothin and the lions. I actually went, now there's a game thats fun live. I can't watch it on TV as much, maybe if vancouver had an MLB team (how sad i was the day i read the third letter when we got an MLS team) i'd watch, but live thats a fun event.

I guarantee right now The Vancouver Canadians have the best concessions in the city too.

I hate how both BC Place and now GM Place is serving Pepsi, gross! Why do we want the flatter pop that tastes like it has nutri-sweet in it again and was a direct rip-off of coca-cola worse than a Samsung on an Iphone? Please someone explain this to me. Empire was great cuz the PNE serves coke. It was truly a great day for me to finally go to Empire Field. Long other story! lol

Sorry if i'm coming across the wrong way, i just want to put things in perspective. MLS is not a premiere sports league of any kind. CFL is the highest form of Canadian Football on the entire planet, no other league is above the CFL.

Technically from what i was saying earlier, you should be able to take that same family to BC Place for 160 bucks with 7-11 tix. That's what my buddies and I are buying tomorrow. I actually have 3 of us goin so far so we might spend a little extra if we don't find number four but that's okay with me. Me and my dad sat in the endzone at the 2004 West Final and it was one of my greatest memories.

Don't want to piss anyone off i just think the MLS is way overhyped for what it actually is and when people compare it to the CFL i think its ridiculous. I'm 28 years old and i grew up on the BC Lions and the Canucks, and the Grizzlies actually as i was ten or so when they started. I don't remember anyone saying much about the 86er's and all i remember watching coaches corner with my dad is european players bringin soccer style bs to the game of hockey and making it the wussy mess it is today i just really hate soccer on top of the fact MLS isn't even near being in the level of Manchester City or United or y'know real soccer teams where people actually care about it.

[almo89]

I don't see how prices could be any lower. I explained my reasonings in a previous post. They're more then reasonable prices. It was 30 bucks before, new stadium defending champs and a playoff game for 40 bucks in the cheap seats. Don't see why price is an issue. I live alone drive a camaro pay all my own bills with 1700 a month and I can afford to go. Maybe people should stop blowing 200 bukcs at bars like a lot of my buddies do.

Here's the thing though. Most of us on this forum will go to games even though if they are a bit pricier because we are loyal fans. It's the casual fans the Lions need to market to. They live in Vancouver and like to spend their entertainment dollars on everything like nightclub, concerts and etc. We can't tell these people to stop blowing their money on that stuff just to go to Lions games. Ultimately it's up to them. I have a friend that is a big Lions fan, but can't go to the game because he spent money on the Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert.

[Buonosjanet69]

i spent almost the entire first quarter reading that post :P

[Buonosjanet69]

50112 attendance I think I heard for Montreal

[Centrum22]

TSN just announced 42,000 for the Western Division Final.

Way to go Skulsky.

First in the league.
Grey Cup Champions.
A chance to play for history in the 100th Grey Cup.
No Canucks.
No Whitecaps.
Metro population of 2.5 million.

42,000?

Complete fail.

[SammyGreene]

Crowd doesn't look too bad in here except for 7-Eleven sections. Not even half full. Promotion has been a complete failure.

[Ballistic Bob]

Disappointing except the guy from Kelowna. How come no programs. Thnx BB

[B.C.FAN]

I think the announced crows was 43,000-plus. It looked more like 45,000 to 48,000 from the lower bowl.

The 7-Eleven promotion, as SammyGreene mentioned, has been a complete failure. The discount isn't enough to attract casual fans. Entry-level family packages might be the answer for drawing more casual fans with young families while protecting season ticket revenue.

[274always]

TSN just announced 42,000 for the Western Division Final.

Way to go Skulsky.

First in the league.
Grey Cup Champions.
A chance to play for history in the 100th Grey Cup.
No Canucks.
No Whitecaps.
Metro population of 2.5 million.

42,000?

Complete fail.

Couldn't agree more. As for the 50,112 in Montreal, that's great and all but where were those fans all year? Lowest average attendance in the cfl. Good on the argos.

[aklawitter]

Couldn't agree more. As for the 50,112 in Montreal, that's great and all but where were those fans all year? Lowest average attendance in the cfl. Good on the argos.

montreal's attendance has been going down the past couple of years, even with the extra 5k seats from the recent renovations


fun little bit of info, Calgary @ Toronto was the lowest attended (20,682) and lowest TV-viewed (434k) game of the year...

[sj-roc]

I think the announced crows was 43,000-plus. It looked more like 45,000 to 48,000 from the lower bowl.

The 7-Eleven promotion, as SammyGreene mentioned, has been a complete failure. The discount isn't enough to attract casual fans. Entry-level family packages might be the answer for drawing more casual fans with young families while protecting season ticket revenue.

This is part of the larger disconnect that is troubling. Skulsky and the Lions' braintrust have been deep-pocketed for so long they don't know anything about the class of people they're trying to sell their product to. "But caller, premium tickets are only 89.00 a piece, and we feel that's a good value." When you make several hundred thousand a year, you can't conceive of someone quibbling over twenty dollars here or there.

Example: when was the last time any of you went into 7/11? There's one near my place and the only people in it are kids buying slurpees. Adults that need a pack of cigarettes, a quart of milk, a coffee, a newspaper --they don't go in to 7/11. They go to a gas station, or Tim Hortons, or one of the grocery stores that are open from seven until midnight. Every casual fan in the suburbs buys groceries and gas (because transit doesn't work out here). So....why aren't the Lions targeting those businesses? I mean, 7/11? 7-fu**ing-11? are you kidding me? It's like boasting that your team merchandise is available mail-order through the Sears catalogue.

Cheers,

James

A bit O/T, but the 7/11 in Kerrisdale was notorious for closing at midnight. Now they keep it closed the rest of the day, too — they shut it down about a year ago.

[almo89]

It was disappointing that 43k was the final count, but I have to say that we did make a ton of noise out there. For the 43k that showed up, kudos to all of them.