First post 'expectations in '17'

[Blueandgold]

Bombers had a good team, but still weren't very good at home. 

I think our Stadium being too big hurts as well... 29,000 was a good capacity. It's pretty hard to sell out or create ''urgency'' in a stadium that seats 33,000.

[Fatty Liver]

On 11/22/2016 at 0:37 AM, BigBlue said:

The Pick Ten (buy 10 games of my selected dates in any available seats) used to be how I would buy my tickets ... but there is no way I am sitting in the corner seats ... just don't want to do that ... I will pay premium prices but I want to buy tickets that fit my unusual schedule... besides corners and endzones are over priced IMHO. The club needs to get over the big city illusion and realize we are a unique community with our own mindset. They won't convert us into an elite mentality. We are small town family thinkers, that's all. The CFL is not the NHL or the NFL, JUST ASK ANYONE FROM TORONTO.

I agree with the chimpanzee, although it's not such a problem in Wpg. the entire league has to stop trying to appeal to the corporate suits and focus on affordable family entertainment to build generational fans, much as the Goldeyes have.  Below is an except from an article that discusses the Argo marketing problems, although it's specific to T.O. it also applies to cities like Vancouver and Calgary where the populace is becoming too "big league" to bother following the CFL.

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/11/21/can-the-cfl-survive-in-toronto.

Wright, who was CFL commissioner from 2002-2006, views the quandary of Argos football as multi-faceted.

“I think there are three fundamental reasons why Toronto football is where it is. The brand just doesn’t resonate,” said Wright, a long-time marketer. “The Grey Cup brand doesn’t resonate (in Toronto). The Argos brand. The CFL brand.

“One, there is core competition in Toronto that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Canada. There is NHL, NBA, baseball, MLS. It’s an incredibly competitive market. There’s no longer a threat of the NFL and still that hasn’t changed anything.

“Two, we’re a snotty sports city. We think of ourselves as a big deal. This isn’t, to use Tim Leiweke’s phrase, a bloody big deal. An Argos game isn’t the place to be.

“Three, if you look at what’s happened to the franchise and the marketing of it, previous ownership let it go. They put nothing into sales, nothing into marketing. Look at how little David (Braley) spent to market the brand and the team. He turned off all the taps in Toronto. How do you recover from that?

 

[Fatty Liver]

17 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

I dunno that it was, it's just that the stadium was there for 50 years, people figured out what worked for them and had that same routine every single time. New location though people have to come up with new ****. I know the few times I go to games I usually park somewhere a ways off and walk, it's fine. Now maybe people don't want to walk and that's the problem?

I walked to a game from Transcona once and by the time I got there the game was over, worst of all I found out on the walk back home they moved the stadium to Fort Gary.  I can't walk that far!  Those people are idiots.  I told Bob Irving and he said "ok".

[bigg jay]

48 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

I know the few times I go to games I usually park somewhere a ways off and walk, it's fine.

This is what I have done for every game save the first couple while we were figuring things out.  Very easy to get in and out.  Walking gives you time to polish off a couple beers too! 

[Pete Catan's Ghost]

Park and ride suits me fine. Mind you I'm only coming from Southdale.

[Noeller]

3 hours ago, bigg jay said:

This is what I have done for every game save the first couple while we were figuring things out.  Very easy to get in and out.  Walking gives you time to polish off a couple beers too! 

The fact that it's that close to Barley Bros is good enough for me. To think, every home game you could grab a couple pints of actual beer and then walk ten minutes to the game...? Can't think of a better way to spend an evening... 

[Dr. Blue]

4 hours ago, Brandon said:

It definitely was easier to get out of Polo Park. You can't debate that.

The Ottawa hockey arena is quite a bit out of town.  It would be the same if the Jets played out of Oakbank..    

How can that not be debated? We used to park at Wolseley Plumbing, which is only a little closer than where we park now. We would have to wait in the parking lot to get out, then wait in bumper to bumper on St. Matthews. It was even worse if we parked across the street and tried to leave on Ellice. I didn't complain, we just got to listen to the post game show. Now we walk to our car, not on campus, and we're off. I find it SO much easier to get in and out of there now.

I have a strong belief that because the stadium is at the U of M, people think that they have to park on campus.

The first year was a cluster f, but it has got a lot better since then, and will continue to get better as improvements are made and people figure out what works for them.

