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JohnHenry wrote:The Argos also had their biggest crowd of the season last night, despite it being a mean-nothing game for the Argos who were sitting out R. Ray and 10 starters. I think because it's the final reg. season game, some fans maybe wanted to go to a game this year and this could be their last chance...plus it's the Riders so that adds a couple thousand.

Didn't hurt that it was the Ti-Cats. Pigskin Pete as there along with a lot of other Ti-Cat fans which is good. It should be that way given how close the two are.

On another note I think some of the seats that still show as "sold" on Ticketmaster aren't necessarily sold yet. When I purchased 4 extras for the WDF I wasn't able to get 4 sideline seats together and took 4 corner endzone seats in 236. That was early in that window for season ticket holders to buy extra and I think some ST seats were still being held for those ST holders who hadn't opted to buy their playoff seats when they bought their ST packages. It took it to mean there were seats that could still be released once all ST holders made their final buy or pass decision. They offered to flag my account to upgrade the seats in 236 if something in the Coaches Sideline section was released. Two days ago the Lions office called advising 4 had come available in 243 and I upgraded. That was nice as it puts my PG buddies one section over from my own in 242. So kudos to the Lions for presenting the option when I originailly called and delivering on it.

The Alouettes are advertising tickets for the East Division Final on TSN's website. They start at $25, which includes all taxes and fees too. Can you imagine how many casual fans, newbies and students would consider buying a ticket for Lions games if you could grab a cheap seat for 25 bucks, taxes and fees all inclusive? Imagine how much better the atmosphere would be with a sold out stadium. It would be like 2011 Grey Cup all the time. But most importantly, the Lions would be growing the fanbase, especially the next generation of fans (which I think they are completely failing to do right now).

Such a shame.

Centrum22 wrote:The Alouettes are advertising tickets for the East Division Final on TSN's website. They start at $25, which includes all taxes and fees too.

A bit different dynamic there. The Als go from a 25000 seat stadium for regular season games to a 60000 seat stadium for the EDF. That creates a significantly different pricing structure regular season to playoffs. They are also coming off a second straight season where they failed to sellout a single game in what is the CFL's smallest stadium by over 3000 seats. In 2010 the Larks sold out all 9 games in the 25012 seat Molson Stadium and had sold out every game going back to 2002, even as renovations increased capacity. They haven't sold a game out since. This year they averaged 2555 below capacity at 22457. Last year also saw a huge drop in attendance for their playoff game in Olympic Stadium. In 2010 they had 58000 for the EDF. Last year was only 33051 for the ESF. It's hard to determine if the big drop was because of semi-final instead of final or if it was an extension of declining attendance for regular season games.

I'd say the players do a pretty great job of showing their appreciation to Lions fans via Social Media, James. They're often pretty effusive in their praise after home games.

Here's a sampling from Twitter tonight. I am sure you'll see similar Tweets in the days leading up to the Western Final imploring Lion Nation to show its support.

Mike Reilly ‏@Rikester13
Great all-around team win tonight. Accomplished all the things we needed to. Now on to the western final. Great job by our fans tonight too!

Adam Bighill ‏@Bighill44
Big win tonight! Orange was alive!! Big shout out to the fans, you rocked #BCPlace western final here we come! #GetSavage

JR LaRose ‏@j_tonto27
Big shout out to our fans for all their support this year. Let's keep it rolling into the playoffs. #13thMan #WesternFinal. @BCLions #CFL [/quote ]

Jason Arakgi ‏@jrak45
Thank you everyone for your support. Amazing fans. Proud to be a lion!!! Blessed to have some time to get right for western final!!! [/quote ]


DH

jcalhoun wrote:David,

Yeah, but it isn't about showing appreciation for the fans that I was talking about, it's about selling the game. These comments are all reactive. What I was writing about was the team/league being proactive. Perhaps I could have outlined my argument better --I'm several drinks into celebrating the end of the regular season....

