2017 All Things Lions Marketing & Promotions

[CardiacKid]

Thanks for the insight CardiacKid. Might I suggest you send the Lions your thoughts on your experience. They might learn something.......or not

I probably should but BC Place needs to be part of the equation as well. Chatting with one of the media guys on the flight back, I learned just how much of a pain and obstructionist BC Place can be when dealing with their tenants/clients; including how the Lions are frustrated in dealing with their gameday landlord.

Granted it was one guy's experience and opinion but if their experience is indicative, then it would seem BC Place's management has an attitude that prevents it from playing nice.

And I have to add my voice as one of frustration with BC Place. We travel from the Island on game day and usually head straight from the ferry to downtown with no stopovers. Our accommodation is on the north shore within the shadow of Grouse so it doesn't make sense for us to head there and back before kickoff. Sometimes it isn't even an option as we leave right after work so time is very tight. So we generally will have a small bag with a minimal amount of overnight stuff (change of socks and undies essentially) as well as medication, a windbreaker and a jersey. So a meager amount of stuff.

Since they instituted the bag policy and its restrictions on size, we went and got the proper size bags and since then, we have had no problems.

However.....

At the Roughrider game, we were informed we could not take our bags in. They fit the width and depth but were just a shade too tall. My wife could easily fit the height restrictions if she could give the top a little push but we were not allowed to. They could see upon inspection, the bag did not contain contraband or anything of the sort. And yet, we were told to go check our bags. All of a sudden, our bags were not kosher at our usual gate but if we went to one next door, it was fine.

I tweeted my displeasure at BC Place and asked, why our bags that were previously okay, were now verboten. Their reply was to repeat their bag size policy. I asked again why all of a sudden our bags that were fine under that same policy were no longer fine. They kept repeating the same mantra.

If we can't take in a bag that can accommodate even the simplest of items to allow us to attend games, then screw it. We simply won't be season ticket holders any longer; partly because we will be pissed but also for practical reasons. We have complained to the Lions and our account rep but they say their hands are tied.

It is all the more galling when you realize folks take goddamn hockey duffles into places like Commonwealth.

[The_Pauser]

It's really a shame that due to something out of their control the Lions are going to lose season ticket holders.

[Hambone]

One common bag policy I noticed in the US earlier this year that makes life easier is the clear bag policy. I didn't notice if there were size restrictions but all bags had to be clear plastic. I thinlk exceptions were made for small purses.

[Hambone]

I'm in Kamloops tonight getting ready to start some contract work in Adams Lake for the next little bit. I saw this in the folder with the tab at the Shark Club.

IMG_20170829_210406.jpg

[DanoT]

Hambone, depending on where on Adams Lake you are working, staying at a hotel at Sun Peaks might be closer than Kamloops.

[Hambone]

Hambone, depending on where on Adams Lake you are working, staying at a hotel at Sun Peaks might be closer than Kamloops.

Thanks Dano. I'll be working at the Interfor sawmill at the southern tip of the lake and renting/housesitting my buddy's cabin on the north shore of Little Shuswap.

[DanoT]

Hambone, depending on where on Adams Lake you are working, staying at a hotel at Sun Peaks might be closer than Kamloops.

Thanks Dano. I'll be working at the Interfor sawmill at the southern tip of the lake and renting/housesitting my buddy's cabin on the north shore of Little Shuswap.

Sometime in the early 80s I worked as a first aid/sample yard bucker for a month before breakup at the logging camp at the north end of Adams Lake that I think fed that mill.

If the smoke ever clears, if you look northwest from downtown Sorrento you can see the Burfield chair on Sun Peaks' Mount Tod.

[Hambone]

Sometime in the early 80s I worked as a first aid/sample yard bucker for a month before breakup at the logging camp at the north end of Adams Lake that I think fed that mill.

A lot of their wood still does get boomed up and towed down from the top end of the lake.

[BC 1988]

But if I was to sum up my experience in Ottawa at TD Place in comparison to BC Place; it was night and day. TD Place blows our venue out of the water in terms of enjoyment, hospitality, energy, vibe...I could go on. Time and again, we were surprised at the little things that are provided to fans to help make their time enjoyable and worthwhile.

The Lions and probably more to the point, BC Place Corp, could learn a lot from how TD Place is run on game-day.

And as I intimated, it simply isn't because of the physical structure and big item capital costs that made our day. There are a tonne of info staff around the venue with signs so you can easily find them, they have a far more relaxed bag policy and straightforward entry procedure (BC Place can't get its elbow from its assh*le straight in that regard), they have actual game day programs that are free, they have a tailgater on site (granted not much of a tailgater but hey, better than nothing), the 50/50 is cheaper, the on-field entertainment is still goofy but it plays up the Southsiders vs. Northsiders tradition, I could prattle on.

Agree completely about the game day experience at Lansdowne/TD Place. My friend and I went to the game as part of a 5 day/4 night trip to OTT/TOR (non-OO). The info desk we found looked like a permanent fixture manned by 2 staff. (I couldn't immediately find the entrance to the North Side). I picked up the huge program--they make 2 volumes per season-this one was for the back half and has all the rosters of the teams they will face.

In defence of the Lion's small game day program, the one I saw for SSK was quite an improvement on bygone days--credit that to Matt Baker's effort to provide as relevant info as possible (hard to do when they go to press a few days before game day.) His contributions make it worth reading.