[Brandon]

All I know is that at the old stadium I would park at Polo Park,  it would take about 5 minutes to walk to the car...  10 minutes to get out of the lot and about 25 minutes to get home.  

Current stadium it takes about 10 minutes to get to the line of the bus,  anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to board a bus and get out of the campus area... 30 minutes to get to park and ride destination...  then 15 minutes to get home.     All while sitting on a very uncomfortable school bus cramped to all hell.     

For myself I could walk far away and park at a distance...  though usually I'm with my dad who is 70 with bad knees so it's really not an option for him.

It's just a poor choice of placing the stadium,  they should of had it more centralized (for us North City Folk)  and choose a location that has way more exit points.    This would of helped increase ticket sales for the old timers who don't want to waste 2 - 3 hours in transport time just to go see a Bomber game.   

[rebusrankin]

For fun, where was this more central location?

[MOBomberFan]

I liked the idea of having the stadium near the ex grounds past the downs. Lots of space for parking and easy access to the perimeter would have made driving easy. Slapping in a bike path and a couple pedestrian bridges near Portage and the perimeter would be easy. Oh well maybe in another 50 or 60 years 

[Rich]

24 minutes ago, MOBomberFan said:

I liked the idea of having the stadium near the ex grounds past the downs. Lots of space for parking and easy access to the perimeter would have made driving easy. Slapping in a bike path and a couple pedestrian bridges near Portage and the perimeter would be easy. Oh well maybe in another 50 or 60 years 

I'm not sure having 25 - 30k people leaving the downs onto a single exit (the perimeter) would be any faster than exiting the U of M.  There are also very few restaurant and bars within a reasonable distance as compared to Pembina.

I think that anywhere they built the stadium there was going to be a subsection of the fans that felt alienated, have a longer drive, and they wouldn't like it. The biggest problem the Bombers are facing are that first impressions are sticking impressions, and that first year was executed so poorly that the the conception out there is that it is a bad location and hard to get to and out of.  Since that first season, I don't find it bad at all. 

Tried the park and ride for the first time for the Heritage Classic and found it to be actually pretty convenient and quick.  Didn't hear any complaints or issues for the heritage classic about the location, mostly because it was an event people really wanted to go to and were excited to go to.

If the Bombers can start winning again (sustained), people will be convinced to give the location another chance and I think find that it isn't all that bad after all.  Then we will go through all of this again in 50 or 60 years when a new one gets built some place else and people will have all the same complaints because at the end of the day, people just don't like change.

[BigBlue]

The current U of M infa-structure needs improving .... Bison Drive needs double the lanes and the defunct golf course needs to deliver better parking ... no funds for that right now though

[blitzmore]

On 11/21/2016 at 9:39 PM, wbbfan said:

the support came back in full force during the 01 era run and the swaggerville era short lived as that may have been. Its not the cumulative effect. Its the current teams momentum and the diversity of the sports market. 

 

Winnipeg has long had a reputation for not being good at integration. Not just for immigrants and different ethnicity groups but even canadians moving from other parts of the nation.  Its a cultural problem driven by the blue collar low brow broke af nature of the area. Would love to see an out reach program for migrants to get a bunch of tickets to go as a group with some of the friendly blue fans who can show em the game and our team. 

Not good at integration? You have no idea what you are talking about...Give your source or is it just made up in your own head?

[Fan Boy]

17 hours ago, BigBlue said:

The current U of M infa-structure needs improving .... Bison Drive needs double the lanes and the defunct golf course needs to deliver better parking ... no funds for that right now though

There are changes coming there for sure. That golf course will be developed but I am not sure it is cost effective to put in more parking for 9 games a year plus whatever concerts can be snagged. 

[wookie]

all the buses will be on the new rapid transit parking , we will see a improvement next year as well, but for me, after the first year it has been good, u always have to wait to get out of any place, 

[TrueBlue]

On 11/24/2016 at 0:36 AM, Brandon said:

All I know is that at the old stadium I would park at Polo Park,  it would take about 5 minutes to walk to the car...  10 minutes to get out of the lot and about 25 minutes to get home.  

Current stadium it takes about 10 minutes to get to the line of the bus,  anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to board a bus and get out of the campus area... 30 minutes to get to park and ride destination...  then 15 minutes to get home.     All while sitting on a very uncomfortable school bus cramped to all hell.     

For myself I could walk far away and park at a distance...  though usually I'm with my dad who is 70 with bad knees so it's really not an option for him.