If I were handling media for the Lions, I'd make sure every player in every interview for the next two weeks said something like, "we need you in the stands at the West Final. We need you to be so loud the other team can't communicate, can't audible, can't even think. We need you to be the difference, to provide home field advantage, to be the 13th man. We need your help to get to the Grey Cup."

There's a fundamental difference between 'the fans were great tonight' and 'we need our fans to be great next Sunday night'. That's what I was rambling about.

Wow. Found a mini of Schenley's Golden Wedding. Back to my celebrations....

Cheers,

James

What you may be overlooking James is that even if they make such commentary in an interview the odds of it getting out to the public are slim unless it's a live interview on TV or radio. Media today talks in terms of soundbites. Most of what we do see, hear and read is just the snippets and/or soundbites the network or newspaper want to show in the limited airtime or column space available. Having said that I have heard Lions, Angus Reid in particular, plead to the Team1040 audience to go buy tickets and quit making excuses for not buying like the roof is open or the roof is closed or the hot dogs are too expensive or the beer has too much head..........

Hambone wrote:

sj-roc wrote:I started going to games regularly in July 1996, which is when I moved here. That's right, I moved here just in time to watch the Lengthy Era of Massive Suck (LEMS) unfold, after the relative stability of the brief (three year) Comrie era. Ever since then, I've attended every non-preseason game but one (which I was unavoidably out of town for in 1997), so with my vivid memories of the LEMS years, right now I don't see attendance to be quite as huge an issue as some folks (esp in the media at times) make it out to be. Could it be better? Sure. But it's not on the market to slavishly attend games out of some supposed moral or civic duty. It's on the team to provide the market with a convincing value proposition, and right now, that VP isn't up to the standard of the Ackles era.

Let's not forget the LEMS, as you put it, period was not a BC only phenomenen. Outside of perhaps Alberta it was the bleakest era for the entire league. I recall flying back from the 1996 Grey Cup in Hamilton thinking my Grey Cup streak would end at 14 because the one I just watched would be the last Grey Cup. I honestly wasn't sure the league would survive to play another 1997 season. In BC 1996 marked the brief ownership tenure of Nelson Skalbania. The instant it was announced he was taking over the team you could hear the footsteps of ticketholders fleeing the ship. 1996 was Year 1 after the US experiment. Baltimore moved to Montreal consistently playing before crowds of less than 10000. Ottawa would fold after 1996.

This article from the Toronto Star underscores just how bad the financial footing of the league was in those days.

Grey Cup Memories: Former CFL commissioner John Tory recalls trembling stands, terrifying players

In 1995 with the title game in windy Regina for the first time, the league risked major egg on its face with the looming prospect of having to turn away fans whose seats were in the temporary stands erected specifically for the event (and presumably on the cheap). The league's insurance policy on those stands did not cover wind conditions above 50 km/h, and league officials had to watch and wait nervously as morning winds of 56 km/h dipped mercifully to 48 km/h at the eleventh hour:

[The 1995 Grey Cup game] included an averted catastrophe that (then-league chairman John) Tory recalls fondly.

The game was in football-mad Regina, where tiny Taylor Field was hosting the championship match for the first time.

To win hosting rights, however, the city had to install temporary seating to the stadium, nearly doubling its capacity to some 53,000.

But game day opened with some ill winds.

“It was very windy and somebody from the league phoned me and said, ‘John, there’s just one problem,’” Tory recalls.

“I said, ‘What’s that?’ and he said, ‘Well, of course we had to get insurance for the temporary stands and the insurance provides specifically that you can’t have anyone sitting in those stands or use them if the wind is above 50 kilometres per hour.’”

The morning gusts were six kms stronger than that and so a worrisome day of wind watching ensued, with the possibility that paying fans would riot if they were told they couldn’t attend.

“I would have been very unpopular with a lot of people who bought those tickets ... but I would have said those stands can’t be used,” Tory says.

With a decision deadline of 2 p.m. being set, a stream of calls began to the local weather office to check on wind speeds.

