Training Camp Info

[Rids]

Yes, an event so coveted no other country bid to host it.

 

Soccer may be the most popular sport in the world but not in Canada.

 

North America and Japan + a few select European nations are the leaders in women's sports. This will be a good draw in Canada and a benefit for the communities lucky enough to have facilities to host. It's a shame that we didn't get more facilities built out of this but maybe after this goes well it will happen in the future. 

 

As for the Bomber camp I'm sure they will accommodate the fans in some regard. 

 

Question for the board: Would you pay a nominal fee to get better access than previous years? Would you donate $5 to the Bombers Fund to stand on the sidelines? 

[Brandon Blue&Gold]

Are the Bombers making $$$ from the Women's World Cup games being played at IGF?

[Noeller]

Yes, an event so coveted no other country bid to host it.

Soccer may be the most popular sport in the world but not in Canada.

North America and Japan + a few select European nations are the leaders in women's sports. This will be a good draw in Canada and a benefit for the communities lucky enough to have facilities to host. It's a shame that we didn't get more facilities built out of this but maybe after this goes well it will happen in the future.

As for the Bomber camp I'm sure they will accommodate the fans in some regard.

Question for the board: Would you pay a nominal fee to get better access than previous years? Would you donate $5 to the Bombers Fund to stand on the sidelines?

Would pay a lot more than that for access not even as good as that...

[Rids]

This is what fan boards should be about. Take advantage of the current social media landscape and let the team know. 

[Taynted_Fayth]

I thought this board was here to tempt me to join filipinocupid.com, a long time to do on the ol bucketlist

[comedygeek]

Are the Bombers making $$$ from the Women's World Cup games being played at IGF?

 

Well, the Bombers make revenue from events at IGF (as de facto owners of the venue), and these are big events at IGF, so I'm going to assume that yes, they'll be making money from these games.

 

They also will be showcasing IGF on national and international television, especially with 4 former World Cup champs playing games here (including the U.S.).

 

It's a win-win-win for the city, IGF, and the Bombers.

[Jacquie]

Are the Bombers making $$$ from the Women's World Cup games being played at IGF?

Of course they will. Just like they make money from concerts.

[gbill2004]

i think what they mean to say is that we can not get into the field area, u can sit and watch all u want, but on the outside of the fence area, just like we did last year when they practised there

I watched a few practices there last year and was allowed inside the fenced area.

[mbrg]

At least Bomber have their training camp in the same city as they play.

 

If fans aren't allowed access, what does it matter?  There is effectively no difference between the two.

 

Why don't we just wait and see what the Bombers have in store for this upcoming TC before we, once again, go ape-****-down-on-the-Bombers.

It's not like we've haven't seen something like this happen, where the fans react, and it's totally out of portion to the situation at hand. Put the matches back in the drawer.

 

While I might normally be inclined to agree with the "wait and see, let's give them the benefit of the doubt" approach, I've seen far too many examples in recent years of this team making bone-headed decisions only to reverse policy in the face of an outcry.  The fans reaction seems to be the only thing that gets this organization to take fans into account.  It's really the strangest thing.  There shouldn't be a single non-football ops decision that doesn't get placed under the microscope of "how will this affect fans?" at some point in the process.  From a non-football ops perspective, it is or should be the point of everything they do.  How do they continually make missteps on the single most important aspect of that side of the business?  Honestly, that question should show up on a poster in every single office and meeting room in Bomber headquarters, and if I was working there, it would.

 

 

 

Holy Crap, did some of you people graduate from the Paul Friesen school of overreaction? 

 

If I had made travel plans based on coming to a few days of TC (and I've done it before) I'd be pretty cheesed.  I think this just shows that the Bombers aren't very connected with their fanbase.  BC can get away with holding training camp in Kamloops because no one in Vancouver cares.  Winnipeg is different.  People care.  The fans are passionate.  The Bombers seem to just not get that.  Even the media doesn't get it.

