Blue Bomber Attendance

[Eternal optimist]

On 2018-08-02 at 12:41 PM, nate007 said:

Where are you biking from? Could you load up the bikes and drive part of the way? As long as you drive close enough to access the Bishop Grandin Greenway, you can then get to IGF via the Fort Gary bridge and then going through University Heights and the old golf course without ever being in traffic. 

Also, for future consideration, I believe the 2nd phase of the busway will have a dedicated active transportation route along it as well that should take you right to the stadium.

Just wanted to chime in - I think the fact that that the Pembina Highway bike trail routinely goes up, onto the sidewalk is the stupidest thing on the planet. They routinely tell cyclists its against the law to ride on the sidewalk, then build a bike lane that literally goes up onto the sidewalk.

21 hours ago, Goalie said:

Im gonna add.. I think weekday games... Thursdays in particular are tough for people who need to be at work Friday 8am. I dont get the Thursday night games at all. 

I think they do this out of necessity - they don't run games Sunday for fear of losing out to the NFL, you've got 4 games a week - something has to give.

8 hours ago, TBURGESS said:

How is this still a topic? The Stadium is where it is. Like where it is or not, it isn't going to move for 30+ years.

Not with that attitude it isn't!

[ediger]

Realistically anything central would either require tearing down a large number of houses (which for obvious reasons is a non-starter) or would have to be downtown. That's a lot of downtown real estate for a building that doesn't get a whole ton of use. They would have had to build a domed stadium/convention centre sort of deal to make that work. That would have cost a fortune. The U of M offers sort of blank slate considering the abandoned golf course. Unfortunately that land wasn't developed in conjunction with the stadium. They could easily stick some bars and restaurants on to that land, maybe a couple of parkades and the necessary roads. If you have those things, there's really not much of an issue. The bars and restaurants help draw some people early and keep some people late which obviously helps traffic. Rapid transit should have been completed before the stadium opened as well.

Howsoever, here were are with none of those things around the stadium. There's always going to be some issues with getting in and out of there in it's current format but I think a lot of them are overblown. They only time it really sucks is if you drive and park in the value lots.

[NorthernSkunk]

What I miss about the old stadium/location was how easy it was to keep the party going.  We travel from out of town and would stay at one of the hotels close by, when the game ended it literally took only minutes walking to a nearby restaurant or bar.  Now waiting for everyone to load a bus to get back to your hotel takes long and kinda kills the party by the time you get back.  If you know what I mean lol. 

[17to85]

22 hours ago, MOBomberFan said:

I am a fan. Despite my busy and fulfilling lifestyle I still attend 3 games a year. You're a notoriously douchey and argumentative Albertan slinging mud from a woefully overburdened desk chair as if anyone other than Noeller cares what you think. Enjoy your seat at McMahon

Resorting to fat jokes? You know how I know I hit a nerve? It's ok to be a casual fan, not everyone has what it takes to be a die hard. If you have that much trouble being a fan in Winnipeg you better not ever move because it's a hell of a lot harder to be an out of province fan. Takes much more dedication.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

It is a joke that there is no bike/foot bridge connecting UofM with St. Marys Road.

[Brandon]

On 2018-08-03 at 12:24 PM, MOBomberFan said:

Anyone who thinks they get to decide who a real fan is and isn't... based solely on how many home games they attend... all other factors be damned... ought to give their swollen head a shake.

This is very true.   A large chunk of people at the game or only there because of the drinking and picking up ladies/men.  They don't watch the game and have zero clue about the players.     Does this make them real fans?    

 

 

[Goalie]

On 2018-08-02 at 10:54 PM, Brandon said:

St Boniface and Point Douglas ideas were much more centralized.    

What they didnt say about St B, it would take almost 100 million to clean it up.. So much crap there.. Seriously the biggest reason why its empty is the cost just to clean it up. 

 

Point Douglas ideal but theres a group of 20 homeowners there who legit make it impossible to do anything. 

