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Did anyone listen to Skulsky on TSN 1040 today? I'd appreciate a recap.

B.C.FAN wrote: Tue Aug 22, 2017 9:55 pm Did anyone listen to Skulsky on TSN 1040 today? I'd appreciate a recap.

http://www.tsn.ca/radio/audio/sekeres-p ... 2-1.836559
http://www.tsn.ca/radio/audio/sekeres-p ... 3-1.836590
I listened to bits and pieces of it.
( I'm not a fan of the the revamped Sekeres-Price afternoon drive timeslot, it's hard to listen to it at work during that time of the work day--Taylor and Big Ry are much more frivolous and I didn't mind missing most of their show when they used to be on at that time. Never mind the Kurtenbloggers when they start next month in the 9-12 time. From what little I've heard them, what a waste of space they are going to be.
--rant over--).
Sekeres asked his usual well placed questions about "Wally leaving, pending sale and what the club is worth, high cost of living affecting affordability, the TSN deal and blackouts never coming back, the $5 kids promotion, tailgating with no surface parking lots, attempts to get Translink and BC Ferries onside with deals, Ambrosie's early tenure, and that the CFL video game is still not a reality."
To all these Skulsky used his real skill of saying very little, but sounding like he agrees with everyone. In the 2nd hour they took a few calls and much of the above topics were raised there as well.

BC 1988 wrote: Tue Aug 22, 2017 11:00 pm Sekeres asked his usual well placed questions about "Wally leaving, pending sale and what the club is worth, high cost of living affecting affordability, the TSN deal and blackouts never coming back, the $5 kids promotion, tailgating with no surface parking lots, attempts to get Translink and BC Ferries onside with deals, Ambrosie's early tenure, and that the CFL video game is still not a reality."
To all these Skulsky used his real skill of saying very little, but sounding like he agrees with everyone. In the 2nd hour they took a few calls and much of the above topics were raised there as well.

Nice job of summing it up BC 1988. The first 10 minutes was basically Skulsky explaining why he was even there.

He told Braley he was stepping down as club president effective April 1, 2016. Braley then "created" the vice chair position to keep him involved part-time. Braley falls ill and he becomes interim president again. Now he is back to vice chair. Hiring a new club president would be a lame duck position since the team is for sale hence Braley now has the title.
So can't put too much weight into Skulsky's thoughts given (and hopefully) his tenure won't go beyond November.

Of interest:
• He did say the new owner has to be local this time. Did confirm what we have all heard about the interested buyers. Blake Price then pointed out the better time to sell would have been 5 years ago given current attendance. Of course Skulsky countered with the "brand" being good and the solid TV deal which still has another cycle although he added TV numbers are "still pretty good" (which really means they have dipped this year).

• Did confirm Wally will be stepping down as coach and GM. Geroy's status also came up and Skulsky only sees him continuing to be involved in football ops.

• $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).

• Also says BC Place is too big for the CFL. Would love to have the opportunity to re-do the configuration again with an open end party end zone with no seats — like Ottawa, Hamilton. Permanent blackout lift has cost the Lions 2,000-3,000 fans per game.

SammyGreene wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:08 am
• $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 ??

TheLionKing wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 10:31 am

SammyGreene wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:08 am
• $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 ??

Exactly.... is that 1000 more kids and 1000 more parents??? C'mon.... you gotta build your fan base....

Dusty wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:48 am

TheLionKing wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 10:31 am

SammyGreene wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:08 am
• $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 ??

Exactly.... is that 1000 more kids and 1000 more parents??? C'mon.... you gotta build your fan base....

Yup, it's not just 1000 kids because you have to sell an adult ticket to get the children's ticket. So really you're looking at between 2000-2500 more fans in the seats because of this deal. I wish they would go a step further and offer kids pricing for season tickets like they did back in 1995 (when they were $1 per game with the purchase of an adult season ticket).

The_Pauser wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:32 pm

Dusty wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:48 am

TheLionKing wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 10:31 am

What's there to contemplate about ??

Exactly.... is that 1000 more kids and 1000 more parents??? C'mon.... you gotta build your fan base....