 

 

What would you like them to do?  Spend a bunch of money for a couple dozen fans?  That's usually the amount of people who aren't Bomber employees or people who are supposedly covering the team for local media at the TC practices I've been to other than the opening full practice which they've made into an event in recent years.  Let's apply some logic and rational thinking here.

 

Personally, I thought they should have dropped the field turf into University Stadium and used that for local football as there is a huge shortage of adequate facilities.  That would have worked out perfectly for Bomber training camp when they can't be in IGF.

 

 

The primary purpose of that area remains track and field events.  I'm guessing having a javelin puncture the field turf and break against the underlying concrete was considered unwise.  From a solely football perspective, putting turf in there would be a banner idea.  So would getting rid of the rubberized ankle-death sections in the endzones, but it's not to be.

 

Outside of opening day, when the crowd is in the thousands rather than the hundreds, roping off an area near the field for fans should not be expensive or inconvenient.  There are bathrooms nearby at the indoor soccer complex, Frank Kennedy and Max Bell (I'm guessing people will not be allowed in the stadium concourse during that time).  As for the opening day of camp, I'll admit that's a tough one.  Hire a few extra staff to try and marshall the crowd so there aren't any player/fan collisions and otherwise consider the day a unique, one-time interactive experience would be what I'd try for.  Would it work?  I couldn't say without looking at the field.

[LeBird]

 

There is plenty of room at that field for a couple of hundred fans.  It's been used for high school games, and was the host site for the Red River Cup (u-16) tournament a couple of years ago.  They brought in a mobile trailer that converted into some bleachers.  It's an artificial turf field, and it a very good surface (so not a "pasture").   For the hardcore fan, it's not a bad venue.

It's not as if the Bombers knew about this soccer tournament in advance, so how could they have been proactive and planned for it until now?

 

How hard could it be to reschedule a soccer game or a few?

[gbill2004]

There is plenty of room at that field for a couple of hundred fans. It's been used for high school games, and was the host site for the Red River Cup (u-16) tournament a couple of years ago. They brought in a mobile trailer that converted into some bleachers. It's an artificial turf field, and it a very good surface (so not a "pasture"). For the hardcore fan, it's not a bad venue.

It's not as if the Bombers knew about this soccer tournament in advance, so how could they have been proactive and planned for it until now?

How hard could it be to reschedule a soccer game or a few?

Exactly. Couldn't they have played this soccer game over the winter when there's no football? Geeze

[17to85]

Its unreal how myopic some of you are.. the team NEEDS the revenue.. if that means one season's TC has to be relocated then so be it.. Im sure amends will be made to allow viewing by the fans willing to come down..

Sorry they didn't call each one of you and speak to you personally to soothe your butthurts..

"Everything the Bombers do is great"

 

all the complaints stem from the initial tweet that said training camp was closed to the public. It's not about it being in a different location, it's about the surprise news that the public couldn't attend then the scrambling by the club to say "nononononono that's not what we meant! stay tuned!" They coulda had a plan in place to let fans watch well in advance but instead they are in panic mode because they got caught napping on the job. 

[kelownabomberfan]

 

Its unreal how myopic some of you are.. the team NEEDS the revenue.. if that means one season's TC has to be relocated then so be it.. Im sure amends will be made to allow viewing by the fans willing to come down..

Sorry they didn't call each one of you and speak to you personally to soothe your butthurts..

"Everything the Bombers do is great"

 

all the complaints stem from the initial tweet that said training camp was closed to the public. It's not about it being in a different location, it's about the surprise news that the public couldn't attend then the scrambling by the club to say "nononononono that's not what we meant! stay tuned!" They coulda had a plan in place to let fans watch well in advance but instead they are in panic mode because they got caught napping on the job. 

 

 

Caught napping....AGAIN....

[IC Khari]

[bearpants]

Poor planning and forgetting fans needs is something that I thought was gone with Wade leading the charge... always look forward to watching TC... I guess we'll see what they come up with...

[Mr Dee]

 

At least Bomber have their training camp in the same city as they play.