 

Theres a reason both those areas dont get much if any new developments.

Edited August 4, 2018 by Goalie

[JuranBoldenRules]

Point Douglas is even more inaccessible than the U of M campus.  That would have been the absolute worst location.  I can still remember Asper's pitch about having people park downtown and jump on a barge down the river to get to the game.

[sweep the leg]

I take park and ride nearly every time. We're usually home 45-60 min after a game. Not sure how much better you can expect when 25-30k people are all leaving at the same time.

 

[MC]

Once upon a time there was a wonderful place called Canad Inns Stadium.  We must be careful not to speak about this time too loudly, but the memories of such a place warm us in this cold and horrible place and time we find ourselves in now.

There was parking for 33,000 vehicles within 20 steps of any entrance into the stadium.  Hundreds of invisible doves flew constantly around the stadium and would sweep down and take anyone who could not walk these 20 steps easily and they would carry them right up to their seat.  Every fan was treated with an incredible 7 course meal for the sum of $1, or pocket lint if they did not have a loonie. 

It was such an incredible experience and everyone in the land was happy.

Then a dark cloud covered the land.  An evil presence was felt by all in the great land of Winnipeg.  A booming voice was heard by all and the ground trembled.  It was the evil Asper!

The evil Asper tore down this beloved treasure, the Canad Inns Stadium.  There was much weeping.

The evil Asper banished the invisible doves to the island of Hecla where they were forced to play golf on a deserted course day and night.  There was much weeping - though they were also confused about the island of Hecla.

The evil Asper constructed a dungeon on a desolate and dark precipice of land that could only be reached by Sherpas riding mountain goats.  The evil Asper then taxed the good people of the land of Winnipeg until they were all paupers in order to pay for his new dungeon that he named IGF.  10 times per year, the evil Asper and his evil henchmen would round up thousands of the now homeless people of Winnipeg and force them using pointed sticks and hobnail boots to walk the entire 100 mile stretch without the aid of mountain goats to reach his dungeon.  While in this dungeon, the evil Asper forced the poor wretches to eat cold hotdogs and held them there until their families could find a way to scrape together the tonne of gold bricks that was needed to this sustenance.  When the weather would get cold, he would even tell them that he had no hot chocolate!  When the wailing was at its peak, they could hear the violin playing from the distant tower where the evil Asper would cackle and contemplate new indignities for his minions to endure while being held in his dungeon called the IGF.

And there was much weeping throughout the land.

Could there be a hero somewhere who could free the people of Winnipeg of their misery? 

[BBRT]

On 2018-08-03 at 9:19 AM, 17to85 said:

Cripes there's a lot of excuse makers for not going to games here. And you call yourselves fans. 

I get like 1 game a year in Calgary I can possibly attend and will often drive to Edmonton to watch them there too but I do it because it's the Bombers! Even if they usually crap their pants in this province it's still better than not seeing them live, oh and I've sat through the worst weather you can imagine to see them get thumped too. **** all you excuse makers. What I wouldn't give to have season tickets to watch in a stadium as nice as IGF. 

How dare you imply that McMahon Stadium is not state of the art. You miss the point - McMahon is a vintage (1950's) Calgary landmark. I love my season tickets (business write off and I give them away)  And Amen! I would love to see something new in Calgary but at my advanced age I doubt I will see it in my life time (after all I am 60 Now). I make it back to the Peg a couple of times a year and always time it to catch a game at IGF and what a treat it is  to be there.

[NorthernSkunk]

2 hours ago, MC said:

Once upon a time there was a wonderful place called Canad Inns Stadium.  We must be careful not to speak about this time too loudly, but the memories of such a place warm us in this cold and horrible place and time we find ourselves in now.