The rest of the game day experience at OTT was unique in that it's such a small facility considering it's seating capacity. It felt a bit like Tempire, but much more luxurious. I got quite a kick watching the fans pouring through the main gate from our seats in lower Section B on the aisle across from C. You've got the full range of fans there, but skews more younger than BC has. We even had a couple of your stereotypical bearded hipsters around--the red-black plaid is purrfect.

I had read in a couple of OTT newspaper letters to the editor earlier in the season older (Riders) fans complained about alcohol causing bad behaviour, but we didn't see any in our area. I suggested my friend not wear his black TL 2010 '70s retro jersey to the game in case we became a target. I wore all black, which is what I often wear to Lions games, (with an orange Lions cap, but I didn't wear the cap to OTT). The really funny thing was the (older) OTT fan sitting on my right had an orange shirt with no writing on it (and a blue cap totally unrelated to the event) and he kept getting comments "why are you wearing BC colors?" (both him and his wife were obvious OTT fans.)

Overall it was a fun experience, especially when the whole stadium went quiet when it looked like they were about to suffer another late game (this would have been epic) collapse.

CK--where was the OO contingent seated? it sounded like (in the 4th qtr when there was something to cheer about) you were North Side above us--we couldn't see anyone on the South Side or on our left. We did see a couple of Lions fans getting on and off buses--another nice touch was free bus rides before and after the game with your ticket. Also there were 3 BC fans on our red-eye Thursday night flight (which worked out great--we got some sleep-no crying babies.) We arrived downtown by 8:30am Friday just in time (after dropping our bags at the hotel) to get in the long line up to get tickets for the 3 free Parliament Buidlings tours. We were able to fit in a War Museum visit before the game, then watch the Mayweather-MacGregor spectacle that night, before flying on Sunday to TOR. First visit to OTT, I wouldn't have wanted to spend most of it running around on such a tight sked as OO was on.

[BC 1988]

• $5 deal has put 1,0000 more kids in the stands. Club is right now contemplating if it should continue for the rest of the season (they better given the steady diet of Eastern teams this fall but you really sense Skulsky hates de-valuing tickets on a permanent basis).

What's there to contemplate about ??

Well, here we are with the fall games and they must not have decided to continue the $5 kids after "contemplating" it.
https://www.bclions.com/lionsgameday/
Instead we get this odd "CSA certified hard hat" promotion for the first 3,000 fans. I wonder how many will be eager to show up early for this?

[maxlion]

Instead we get this odd "CSA certified hard hat" promotion for the first 3,000 fans. I wonder how many will be eager to show up early for this?

Construction trades night!

Lamest promotion ever.

[The_Pauser]

• $5 deal has put 1,0000 more kids in the stands. Club is right now contemplating if it should continue for the rest of the season (they better given the steady diet of Eastern teams this fall but you really sense Skulsky hates de-valuing tickets on a permanent basis).

What's there to contemplate about ??

Well, here we are with the fall games and they must not have decided to continue the $5 kids after "contemplating" it.
https://www.bclions.com/lionsgameday/
Instead we get this odd "CSA certified hard hat" promotion for the first 3,000 fans. I wonder how many will be eager to show up early for this?

They have a "buy 3, get 1 free" promotion on tickets.

[CardiacKid]

Instead we get this odd "CSA certified hard hat" promotion for the first 3,000 fans. I wonder how many will be eager to show up early for this?

Construction trades night!

Lamest promotion ever.

A little peculiar but I will be in line early. I gotz to have me swag!

Does that make me a swag whore?

[CardiacKid]

CK--where was the OO contingent seated? it sounded like (in the 4th qtr when there was something to cheer about) you were North Side above us--we couldn't see anyone on the South Side or on our left. We did see a couple of Lions fans getting on and off buses--another nice touch was free bus rides before and after the game with your ticket. Also there were 3 BC fans on our red-eye Thursday night flight (which worked out great--we got some sleep-no crying babies.) We arrived downtown by 8:30am Friday just in time (after dropping our bags at the hotel) to get in the long line up to get tickets for the 3 free Parliament Buidlings tours. We were able to fit in a War Museum visit before the game, then watch the Mayweather-MacGregor spectacle that night, before flying on Sunday to TOR. First visit to OTT, I wouldn't have wanted to spend most of it running around on such a tight sked as OO was on.

Hey BC 1988,
Yes, totally agree that TD Place is a great venue but also very fan friendly. I had a blast despite the football on display for the 1st half. Also my first visit to Ottawa and loved it; the free time on the trip was very tight but we are heading back for Grey Cup so we didn't feel to hard done by. The price of this trip was less expensive than previous Op Orange ventures to the East so the more compressed time frame did have some benefits for the wallet.

I don't exactly recall what section we were in but we were overlooking the 40-50 yard lines from the Northside..maybe about halfway up the stand. If you heard someone yelling "Southsiders Suck!!!" with great abandon....that was me. I was trying to get the Northsiders around us to join in but I think the Southsiders are more enthusiastic with the chants. The Ottawa fans were not above teasing but they were very pleasant; chatted with a couple of ladies in front of us who very kindly explained the chants and how when a questionable flag is thrown, you yell "mouchoir!".

I think the presence of BC fans was mostly a curiousity for the Redblacks faithful; most of the responses were of the "what the hell are you doing way out here?!?!" variety. Probably the best response we got though was a youngster in a Lions shirt who came up to us and said thanks for representing Lions fans.

Totally recommend joining an Operation Orange trip. Though I did feel a little wistful at the thought of how BC Place does pale in comparison.

[TheLionKing]

Just wondering out loud: are there teams organizing trips to BC as part of their marketing ?