 

If fans aren't allowed access, what does it matter?  There is effectively no difference between the two.

 

 

At no point do I believe the Bombers were going to close off practices to the public. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why don't we just wait and see what the Bombers have in store for this upcoming TC before we, once again, go ape-****-down-on-the-Bombers.

It's not like we've haven't seen something like this happen, where the fans react, and it's totally out of portion to the situation at hand. Put the matches back in the drawer.

 

While I might normally be inclined to agree with the "wait and see, let's give them the benefit of the doubt" approach, I've seen far too many examples in recent years of this team making bone-headed decisions only to reverse policy in the face of an outcry. 

 

 

 

Far too many examples in recent years, for me, does not apply, as I believe they are trying to rectify those past glitches. 

 

 

 

The fans reaction seems to be the only thing that gets this organization to take fans into account.  It's really the strangest thing.  There shouldn't be a single non-football ops decision that doesn't get placed under the microscope of "how will this affect fans?" at some point in the process.  From a non-football ops perspective, it is or should be the point of everything they do.  How do they continually make missteps on the single most important aspect of that side of the business?  Honestly, that question should show up on a poster in every single office and meeting room in Bomber headquarters, and if I was working there, it would.

 

 

While I agree all circumstances should be looked at when special events take over the stadium, I have no way of knowing how long the Bomber staff had to wait to get certain information from the 'Soccer people'.

As far as I know, the first game isn't until June 8th or something. Seems like time enough for me, but then I don't know what demands or requests were made for Stadium time.

I also don't know how much involvement there was from the University's perspective. They they get the necessary requests in time for the use of other facilities? And did they answer in time?

Were the facilities 'open' for use? Field ready?

Were the Bombers waiting for the necessary information themselves?

There is still more that the Org. can do to - point by point, to relay correct information to the public, on that we can agree, but the reaction to this past incident is too over the top for me.

Let's see what they have planned.

 

And now…to golf.

[Fatty Liver]

Poor planning and forgetting fans needs is something that I thought was gone with Wade leading the charge... always look forward to watching TC... I guess we'll see what they come up with...

 

I'm a bit surprised especially since improving the fan experience seems to to be Wade's mandate on his way to extracting $$ from pockets.  If they drew over a thousand last year for opening day, than this sounds like a golden opportunity to expand their business and start their season off with a big publicity bang.  Accommodating and involving the fans at this event is probably looked upon by the coaches and players as a PITA but In the end it all works toward paying their wages by creating awareness and excitement for the season to come.

[WBBFanWest]

 

 

At least Bomber have their training camp in the same city as they play.

 

If fans aren't allowed access, what does it matter?  There is effectively no difference between the two.

 

 

At no point do I believe the Bombers were going to close off practices to the public. 

Oh really?  And the tweet that went out from the Bombers saying that TC would be closed to the public?  Was that just to see if we were paying attention?  Clearly, someone with the authority to decided these things did just that, right up until common sense kicked in.  Sure, they withdrew the tweet fairly quickly but to say "At no point do I believe the Bombers were going to close off practices to the public." is beyond laughable.  I get that you are a huge fan of all the Bombers say and do but come on...

[Goalie]

It is possible that the bomber twitter person was wrong tho and the tweet being deleted sort of suggests that the person running the twitter perhaps didn't have all the info. I'll be honest I might go once but work and stuff gets In the way. I consider myself a huge fan but no way would I take vacation time to watch training camp. Appreciate those who do but I think those who do are in the minority. Perhaps vocal minority but still.... if I had a day off or got off early or something yup I'd go. If not, then oh well cuz after all its just training camp to me. I appreciate those who go and share their thoughts but it's just their thoughts really. None of us really know what they truly are looking for in a player. We might think we do but we don't. But I do appreciate those who go and give their 2 cents but in the big picture a random fans thoughts mean very little.