It's just a poor choice of placing the stadium,  they should of had it more centralized (for us North City Folk)  and choose a location that has way more exit points.    This would of helped increase ticket sales for the old timers who don't want to waste 2 - 3 hours in transport time just to go see a Bomber game.   

There are two options I might suggest for you and your dad the next time you come to a game.  These go for anyone really:

1) Park in the value lot at the back of the university.  It's only $10.  You park farther away but there are shuttles that come every 10 minutes that drop you off right in front of the stadium.  And then because you are at the back at the end of the game, getting out is always quicker.  It has worked very well, and a lot of people speak highly of it.

2) If you park in a private lot along Pembina, between Chancellor and University, you can use the Running Back Shuttle free of charge.  It also takes you right to the bus drop off area.

[Blue_Dragoon]

On 2016-11-24 at 7:25 AM, rebusrankin said:

For fun, where was this more central location?

Polo Park.

I would still be a season ticket holder if the stadium was there instead of its current awful location.

[17to85]

13 hours ago, Blue_Dragoon said:

Polo Park.

I would still be a season ticket holder if the stadium was there instead of its current awful location.

It's not exactly central... You Winnipeggers are spoiled, even with heavy traffic it's still a pretty small city that doesn't take long to drive across. Really a lot of the complaints about the location to me ring out as more of the tried and true Winnipeg attitude of "change is bad"

[MOBomberFan]

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

It's not exactly central... You Winnipeggers are spoiled, even with heavy traffic it's still a pretty small city that doesn't take long to drive across. Really a lot of the complaints about the location to me ring out as more of the tried and true Winnipeg attitude of "change is bad"

If the you put a CoW map on a dartboard, Polo Park would be the outer ring of the bullseye. The city opened up St Mathews to improve traffic flow for the ill-fated Target, they could have done the same for a new stadium on the old arena grounds.

You're entitled to your opinion on the new location from 2 provinces over I guess, but try to understand some people here don't like the new location because they think it's a poor location, not because they are spoiled Winnipeggers with the same old Winnipeg attitude. Your Albertan is showing.

[Taynted_Fayth]

I was doing park and ride with my dad initially ($5 per person) but this past year switched to just paying  $10 lot fee on Pembina.  don't get shuttled to the gates, but don't have to sit on those sardine can school bus so it's a wash

[do or die]

Try getting across town in Jakarta or Bangkok ...

[17to85]

2 hours ago, MOBomberFan said:

If the you put a CoW map on a dartboard, Polo Park would be the outer ring of the bullseye. The city opened up St Mathews to improve traffic flow for the ill-fated Target, they could have done the same for a new stadium on the old arena grounds.

You're entitled to your opinion on the new location from 2 provinces over I guess, but try to understand some people here don't like the new location because they think it's a poor location, not because they are spoiled Winnipeggers with the same old Winnipeg attitude. Your Albertan is showing.

And yet Winnipeggers keep proving my attitudes correct. Wahhhh I like the old location better, bet the old arena location was better too, I remember the stink about daring to put the arena down town. Winnipeg will complain about absolutely everything. 

[HardCoreBlue]

33 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

And yet Winnipeggers keep proving my attitudes correct. Wahhhh I like the old location better, bet the old arena location was better too, I remember the stink about daring to put the arena down town. Winnipeg will complain about absolutely everything. 

Like Calgaraarians don't . . .

[White Out]

56 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

And yet Winnipeggers keep proving my attitudes correct. Wahhhh I like the old location better, bet the old arena location was better too, I remember the stink about daring to put the arena down town. Winnipeg will complain about absolutely everything. 

This is a really lazy argument, it's nothing more than ad hominem. It's especially egregious because you've been proven wrong. Polo Park is very close to the downtown area, and IGF is very much in the middle of no-where for Winnipeg standards. The city got a deal, as usual, and I'm sure  the cheapskates who put this stadium together are clinking together their plastic cups at the local McDonalds. The stadium is beautiful, the nicest  in the CFL for now. But the location stinks and that's not idle complaining, it's fact. Getting to games at the old stadium was far easier. Getting to Jets games is VERY easy at their new rink.

You're wrong. Just own it. 

[Fatty Liver]

30 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

Like Calgaraarians don't . . .

They're still pissy because they got stuck with an NDP govt. that not a single Albertan will admit voting for.