Grey Cup & Banjo Bowl Temporary Stands

[gbill2004]

@friesensunmedia: #Bombers have quietly reduced capacity for 103rd Grey Cup, to 36,634. North end temporary stands scrapped. Just 25,576 tics sold.

What is it with the Grey Cup sales the last couple years?! BC struggled to sell tickets last year (it wasn't until right before the game that they actually got to 50K) and now this one is half full. I remember when the Grey Cup sold almost right away upon beginning of sales to the general public. Strange.

50 inch HDTV's are a factor as well.

[Atomic]

Too expensive

[TrueBlue]

 

 

 

 

Wade's genius pricing structure has predictably backfired.

Losing 3,000 seats x $150 per ticket is $450,000 in lost revenue.

I'm pretty sure there were way more people and factors involved into the pricing of these tickets than Wade sitting in his office with a pen and paper.

And you do mean potential revenue lost, right?

So, we lost the NHL outdoor game & now Grey Cup tix aren't selling. How much of this falls on Wade Miller?

I'm sure the NHL thing cannot be laid on any single entity alone. The timing schedule alone was a big factor.

But you can blame Miller if you want.

It's more fun to blame Wade.

On a fan message board too, right?

Uh yea, that's what this so yea. Not sure what point you're trying to make here.

 

 

Well for starters, it's completely inaccurate.

[AtlanticRiderFan]

Too expensive

 

They are WAY too expensive. It's the reason I didn't go the Grey Cup in Regina (Which while I have a good reason for not going, I'm still kicking myself hard for it). Maybe they wouldn't have to worry about the turnout if prices were reasonable. No reason to be charging over $500 for one game, even if it's championship.

[gbill2004]

 

 

 

 

 

Wade's genius pricing structure has predictably backfired.

Losing 3,000 seats x $150 per ticket is $450,000 in lost revenue.

I'm pretty sure there were way more people and factors involved into the pricing of these tickets than Wade sitting in his office with a pen and paper.

And you do mean potential revenue lost, right?

So, we lost the NHL outdoor game & now Grey Cup tix aren't selling. How much of this falls on Wade Miller?

I'm sure the NHL thing cannot be laid on any single entity alone. The timing schedule alone was a big factor.

But you can blame Miller if you want.

It's more fun to blame Wade.

On a fan message board too, right?

Uh yea, that's what this so yea. Not sure what point you're trying to make here.

 

 

Well for starters, it's completely inaccurate.

 

I get it.  Wade is your boss so you need to kiss his ass. 

[TrueBlue]

We already look bad on the field, and now we can't sell out a grey cup. Winnipeg continues to astound.

Pathetic. And yes, I agree it falls on the big boss. Turning away the winter classic over two months after the Grey cup is pure genius.

If we miss the playoffs again, blow it up.

5 rookie had coaches in a row. And first time gm's and old buddies aren't helping.

 

So you're saying that having the Winter Classic here in December this year wouldn't have affected Grey Cup ticket sales?  

[TrueBlue]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wade's genius pricing structure has predictably backfired.

Losing 3,000 seats x $150 per ticket is $450,000 in lost revenue.

I'm pretty sure there were way more people and factors involved into the pricing of these tickets than Wade sitting in his office with a pen and paper.

And you do mean potential revenue lost, right?

So, we lost the NHL outdoor game & now Grey Cup tix aren't selling. How much of this falls on Wade Miller?

I'm sure the NHL thing cannot be laid on any single entity alone. The timing schedule alone was a big factor.

But you can blame Miller if you want.

It's more fun to blame Wade.

On a fan message board too, right?

Uh yea, that's what this so yea. Not sure what point you're trying to make here.

 

 

Well for starters, it's completely inaccurate.

 

I get it.  Wade is your boss so you need to kiss his ass. 

 

 

You've figured it all out, well done.  Nice to see you're paying attention.

[gbill2004]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wade's genius pricing structure has predictably backfired.

Losing 3,000 seats x $150 per ticket is $450,000 in lost revenue.