There was parking for 33,000 vehicles within 20 steps of any entrance into the stadium.  Hundreds of invisible doves flew constantly around the stadium and would sweep down and take anyone who could not walk these 20 steps easily and they would carry them right up to their seat.  Every fan was treated with an incredible 7 course meal for the sum of $1, or pocket lint if they did not have a loonie. 

It was such an incredible experience and everyone in the land was happy.

Then a dark cloud covered the land.  An evil presence was felt by all in the great land of Winnipeg.  A booming voice was heard by all and the ground trembled.  It was the evil Asper!

The evil Asper tore down this beloved treasure, the Canad Inns Stadium.  There was much weeping.

The evil Asper banished the invisible doves to the island of Hecla where they were forced to play golf on a deserted course day and night.  There was much weeping - though they were also confused about the island of Hecla.

The evil Asper constructed a dungeon on a desolate and dark precipice of land that could only be reached by Sherpas riding mountain goats.  The evil Asper then taxed the good people of the land of Winnipeg until they were all paupers in order to pay for his new dungeon that he named IGF.  10 times per year, the evil Asper and his evil henchmen would round up thousands of the now homeless people of Winnipeg and force them using pointed sticks and hobnail boots to walk the entire 100 mile stretch without the aid of mountain goats to reach his dungeon.  While in this dungeon, the evil Asper forced the poor wretches to eat cold hotdogs and held them there until their families could find a way to scrape together the tonne of gold bricks that was needed to this sustenance.  When the weather would get cold, he would even tell them that he had no hot chocolate!  When the wailing was at its peak, they could hear the violin playing from the distant tower where the evil Asper would cackle and contemplate new indignities for his minions to endure while being held in his dungeon called the IGF.

And there was much weeping throughout the land.

Could there be a hero somewhere who could free the people of Winnipeg of their misery? 

Too funny. Thanks for the laugh.

[Jpan85]

The funny thing is IGF is 100x more comfortable to attend events at than MTS Place. The place does not get its credit in the city.

[NorthernSkunk]

10 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

The funny thing is IGF is 100x more comfortable to attend events at than MTS Place. The place does not get its credit in the city.

If IGF had a hotel attached to it I wonder if that would help ?

 

[Nickthesizz]

On 2018-08-03 at 3:23 PM, Nash00 said:

I live an hour south of the city and was at the game last week. We parked 30 mins away from the stadium at the LC on Pembina (my lazy excuse to get a workout instead of going to the gym). Literally zero traffic heading southbound from there, just waited for red lights but other than that was off to the races. When I had season tickets at CanadInns, I would get stuck between St. James to Ness turning onto Kenaston for at least the length of my 30 minute walk. We used to run right after the final buzzer to get to the car to try to sneak out via Empress instead but that was hit and miss.

TL;DR, everyone has had different experiences at both locations and it probably depends on which direction you are going after that determines your commuting experience to and from games.

Oh the traffic was terrible on portage too, I lived in st vital at the time and the only options were route 90 (hell no) or portage to stafford. We'd park at polo park and the only way to get out in any reasonable amount of time would be to take back roadsto completely avoid portage.

[Nickthesizz]

On 2018-08-04 at 2:39 PM, JuranBoldenRules said:

Point Douglas is even more inaccessible than the U of M campus.  That would have been the absolute worst location.  I can still remember Asper's pitch about having people park downtown and jump on a barge down the river to get to the game.

Not to mention 9/10 games you would have to walk to your car with no shoes and a stab wound or two.

[Nickthesizz]

On 2018-08-04 at 12:55 PM, FrostyWinnipeg said:

It is a joke that there is no bike/foot bridge connecting UofM with St. Marys Road.

My parents live off river and the foot bridge somewhere between st marys and river would be amazing. I dont mind the 30 minute walk through the old southwood with a beer or two though.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

On 2018-08-05 at 1:33 AM, NorthernSkunk said:

If IGF had a hotel attached to it I wonder if that would help ?

It would help if an empty golf course was turned into a giant parking lot.