[Tehedra]

Perhaps the tweet was a typo it was within minutes that it was withdrawn, it isn't like their phones started ringing of the hook instantly from a tweet and I doubt they were like let's put this out and read some discussion boards to gauge the reaction.  More then likely it was errenuous and that was that

 

As others have said this has been blown way out of proportion by many of us here

[WBBFanWest]

Perhaps the tweet was a typo it was within minutes that it was withdrawn, it isn't like their phones started ringing of the hook instantly from a tweet and I doubt they were like let's put this out and read some discussion boards to gauge the reaction.  More then likely it was errenuous and that was that

 

As others have said this has been blown way out of proportion by many of us here

A typo?  So they meant to say "Looking forward to the upcoming supplemental draft" and accidently typed "Training Camp will be closed to the public"?  Ya, I see how easily that could happen..

 

Or, here's another possibility; they had done nothing about TC, fan wise, and someone with the authority to send out tweets under the Bomber account (and there aren't likely a bunch of those) decided (or was directed) to put out a tweet saying that TC was closed.  Then someone else in the organization, someone with a bit more on the ball said, "Are you nuts?  We can't do that."  and the tweet was deleted.  I've followed the Bombers for a long time and I've seen how their front office does things.  I know which way I'm leaning.

 

In any case, the next step is to wait and see what sort of "fan experience" they can throw together now that they realized that they completely forgot to do anything.  I'm sure it will be a doozy, because as we all know, with the WBB, the fan comes first.

[Blitzy]

Holy crap. You're blowing this way out of proportion and don't even know what the end result will be. I took a walk outside and it doesn't look like the sky is falling to me.

[Goalie]

Maybe not a typo but a mistake, quite simply put the twitter person might have made a simple mistake. Maybe the twitter person has no idea what they are talking about even, i mean really. It's not uncommon i don't think for Twitter people to speak out of line, didn't somebody from a NBA team get fired because they posted something they shouldn't have? This isn't a fire worthy offense here tho, it's just a mistake it seems.

 

As for fan experience at training camp, not sure what people expect to be honest. It's training camp, i mean, let's be real here, they have held it at rods field before, airplanes flying over head, not much for seating, they have held parts of TC or rookie camp in Brandon, not much fan seating there, you have people suggesting they hold it at st johns ravenscourt field, or heck ill suggest Kildonan East Collegiate, they got a nice field and a few bleachers. What do you expect? For them to stop practice and come over and shake hands of the 50 to 100 fans and media in attendance? It won't happen and it never will. This isn't about the fans even, it's about evaluating players, peoples jobs are on the line here. Like i've said, i appreciate those who go and that but really, you are there to watch guys try to compete for jobs, it's their asses on the line, not ours. 

 

You want to go and watch? I'm sure you will be able too, if if you expect to be treated like your some kind of king or queen because you are going to watch training camp, man, c'mon.  

 

I believe a couple weeks back the bombers held their annual fan experience day at IGF... what more do you want really... get to meet the players and coaches and all that stuff, it must have been recent cuz i remember seeing all the pics on twitter.

 

People need to remember that TC and this stuff, peoples jobs are on the line, is it cool for fans to come watch? for sure but if you expect them to roll out the red carpet for you to come watch, it won't happen and never will. 

[WBBFanWest]

My final word on this will be that I had personal reasons for really wanting to do this (that I'm not going to bore anyone with).  So yes, I am more than a little disappointed.  Having said that, the only other frustration I have is with those who will quickly rise to the defense of an organization and try to defend things that are clearly, just dumb.  It's ok to say that the Bomber front office screwed up.  

[sweep the leg]

My final word on this will be that I had personal reasons for really wanting to do this (that I'm not going to bore anyone with).  So yes, I am more than a little disappointed.  Having said that, the only other frustration I have is with those who will quickly rise to the defense of an organization and try to defend things that are clearly, just dumb.  It's ok to say that the Bomber front office screwed up.  

Maybe it was just the person manning the twitter feed that screwed up. We don't know for sure that anybody else did. Maybe that person just assumed that the location change meant fans weren't allowed.

 

It's easily believable that somebody in the organization who knows better saw that tweet, knew it was wrong, and had it immediately taken down.