I'm pretty sure there were way more people and factors involved into the pricing of these tickets than Wade sitting in his office with a pen and paper.

And you do mean potential revenue lost, right?

So, we lost the NHL outdoor game & now Grey Cup tix aren't selling. How much of this falls on Wade Miller?

I'm sure the NHL thing cannot be laid on any single entity alone. The timing schedule alone was a big factor.

But you can blame Miller if you want.

It's more fun to blame Wade.

On a fan message board too, right?

Uh yea, that's what this so yea. Not sure what point you're trying to make here.

 

 

Well for starters, it's completely inaccurate.

 

I get it.  Wade is your boss so you need to kiss his ass. 

 

 

You've figured it all out, well done.  Nice to see you're paying attention.

 

What...did you get fired?

[Captain Blue]

I went to the last Cup here and it was great. I'm not overly concerned with ticket sales yet, I would imagine that whichever teams make it will have their fans scoop up plenty of tickets.

[gbill2004]

I'm sure Wade will drum up some discounts and 2 for 1's for his corporate buddies. 

[rebusrankin]

With commiting to my season tickets for 3 years, it was $400 (tickets for me and my dad). I took it as the chance to take my dad to the game cause you never know. Also I've never been to Grey Cup. Part of me thinks this reflects poorly on Winnippegers and part of me thinks that given some of the issues we've had in the last decade it makes a lot of sense.

[basslicker]

We already look bad on the field, and now we can't sell out a grey cup. Winnipeg continues to astound.

Pathetic. And yes, I agree it falls on the big boss. Turning away the winter classic over two months after the Grey cup is pure genius.

If we miss the playoffs again, blow it up.

5 rookie had coaches in a row. And first time gm's and old buddies aren't helping.

So you're saying that having the Winter Classic here in December this year wouldn't have affected Grey Cup ticket sales?

I'm referring to the date in Feb 2016 they rejected

[Logan007]

Wow...some of you guys need to whine more.

[Mr Dee]

We already look bad on the field, and now we can't sell out a grey cup. Winnipeg continues to astound.

Pathetic. And yes, I agree it falls on the big boss. Turning away the winter classic over two months after the Grey cup is pure genius.

If we miss the playoffs again, blow it up.

5 rookie had coaches in a row. And first time gm's and old buddies aren't helping.

So you're saying that having the Winter Classic here in December this year wouldn't have affected Grey Cup ticket sales?

I'm referring to the date in Feb 2016 they rejected

It wasn't Miller doing the rejecting.

"The NHL wanted to play the game in late December, while the football club was pushing for a February date."

CFL

Heritage Classic put on hold until 2016-17

Jets, Bombers couldn’t agree on date for outdoor game

By: Gary Lawless

Posted: 01/20/2015

[basslicker]

Wow...some of you guys need to whine more.

Good. Because cheese was on sale.

[basslicker]

We already look bad on the field, and now we can't sell out a grey cup. Winnipeg continues to astound.

Pathetic. And yes, I agree it falls on the big boss. Turning away the winter classic over two months after the Grey cup is pure genius.

If we miss the playoffs again, blow it up.

5 rookie had coaches in a row. And first time gm's and old buddies aren't helping.

So you're saying that having the Winter Classic here in December this year wouldn't have affected Grey Cup ticket sales?

I'm referring to the date in Feb 2016 they rejected

It wasn't Miller doing the rejecting.

"The NHL wanted to play the game in late December, while the football club was pushing for a February date."

CFL

Heritage Classic put on hold until 2016-17

Jets, Bombers couldn’t agree on date for outdoor game

By: Gary Lawless

Posted: 01/20/2015

I stand corrected. Still, a month seems long enough of a time frame following the Grey cup.