“And we watched and watched . . . and the wind went down; 55, 54, 53, 52, 51,” Tory says. “And quite literally by decision time . . . it got down to 48. That’s the kind of near misses nobody ever really knew about.”

Then in the following year, with the Grey Cup game underway in Hamilton, the league realised only at that point there were insufficient funds in its bank account to cover players' Grey Cup game cheques, payable immediately after the game. Luckily some strings were pulled as Tim Hortons stepped in with a last minute bailout:

“It was the Snow Bowl in Hamilton,” Tory says of that Toronto Argonauts-Edmonton Eskimos classic in 1996, the year he added league commissioner to his CFL titles.
...
“Jeff Giles, who was at the time the very capable chief operating officer of the CFL ... comes to me and says, ‘John, there’s a problem.’ I said, ‘What’s the problem?’ ... and he says to me, ‘It would seem there’s not enough money in the CFL’s account to actually handle the cashing of the (Grey Cup bonus) cheques if the (players) all go to the bank tomorrow.’”

Bonus cheques of some $25,000 for each winning player and $15,000 for the losers had been made out. And because many of those players would scatter to the howling winds at game’s end, they had to be given their dough in the dressing rooms.

“I said, ‘You can’t assume they’re not going to go to the bank tomorrow’ and he (Giles) said, ‘What do you think we should do?’” Tory recalls.

“And he’s sort of laying out a number of choices to me, all of which involve me as the commissioner going to the locker rooms, at halftime or after the game, saying, ‘We’re not going to give you the cheques.’

“That didn’t seem like a good idea.”

The thought of going to locker rooms filled with athletic behemoths and telling them there would be no cheques, or that they couldn’t cash the ones they might be given, filled Tory with a fair amount of dread.

“I pictured me going into this dressing room with these large, very strong, very fit men who might just decide they’re going to wrestle me to the ground and take the small change out of my pocket.”

In the end, the day — and perhaps Tory’s hide — was saved when game sponsor Tim Hortons stepped in and guaranteed the cheques could go through.

That period was truly the league's LEMS years. Is it an exaggeration to say the Hollywood script-like nature of that 1996 title game — a shootout played in a steady snowfall with so many surreal moments: a highlight reel bobbled catch by Eddie Brown that went for a major score, special teams TDs from Gizmo and Jimmy the Jet, and the added intrigue of the controversial missed Flutie third down fumble — literally saved the league from extinction?

Interesting information.

sj-roc wrote:In 1995 with the title game in windy Regina for the first time, the league risked major egg on its face with the looming prospect of having to turn away fans whose seats were in the temporary stands erected specifically for the event (and presumably on the cheap). The league's insurance policy on those stands did not cover wind conditions above 50 km/h, and league officials had to watch and wait nervously as morning winds of 56 km/h dipped mercifully to 48 km/h at the eleventh hour

Tell me about it. I was in those temporary stands, about 1/3 of the way up. I was unaware of the possibility they were considering evacuating those stands until days later. I don't remember much about the stands themselves but I think they were definitely not the style we usually see now that are supplied by companies whose core business is providing temporory seating for events. I think those seats were provided by somebody who said hey ya know we could get some scaffolding and planks and I have a buddy who works over at Regina Scaffolding............. I'd just moved from the north island to Prince George earlier in the summer and winter hadn't yet started to kick in up there. Needless to say my cold weather wardrobe was still north island style; obligatory pair of longjohns and grey woolly Standfield shirt and a heavy jacket, not a parka. I remember shivering profusely. The only visible game clock was behind me. I'd take a look back to see how much time was left. It would seem like an eternity had passed when I'd look back again to see that only 3 minutes had ticked off. Another near disaster was created by the access/egress route. The way they set things up everybody had to funnel between the front of the temp stands and a fence they set up at the back of the endzone. As halftime was winding down they still had several hundred people trying to get out of the temp stands and over to the concession/washroom area. At the same time there was a similar number or more trying to get back to their seats all through that same narrow passageway. Nobody could move one way or the other for several minutes. There was a certain amount of panic starting to show on the faces of some caught in the centre of that logjam and tension was reaching a boiling point before the boneheads in security finally and begrudgingly pulled the fence back several feet to allow the people to move.