Yup, it's not just 1000 kids because you have to sell an adult ticket to get the children's ticket. So really you're looking at between 2000-2500 more fans in the seats because of this deal. I wish they would go a step further and offer kids pricing for season tickets like they did back in 1995 (when they were $1 per game with the purchase of an adult season ticket).

Herein lies the problem with the Lions marketing department. They just don't get it.

I wouldn't automatically assume that Skulsky and Chayka are the gatekeepers for every decision that approved (or rejected) at the Lions' office. I am reasonably certain things like the $5 kid's promo get kicked upstairs for David Braley to sign off.

I've heard enough of these President's Week interviews with Skulsky now to strongly suspect when he's covering for his boss.


DH

The_Pauser wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:32 pm

Dusty wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:48 am

TheLionKing wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 10:31 am

What's there to contemplate about ??

Exactly.... is that 1000 more kids and 1000 more parents??? C'mon.... you gotta build your fan base....

Yup, it's not just 1000 kids because you have to sell an adult ticket to get the children's ticket. So really you're looking at between 2000-2500 more fans in the seats because of this deal. I wish they would go a step further and offer kids pricing for season tickets like they did back in 1995 (when they were $1 per game with the purchase of an adult season ticket).

You're making one large false assumption. You are assuming every one of those 1000 kids are new sales who wouldn't have been attending without the offer. Obviously many will be. Many will also be kids who would've been taken to games under regular ticket pricing. The Lions can tell how many $5 tickets were sold but have no way of telling how many were to people who wouldn't have attended without the offer. For the record I'm totally behind the $5 summer offer for the intention behind it. I can also understand Skulsky's point where he said making it a season long offer would be setting a new norm.

In BC the $5 offer is good for TD Corner, TD Endzone and Upper Endzone sections. Edmonton offers a youth (12 & under) ST for $60 but it's restricted to one section in one corner of one endzone (similar to 249 in BCP). Saskatchewan doesn't offer a true youth ST but offers ST discounts for youth (up to 18) and seniors. Youth and Seniors still pay from 80% to 90% of full ST rates depending on price break. Calgary has some interesting things. Similar to Edmonton they offer a section at the end of the stadium, lower half of it, for a Family Fun Zone. ST price is $238 which includes 1 adult and 1 kid ticket. It's a no-alcohol section. They also offer "Power Zone" for $290 which includes a dog, popcorn and pop for all games. Power Zone sections are the last sections at the back corners of the endzones.

I got the sense the Lions will likely do it again next year but will have to think long and hard about doing it for a full season as that would effectively be establishing a $5 ST for kids. Realistically they have to either keep the $5 kids ticket for the summer or offer some sort of kids/youth ST. They can't do both. In doing that are there residual effects? Does it change other ticket values? Should they instead establish a Kids ST restricting it to a specific section similar to Edmonton and Calgary? Do they go the Rider route and offer modest discounts to regular pricing? Perhaps a TD Corner section bordering a TD Endzone section could be converted to a family zone similar to Calgary's set up. Typically the toughest sections to sell are the higher priced sections that border a lower priced section. It could be done on the similar 1 adult +1 kid's ticket with the price being the same as the rest of the TD Corner seats. That adds value to that section in "no man's land" between price breaks.

David wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 7:06 pm I wouldn't automatically assume that Skulsky and Chayka are the gatekeepers for every decision that approved (or rejected) at the Lions' office. I am reasonably certain things like the $5 kid's promo get kicked upstairs for David Braley to sign off.

I've heard enough of these President's Week interviews with Skulsky now to strongly suspect when he's covering for his boss.


DH

I doubt there is an ownership group in the league that would give their management carte blanche to do whatever they want when it comes to such initiatives. I'd be shocked if there was. I suspect they would follow a typical business process where Skulsky and Chayka put together a brief business case for the idea and like anything else would run it up the flagpole by Braley. Having been involved in procurement and related systems implementations in industry how to structure things like approval limits and routing is a big issue. In many ways managers want things to be run by them not so much to say yes or no but to be aware of what is happening under their areas of responsibility, particularly things related to costs. They hate surprises showing up in their month-end statements. The Lions have been tweaking things and trying different things related to pricing and adding value to tickets on an almost annual basis. That tells me that Braley is receptive to such initiatives and is unlikely to say no if Skulsky and Chayka have put together a good business case for what they present to him.

