Rivalries, Late Starts, & Game Days - Attendance

[Mr Dee]

Edmonton made the 1st aggressive promotion recently to include youth under a certain age to get in free, and reduced rates for certain sections. This, along with cheaper concessions. 

They have been, and are on the road at this time, but I want to see if there’s a marked difference in attendance for their next home game...or the one after, seeing as Toronto’s the next home game.

[Brandon]

My opinion for the lower Bomber attendance isn't so much the cost of tickets.    It's a mixture of stadium being in an inconvenient area and the lack of marketing and interest to the younger demographics (mostly kids).   I think once the Jets came back it swooped all the attention from the kids. 

I see tonnes of Jets merch on kids at both of my kids schools and barely anything with the Blue and Gold.   When my nephew was younger and when he was in school I definitely saw Bomber (and Moose) gear on a bunch of kids. 

I think having kids under 15 for free would make the most sense ,   they would surely make it up the ticket cost with concessions and merch that they would sell from the kids being at the game.

It's unfortunate that they Stadium is where it is but nothing we can do about it for now.  It's unfortunate that more restaurants don't have offers where they feed and bus you to the stadium and back. 

[Noeller]

the stadium is in a phenomenal spot, and I don't buy any of the bullshit surrounding it's location for one second.....it's always going to be inconvenient for someone. I LOVE where it is....

[Booch]

the stadium location is a dumb reason in any context..it was an inconvenient location for me before...and thousands of others in area of city where I live...but we all went....so now if it's a matter of being inconvenient for the St James/Charleswood/polo Park area crowd, and they choose to not go anymore...then they were never true fans.

When I lived in Oakland/San Jose areas going to a pro event was usually a good hour..hour and a half venture (one way) on most occasions....so stadium location in a smaller city is a pathetic excuse if you ask me

[Geebrr]

Stadium location is an easy excuse and not really valid. 

[nate007]

You guys gotta remember that Brandon was one of the most vocal opponents around here last fall when it came to opening Portage and Main to pedestrians because he didn't want to spend an extra couple of minutes per day on his commute, so of course driving an extra ten or fifteen minutes to the south end is gonna grind his gears. 😉 😁

 

/ducks

[bearpants]

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

Calgary and Edmonton used to have minor league baseball stuff but pretty sure that's over with. 

Neither Calgary or Edmonton have ahl teams alongside nhl and whl teams. That seems the biggest difference. Calgary has the roughnecks lacrosse team and some people go to that, but it's not the kind of draw ahl could be in my opinion.

I figured Calgary and Edm had minor pro ball similar to the goldeyes...

[Noeller]

13 minutes ago, bearpants said:

I figured Calgary and Edm had minor pro ball similar to the goldeyes...

they did have the Cannons and Trappers, but neither exist anymore, and even when they did, they weren't at the same level as the Goldeyes. I'd call it a level below, at best...

[Captain Blue]

Ticket prices in all sports will need to eventually come down. This isn't just a CFL or Winnipeg issue; you see it in all the other leagues. Staying home to watch a game on an HD TV at no cost is pretty tempting option for most people. Thursday night games are great on TV (more football!) but during the work week makes it difficult for a lot to attend.

I think the league should really push the Western start times earlier. Eastern Canada likely isn't watching a Lions game starting at 10 Eastern. We were in Ottawa during Week 1, and watching the Bombers-Lions game from 10-1 AM was just not an option for us.  Its a bit easier for the NHL to get away with those late starts when there is so much hockey on earlier for fans to consume. There are only four CFL games most weeks, you can't really afford to have one continually with low viewing numbers.

[kelownabomberfan]

3 hours ago, Noeller said:

the stadium is in a phenomenal spot, and I don't buy any of the bullshit surrounding it's location for one second.....it's always going to be inconvenient for someone. I LOVE where it is....

definitely in a better place for those coming from the south of the city like Steinbach/Niverville etc.  Quick drive to Le Nob in St. Norbert, hop on a bus and boom you're there.

[Atomic]

6 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

definitely in a better place for those coming from the south of the city like Steinbach/Niverville etc.  Quick drive to Le Nob in St. Norbert, hop on a bus and boom you're there.

The Nob is actually an awesome place to go before games

[Rod Black]

3 hours ago, Noeller said:

the stadium is in a phenomenal spot, and I don't buy any of the bullshit surrounding it's location for one second.....it's always going to be inconvenient for someone. I LOVE where it is....

Most bomber fans would know most of this story.