[JuranBoldenRules]

The last 3 Grey Cups have been priced ridiculously.  Saskatchewan made some sense because they were pushing hard to be in that game and they knew they had a sellout in the bag.  The last 2 have made no sense.  If you are going to place the value of a Grey Cup seat higher than the value of potentially 11 games between pre-season, reg season and playoffs in any stadium, you are going to have empty seats.  If they price the game as they have, there will be empty seats in almost every CFL stadium without the circumstances that happened in Regina in 2013.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

 

 

People don't want to watch a Grey Cup game in Winnipeg at the end of November. It could be minu 30. If the Riders hadn't got to the GC in 2013 I wonder how many out of towners would've wanted to go to Regina? 

 

 

The Grey Cup in Regina in 2013 sold out by July 17th, a mere 3 weeks into the season.

 

44,000+ tickets.

 

finally some common sense enters the thread. Also the 1995 and 2003 grey cups which did NOT feature the riders drew over 50k fans each. Laugh at Sask all you guys want, but we support the cup when its here.

 

 

Well 95 like 91 was the first GC game for both cities. It was a sinch they'd sell out.

 

 

 

 

We already look bad on the field, and now we can't sell out a grey cup. Winnipeg continues to astound.

Pathetic. And yes, I agree it falls on the big boss. Turning away the winter classic over two months after the Grey cup is pure genius.

If we miss the playoffs again, blow it up.

5 rookie had coaches in a row. And first time gm's and old buddies aren't helping.

So you're saying that having the Winter Classic here in December this year wouldn't have affected Grey Cup ticket sales?

I'm referring to the date in Feb 2016 they rejected

It wasn't Miller doing the rejecting.

"The NHL wanted to play the game in late December, while the football club was pushing for a February date."

CFL

Heritage Classic put on hold until 2016-17

Jets, Bombers couldn’t agree on date for outdoor game

By: Gary Lawless

Posted: 01/20/2015

 

 

Are we not looking at a late winter game now for the HC?

[Mark F]

If you can afford six hundred dollars for two tickets to one football game, you're doing allright.

 

basing ticket price on saskatchewan if that was done, maybe not a good idea. saskatchewan was on a roll economically, everyone was feeling good, lot of people were making and spending a lot of money in those days.

 

and now, with the stock market tanking, oil price tanking, oil business slowing down, economy struggling… not the same at all.

[Noeller]

If you can afford six hundred dollars for two tickets to one football game, you're doing allright.

Ehhh....the gf and I are probably right in the middle of Middle Income people......and we bought a couple pretty easily. Plus driving out from AB. It's expensive, but it's really not Break The Bank expensive...

[JuranBoldenRules]

If you can afford six hundred dollars for two tickets to one football game, you're doing allright.

 

That's part of it.  I could afford it, but I don't have much interest in being at the game unless the Bombers are in it.  Now if my seat was $100, I'd probably buy it and think I can flip it if the Bombers aren't in it.  When you ask me to pay $300 for a seat that's $25 per game you are effectively killing my ability to resell that seat, even at a small loss, unless the Riders are in the game.  No other fanbase travels well enough.  Maybe they are trying to kill that resale market, but it's killing their natural market.

[TrueBlue]

The last 3 Grey Cups have been priced ridiculously. Saskatchewan made some sense because they were pushing hard to be in that game and they knew they had a sellout in the bag. The last 2 have made no sense. If you are going to place the value of a Grey Cup seat higher than the value of potentially 11 games between pre-season, reg season and playoffs in any stadium, you are going to have empty seats. If they price the game as they have, there will be empty seats in almost every CFL stadium without the circumstances that happened in Regina in 2013.

The pricing models have been very similar more than just the last 3 years. Taking a look at the past 6 or 7 and you will still have similar averages give or take $50.

[blueandgoldguy]

Winnipeg is a notorious "walk up" town.  Late buyers.  Plus its early.  Dont X amount of fans wait to see if their team is in it before grabbing tickets?  Riders making it would be the best scenario for Winnipeg.

It's not last minute.  Last Grey Cup I remember there was only 1500 - 2000 tickets left in the week leading up to the game.  There are 11,000 tickets left with 12 weeks to go so they will have to sell at least 9000 of reach a comparable situation.  Good luck with that.  I fully expect to see thousands given away to charities and volunteers.  THousands given to corporate sponsors at huge discounts and some reduced tickets to the public to get this game soldout.