Hambone wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2017 12:43 pm

The_Pauser wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:32 pm

Dusty wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:48 am

Exactly.... is that 1000 more kids and 1000 more parents??? C'mon.... you gotta build your fan base....

Yup, it's not just 1000 kids because you have to sell an adult ticket to get the children's ticket. So really you're looking at between 2000-2500 more fans in the seats because of this deal. I wish they would go a step further and offer kids pricing for season tickets like they did back in 1995 (when they were $1 per game with the purchase of an adult season ticket).

You're making one large false assumption. You are assuming every one of those 1000 kids are new sales who wouldn't have been attending without the offer. Obviously many will be. Many will also be kids who would've been taken to games under regular ticket pricing. The Lions can tell how many $5 tickets were sold but have no way of telling how many were to people who wouldn't have attended without the offer. For the record I'm totally behind the $5 summer offer for the intention behind it. I can also understand Skulsky's point where he said making it a season long offer would be setting a new norm.

In BC the $5 offer is good for TD Corner, TD Endzone and Upper Endzone sections. Edmonton offers a youth (12 & under) ST for $60 but it's restricted to one section in one corner of one endzone (similar to 249 in BCP). Saskatchewan doesn't offer a true youth ST but offers ST discounts for youth (up to 18) and seniors. Youth and Seniors still pay from 80% to 90% of full ST rates depending on price break. Calgary has some interesting things. Similar to Edmonton they offer a section at the end of the stadium, lower half of it, for a Family Fun Zone. ST price is $238 which includes 1 adult and 1 kid ticket. It's a no-alcohol section. They also offer "Power Zone" for $290 which includes a dog, popcorn and pop for all games. Power Zone sections are the last sections at the back corners of the endzones.

I got the sense the Lions will likely do it again next year but will have to think long and hard about doing it for a full season as that would effectively be establishing a $5 ST for kids. Realistically they have to either keep the $5 kids ticket for the summer or offer some sort of kids/youth ST. They can't do both. In doing that are there residual effects? Does it change other ticket values? Should they instead establish a Kids ST restricting it to a specific section similar to Edmonton and Calgary? Do they go the Rider route and offer modest discounts to regular pricing? Perhaps a TD Corner section bordering a TD Endzone section could be converted to a family zone similar to Calgary's set up. Typically the toughest sections to sell are the higher priced sections that border a lower priced section. It could be done on the similar 1 adult +1 kid's ticket with the price being the same as the rest of the TD Corner seats. That adds value to that section in "no man's land" between price breaks.

If they do the promotion again next year ... AND THEY SHOULD FOR NEXT 10 YEARS

i would offer a $99 Kids season ticket ($5 for first 5 and $15 for next 5) in any of the 3 endzone price categories. I think its all extra $ for the lions. Those people probably don't buy seasons otherwise. Only issue for the lions is potential 2 sideline season ticket holder drop down to lower price category so they can take their kids and buy 4 seats. But again, they probably generate the same revenue, given they have excess seats.

Qman wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2017 5:44 pm

Hambone wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2017 12:43 pm

The_Pauser wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:32 pm

Yup, it's not just 1000 kids because you have to sell an adult ticket to get the children's ticket. So really you're looking at between 2000-2500 more fans in the seats because of this deal. I wish they would go a step further and offer kids pricing for season tickets like they did back in 1995 (when they were $1 per game with the purchase of an adult season ticket).

You're making one large false assumption. You are assuming every one of those 1000 kids are new sales who wouldn't have been attending without the offer. Obviously many will be. Many will also be kids who would've been taken to games under regular ticket pricing. The Lions can tell how many $5 tickets were sold but have no way of telling how many were to people who wouldn't have attended without the offer. For the record I'm totally behind the $5 summer offer for the intention behind it. I can also understand Skulsky's point where he said making it a season long offer would be setting a new norm.