IG Field was built through Asper and others lobbying the federal government for assistance through the infrastructure program. The infrastructure program was to help public initiatives by Universities. The stadium was only given approval because it was on the free land at the U of M and it’s use was for the school. 50 million dollars were provided by the feds with the free land making it affordable. We know the budget was to be 150 million dollars. No way would that stadium come in at under 150 without the two key components. It’s a bargain.

The newly opened, at that time, MTS Center was a jewel for the citizens. It contributed to reviving a downtown area. Happy populous. With the success of the MTS Center, a lot of peggers wanted to further invigorate the downtown area with a brand spanking new football venue. Locations were discussed. Transportation and parking would not have been a problem as more people work downtown than what a stadium would hold. This pricier option was ideal. 

I find people that are dissatisfied with the current location prefer the downtown option. That’s were many people work, and would not be dissimilar to a jet game with the downtown pregame excitement that is generated. 

I would suggest the dissatisfaction is as a result of what could have been when the opportunity was there for the whole package. Yet they still understand the economics. 

Our stadium, as Bob Irving recently wrote, is the jewel of the CFL. Many cities have stadiums out in hell’s half acre. Peggers just aren’t use to seeing the city grow in this manner. 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Rod Black

[Atomic]

I love IG Field but a downtown stadium really would be awesome. Imagine 33 000 fans flooding downtown on a hot summer night after a Bomber game. It would be phenomenal. I hate how there isn't really anywhere to walk after games at IG Field. Again I do like it. But the potential of a downtown stadium is very intriguing. Downtown Minneapolis is a great example. 

[Rod Black]

8 minutes ago, Atomic said:

I love IG Field but a downtown stadium really would be awesome. Imagine 33 000 fans flooding downtown on a hot summer night after a Bomber game. It would be phenomenal. I hate how there isn't really anywhere to walk after games at IG Field. Again I do like it. But the potential of a downtown stadium is very intriguing. Downtown Minneapolis is a great example. 

Precisely. 

[rebusrankin]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't most of the growth of the city in the South End (St Vital, Waverly West, Sage Creek, South Pointe), all areas resonably close to the stadium?

As for downtown, where exactly would you have built the stadium?

[Bubba Zanetti]

1 hour ago, rebusrankin said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't most of the growth of the city in the South End (St Vital, Waverly West, Sage Creek, South Pointe), all areas resonably close to the stadium?

As for downtown, where exactly would you have built the stadium?

IIRC the original proposal from Asper was to build a new stadium in the exact spot as the old one. Where the team would play in the meantime is a good question.

[Geebrr]

1 hour ago, rebusrankin said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't most of the growth of the city in the South End (St Vital, Waverly West, Sage Creek, South Pointe), all areas resonably close to the stadium?

As for downtown, where exactly would you have built the stadium?

Exactly. The stadium wasnt happening without the free land.

[Geebrr]

4 minutes ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

IIRC the original proposal from Asper was to build a new stadium in the exact spot as the old one. Where the team would play in the meantime is a good question.

It was not viable 

[Bubba Zanetti]

Im not a huge fan of where the stadium is now but its not moving. The old stadium had wayyyy more exit points and much more free areas to park within walking distance. Not to mention more restaurant choices nearby. It takes forever to get off Pembina now. Ive had season tickets for many years and I almost never missed a game at the old stadium. Now midweek I find myself asking "do I really want to drive all the way over there, pay 10 bucks to park, still have to walk another 20+ minutes, then double my travel time on the way home fighting Pembina traffic". Ive sold more games over the last few years than I have in nearly 20 years at the old stadium.

[Geebrr]

I honestly dont get this argument anymore.

I think people forget that Polo was pack a lunch time to get out.

The new stadium takes 20 mins tops and costs 5 bucks to park. We we so spoiled for too long , it actually irritates me.

FYI trying parking around US Bank it us about $40 USD

[Mr Dee]

8 minutes ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

do I really want to drive all the way over there, pay 10 bucks to park, still have to walk another 20+ minutes, then double my travel time on the way home fighting Pembina traffic

Three words.

Park and Ride.

Convenient. Works pretty well.

[Geebrr]

It is $5 to park by the way. 

 

[Geebrr]

1 minute ago, Mr Dee said:

Three words.

Park and Ride.

Convenient. Works pretty well.

The city buses are also solid

[Geebrr]

If you are using location, parking, and cost, cool, stay home.

But as someone who buys season tickets and spends money on the team, I don't want those people to be able to sit at home and buy their cheaper beer.

Blackout games 

[Atomic]

Big fan of the park and ride. It is extremely smooth now.