Hambone wrote:Another near disaster was created by the access/egress route. The way they set things up everybody had to funnel between the front of the temp stands and a fence they set up at the back of the endzone. As halftime was winding down they still had several hundred people trying to get out of the temp stands and over to the concession/washroom area. At the same time there was a similar number or more trying to get back to their seats all through that same narrow passageway. Nobody could move one way or the other for several minutes. There was a certain amount of panic starting to show on the faces of some caught in the centre of that logjam and tension was reaching a boiling point before the boneheads in security finally and begrudgingly pulled the fence back several feet to allow the people to move.

Wow. So basically what you're saying is there was only one access point to get into and out of what amounts to prob 8-10 entire sections of filled seating. Hate to say, but if something like that ever happened here (not nec at a Grey Cup but any large licensed event) a riot would prob break out. Also — not an expert, but how that arrangement doesn't violate any fire safety codes, I don't see.

I remember watching the broadcast on CBC and they mentioned, I think at halftime, that an attending fan suffered a heart attack. I don't recall if this was in these temp stands but if so I hope for their sake the poor seating logistics didn't hamper them from receiving prompt medical attention.

I was just listening to someone on Fan590 with knowledge of marketing and logo placement on jerseys and how teams look for all kinds of ways to generate revenue. McCown asked about things like a Nike swoosh on NFL jerseys. Fair game per his guest. It isn't considered advertising or sponsorship when Nike is the manufacturer of those same jerseys. McCown asked about the little logos on CFL jerseys and if the guy knew how much they put into the coffers of a CFL team. According to the guest the Lions for instance would receive $500,000 ea from both Rona and Scotiabank for those little things. As the now most watched CFL team per network ratings the Lions jerseys would contain the most valuable space. Certainly nothing to be sneezed at and a lot more than I thought.

Hambone wrote:I was just listening to someone on Fan590 with knowledge of marketing and logo placement on jerseys and how teams look for all kinds of ways to generate revenue. McCown asked about things like a Nike swoosh on NFL jerseys. Fair game per his guest. It isn't considered advertising or sponsorship when Nike is the manufacturer of those same jerseys. McCown asked about the little logos on CFL jerseys and if the guy knew how much they put into the coffers of a CFL team. According to the guest the Lions for instance would receive $500,000 ea from both Rona and Scotiabank for those little things. As the now most watched CFL team per network ratings the Lions jerseys would contain the most valuable space. Certainly nothing to be sneezed at and a lot more than I thought.

However, in the LA or NY market, those logos would go for $10M.....ouch.

Season ticket prices have gone up for 2013 but, according to Lowell Ullrich, Dennis Skulsky is actively looking at ways to offer discounts to casual fans. Ideas mentioned include all-you-can-eat sections and special student pricing.

There’s no guarantee of a lower-priced ticket this season, but president Dennis Skulsky said it’s still being considered as an option. Season tickets in five categories went up $5-25 this year, and since 2009, the last full season at B.C. Place Stadium before the club left for Empire Field, it’s up $75 in the highest non-suite section.

“We’re analyzing one full year back in the stadium,” Skulsky said. “We’re not guaranteeing anything, but we’re looking at what we can do.”

B.C.’s average attendance of 31,467 was behind only Saskatchewan and Edmonton last year, two teams which unlike the Lions receive parking and concession revenue.

Though the Lions cited favourable year-over-last figures in corporate sales and merchandising in their year-end report, Skulsky confirmed the likely loss of two premier sponsorship partners, admitting the lost revenue means the Lions have some work to do this spring.

But Skulsky is also still hearing it from fans who dislike how the house is scaled, saying tickets are the team’s top priority this year. Numerous items are under discussion, from all-you-can-eat sections, providing the stadium plays nice, to possible student-only pricing. Worth watching.

LU has more interesting items in his blog, including the prospect of a permanent training camp site in Kamloops.

Link