In BC the $5 offer is good for TD Corner, TD Endzone and Upper Endzone sections. Edmonton offers a youth (12 & under) ST for $60 but it's restricted to one section in one corner of one endzone (similar to 249 in BCP). Saskatchewan doesn't offer a true youth ST but offers ST discounts for youth (up to 18) and seniors. Youth and Seniors still pay from 80% to 90% of full ST rates depending on price break. Calgary has some interesting things. Similar to Edmonton they offer a section at the end of the stadium, lower half of it, for a Family Fun Zone. ST price is $238 which includes 1 adult and 1 kid ticket. It's a no-alcohol section. They also offer "Power Zone" for $290 which includes a dog, popcorn and pop for all games. Power Zone sections are the last sections at the back corners of the endzones.

I got the sense the Lions will likely do it again next year but will have to think long and hard about doing it for a full season as that would effectively be establishing a $5 ST for kids. Realistically they have to either keep the $5 kids ticket for the summer or offer some sort of kids/youth ST. They can't do both. In doing that are there residual effects? Does it change other ticket values? Should they instead establish a Kids ST restricting it to a specific section similar to Edmonton and Calgary? Do they go the Rider route and offer modest discounts to regular pricing? Perhaps a TD Corner section bordering a TD Endzone section could be converted to a family zone similar to Calgary's set up. Typically the toughest sections to sell are the higher priced sections that border a lower priced section. It could be done on the similar 1 adult +1 kid's ticket with the price being the same as the rest of the TD Corner seats. That adds value to that section in "no man's land" between price breaks.

If they do the promotion again next year ... AND THEY SHOULD FOR NEXT 10 YEARS

i would offer a $99 Kids season ticket ($5 for first 5 and $15 for next 5) in any of the 3 endzone price categories. I think its all extra $ for the lions. Those people probably don't buy seasons otherwise. Only issue for the lions is potential 2 sideline season ticket holder drop down to lower price category so they can take their kids and buy 4 seats. But again, they probably generate the same revenue, given they have excess seats.

I think a "family fun zone" section is a good idea. Back in the late 90's, I used to bring my youngster to the games and he had a $33 ST to sit in a Kid's zone... which was around section 220. Under that plan, I could sit in my ST seat (243) and he would be in a supervised kids area.... the kids even had their own drink and hot dog stand.

I don't see that offer being replicated, but a section with adult ST $$ and cheaper kids rate would be fine with me... even if it was sprinkled among the higher priced ST seats....

Lions are hosting a special night for all Trades and Construction workers for the Alouettes game on September 8. Looks like you can buy an end zone ticket for $25.

They're also giving away collectible BC Lions hard hats for the first 3,000 fans through the gates (courtesy of Mark’s Work Wearhouse). A great idea.

In addition, there's a construction themed street party and half time show (isn't every street in Vancouver already "construction themed" though? ).

DETAILS HERE.



DH

I was on the recent Operation Orange trip and will post some thoughts under that particular thread.

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.

I recommend folks read the last 2 articles of Ed Willes over at the Province. I think he sums up quite nicely the respective experiences of Lions and Redblacks fans and how one team finds itself in a pickle while the other is doing things right. He describes BC: "But whoever ends up with the team, change is needed. Under the absentee ownership of Braley, the Lions have a tired, shopworn feel to them that has affected their brand. They need new leadership. They need a new vision for the franchise. They need fresh energy.

I like his use of "shopworn"; I think it is an apt descriptor. It certainly reflects what I feel the Lions brand has become. That sentiment has only been further confirmed by what I witnessed and experienced in Ottawa. I left Lansdowne feeling like a rejuvenated and reborn CFL fan, despite "my" team getting beaten but good. The fresh energy that is in such short supply at BC Place is so evident and prevalent at TD Place.

Maybe I should just yank my hard-earned $ out of the Lions hands, go buy a new Redblacks jersey with a Northsiders nameplate and save my season ticket $ for a couple of flights back east to watch games at the new Lansdowne. Their ownership group has evidently recognized that their initial assumptions of a CFL experience were of the past, let those go and gone in the right direction, a direction that is fresh and optimistic for ALL football fans, not just the so-called targeted demographic.

I think there are people in the Lions organization and elsewhere in Vancouver who can direct the team towards this concept but are hamstrung by the inefficiencies of an absentee owner who is parsimonious with the pennies.

I have to say that while I appreciated the chance to participate in Operation Orange, my experience in Ottawa left me feeling like I am not truly of consequence to the BC Lions.

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