 

Back when tickets went on sale to the public I stated that the Bombers were charging too much and many here dismissed my comments.  Well even I didn't think tickets would end up selling as poorly as they have and here we are - only 25,000 seats sold and a reduced capacity.

 

Friesen, while he deserves to be taken to task for the many of things he has written in this past articles, is right to shift the focus to the poor ticket sales.  In fact, I'm surprised this hasn't become a bigger story already.  Maybe it will have more legs as we get closer to the game as it most certainly should.

 

Quite simply, Wade Miller and the board blew it when it came to the pricing structure of this game - the most expensive average ticket price in Grey Cup history with the strictest conditions to receive the discount (a 3-year commitment!)  It was absolutely asinine of the organization to assume the demand for tickets would be such that they could charge the same amount for a ticket in the first row of the lower bowl at the 30 yard line as a ticket in the last row of the upper deck at the goal line.  Just as it is ridiculous to charge $299 for corner upper deck seats and $299 for endzone seats when the temp stands that are higher up and thus offer a better view can be purchased for $175.

 

I'm inclined to believe that Miller and co. looked at the pricing structure of Mosaic Stadium a couple years ago and said, "hey, let's charge something similar to them" not taking into account that Rider fans are willing to pay a higher price point for seats, in addition to the team in the midst of a period of relative success.

 

 

Here is Mosaic's seating chart.

 

 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=2013+grey+Cup++seating+chart&espv=2&biw=1422&bih=1036&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CCoQsARqFQoTCPOQlfuau8cCFUoziAodbWAK2w&dpr=0.9#imgrc=lo9mVcMg91bFrM%3A

 

What he should have done was limit the number of Grey Cup tickets priced at $399.  Limit it to an area between the goal lines in the lower bowl and the first 5 - 7 rows between the 30 yard lines in the upper deck.  Most of those upper deck seats that are selling poorly at $399 should have seen another price point applied.  $299 from the 10 yard line to the 10 yard line, or goal line to goal line. The upper deck corner endzone seats should have sold for $225 or $250 instead of the  ridiculous price of $299.  Endzone seats should have sold for $199 instead of $250.  Temps, I think were fine, but should have had the option for a $25 discount instead of 0 discount.

 

Had it been priced correctly, the game would have been a near sellout at the beginning of the season and the Bombers would have seen larger gate revenue even with the lower average ticket price...primarily due to not having to reduce capacity by 4000 and probably not having to discount or give away thousands of tickets to corporations, volunteers and charities.  I think Noeller is correct in stating that the Bombers won't be hosting for a long time after this.  It's doubtful there will be a Grey Cup in Winnipeg for 12-14 years after this unless a miracle happens with ticket sales.

 

This just seems to be another in a long line of poor decisions made by this organization.  Plain greed, and over-optimistic projections will result in potential millions in revenues lost.  Maybe Miller isn't the great businessman some people think he is?

[FrostyWinnipeg]

Re: Sun article

 

"The Bombers guaranteed a profit of $4.3 million to the league, and need to make a mortgage payment of $4 million this year. Another $1.5 million in Grey Cup profits go to Triple-B, the team's quasi-landlord. Miller told us back in April the big game would generate profits of between $4 million and $7 million."

 

We gonna host the GC and lose money this year? That be major bad.

[blueandgoldguy]

The Riders sucking this year has really hurt sales.

I mostly disagree.  If this game was priced correctly most of the tickets would have been sold prior to the season.  Rider fans were somewhat optimistic about their team at the beginning of the season and most of those with the income would have bought tickets at that point.  At the last Grey Cup in Winnipeg, I would estimate only 3000 or so fans were from Sasky (assuming they all are wearing green).  I suspect only a few hundred more would buy tickets if the Riders were playing better.

 

Anyways, the Bombers should not have to rely on the Riders being a good team to sellout the game.  Again if they had the proper pricing structure, we would have seen more ticket sold to both Bomber fans and out-of-town fans.