[BigBlue]

We are paying more for tickets at IGF ... for better or for worse

[Jpan85]

I’ll gladly pay extra for the better comfort 

[nate007]

1 hour ago, Gotmilt said:

My parents live off river and the foot bridge somewhere between st marys and river would be amazing. I dont mind the 30 minute walk through the old southwood with a beer or two though.

5

Same. My street is completely full an hour before kickoff, and the walk across the Fort Gary bridge and through University Heights with dozens of other fans is awesome. Based on the curve of the river, it would make more sense to put a footbridge somewhere further down St. Mary's near Henteleff Park than off River near St. Amant. The further north they put it, the more redundant it becomes.

[bearpants]

On 2018-08-03 at 1:37 PM, rebusrankin said:

The trick is make friends with somebody who lives within the restricted parking zone. They let you park on their driveway for free and you have an easy walk or bike ride in and then can get out fairly easy too.

This is exactly what I do... it's about a 15 minute walk from my friend's place... and a season's worth of parking only costs me a case of beer or a nice bottle of something...

[The Unknown Poster]

There are places on Pembina that definitely have a lot of fans attend before/after the games.  Boston Pizza, Pier 7...even my buddie's hotel which is in Fort Richmond has been packed for some events at IGF.  

They should absolutely have a bridge over the Red to the Campus.  It makes sense, not just for the stadium but the University.  I'd be curious if having a dock would make sense.  I know there was some water taxi services in IGF's first season but I dont think it was super popular.  If they had water taxi all the time to a nice dock area, would it be used by students as well?

Of course, a football stadium was not going to kickstart other development simply because of how little it's used (unlike an arena).  

Also, the Thursday night thing, I've always found its not a hard sell.  if people want to attend an event, being out late on a thursday isnt so bad because if you're tired and/or hungover, its only one day to get through before the weekend (and for a handful of games, many people can opt out of working Friday if they really need to).

I've had lots of events on various days and Thursday was actually the ideal day (even more so than Fri/Sat at times).

Edited August 7, 2018 by The Unknown Poster

[Adrenaline_x]

I may be in the minority here, but i tend to enjoy watching the games on tv more.  Maybes its because i get the replays, and having adhd, the production team focuses my attention on the plays then my mind does looking around the stadium.  The stadium is great but its a very long bus ride from east st paul, and i don't mind the drive, but my son wants to take the bus as it is fun.  But taking the bus means we don't get to go on the field after the game which i realize is the main reason he even wants to go to a bomber game with me in the first place as all the buses will have left before we get kicked off the field.   The few times i have driven it was easy to get in and out after the game but thats most likely because i'm on the field and the crowds are mostly gone. I also can Work from home, on the couch, watching the game while remotely fixing servers /vmware/switches while getting paid a lot. So.. it normally wins. 

The other reason i tend to go to only one game a year is because the price for tickets, drinks (pop), popcorn, plus other snacks plus  a souvenier get pretty price for 3 hours of fun with my son. Now. I could sit in the endzone, which would make it cheaper, but then its harder to see and less enjoyable.  But when looking at the cost, its about the same price to drive to the family cottage, with food, snacks, gas for the acadia, gas for the fishing boat and i get 3 days of fun with my Wife, Daughter, and the dog.  

I'm sure most people on this board would call me a causal fan for it, but i read every article that i can find about the cfl, active on reddit sub forums, Listen to 1290 pregame, cjob post game and watch as many cfl games as i can squeeze in and never missed a bomber game in the past 10 years (radio, tv, or at the stadium).

TL;DR, if the stadium was at polo park it would be a shorter bus ride, but, it wouldn't change how often i actually show up to the stadium to watch. 

 

 

 

 

[MOBomberFan]

4 minutes ago, Adrenaline_x said:

I'm sure most people on this board would call me a causal fan

Maybe, but fortunately we don't need validation from other people to make us real fans. You do you! Go Blue!