Grey Cup Ticket Sales

[Tracker]

Now what possible reasons could we have to change the coach or GM? Silly person.

[Jaxon]

I don't have a lot of sympathy for the people flooding Kijiji who do not want to attend the Grey Cup without the Bombers in it.  There was a 99.9% chance in March that we'd be where we are today.

 

I have a lot of sympathy for the people who were sold a bill of goods by the Blue Bombers, committing to 3 seasons while getting to watch Grey Cup tickets sold for the same or less all around them without that commitment.  You just can't do that to people, the people who are really the builders of this organization.  It is lucky for the Football Club that these people would not do anything that could possibly hurt the Football Club financially, because if they were dealing with a private business most would likely vote with their wallets, maybe even look into a class action to get out of the ridiculous one-sided commitment foisted on them in supposed good faith.  The fact that screwing over long-time customers is worth less than a couple thousand empty seats speaks volumes.

I have a different perspective.   I bought my 4 seats (which are excellent seats near mid-field) with the 3 year committment.  Last year I paid 400 per seat for 7 seats which were not nearly as good.   I've been a season ticket holder since 1968, so yes, I've supported the club through good times and bad.    I don't feel that I was "sold a bill of goods by the Blue Bombers", because they delivered what they promised, and the price was in-line with last year's.   To the best of my knowledge, they haven't offered equivalent tickets to my purchase at lower prices.   I realize with any ticketed event, that black-market tickets may be sold well above or well below face value, and that you take a chance that cheaper "might" become available.  You also might have to pay alot more depending on the laws of supply and demand.   History has shown that if the host team is not in the game, cheaper tickets become available, but if they are in the game, it can get crazy.  There have been exceptions, such as 2007 in Toronto, but this has been the general rule.

 

I don't consider the Nissan deal to be an equivalent purchase due to the volume of tickets involved.   I glad that some younger football players are getting the opportunity to attend the game.  It's unfortunate that they didn't sell out at full price, but I have positive feelings about the Nissan deal, because what they did was generous.

 

All that being said, I'm quite concerned with the escalation in Grey Cup ticket prices in general.  I go every year, and I can afford to do it.  My concern is for the long time fans who support the team year in and year out, but then can't afford to attend the game when it comes to town.  I would suggest the league insures that they "dance with the ones that brought them".  I don't want the Grey Cup to become too corporate or elite.   The enthusiasm that the regular fans from across the country bring to the game is what makes it special. 

[max power]

The club screwed up on pricing the game and on screwing season ticket holders on the discount. Wade is doing a poor job and is pissing off a lot of core fans.

 

This might be true, I don't know.  But I do know that no matter what the Bombers do there always seems to be no shortage of people claiming that the team is screwing them over in various ways. Maybe it's a Winnipeg thing, or maybe it's a the team hasn't won much in a long time thing. Whatever it is, it's been around longer than Wade Miller.

[Mike]

I don't have a lot of sympathy for the people flooding Kijiji who do not want to attend the Grey Cup without the Bombers in it.  There was a 99.9% chance in March that we'd be where we are today.

 

I have a lot of sympathy for the people who were sold a bill of goods by the Blue Bombers, committing to 3 seasons while getting to watch Grey Cup tickets sold for the same or less all around them without that commitment.  You just can't do that to people, the people who are really the builders of this organization.  It is lucky for the Football Club that these people would not do anything that could possibly hurt the Football Club financially, because if they were dealing with a private business most would likely vote with their wallets, maybe even look into a class action to get out of the ridiculous one-sided commitment foisted on them in supposed good faith.  The fact that screwing over long-time customers is worth less than a couple thousand empty seats speaks volumes.

 

This is basically where I am at. I was taught, as a consumer, that my loyalty means nothing. Why bother offering my loyalty when I can just wait it out to get the best deal possible?

 

I would really like to go back and read the letter that informed me of this $100 discount. I'm curious as to the wording of it, because I found the wording of the letter that was sent to sponsors advertising the same discount to be very interesting. Peculiar use of the words "exclusive discount" inferring that this was the only discount of it's kind available. Maybe they meant "exclusive" as in being the only $100 discount that doesn't require a 3-year commitment on top of it.

 

Either way - I'm incredibly unimpressed with the way this has been handled by the club. I think they've done a lot of good things lately - I never really have much to complain about, because in the end, it's all about going to the football games and having a good time, but this just reeks of flipping the bird to the most loyal group of customers you have and to me, that stinks.

 

I do want to edit this post a bit because I feel there is another half of this that needs mentioning - while I don't agree with what the team did, I don't think people should be giving TrueBlue as hard of a time as they are in this thread. What you have to understand is that he did not work for the club while this was all going on and from every interaction I've had with him, both related and unrelated to the club, he's somebody the Bombers are lucky to have working for them and I think we are lucky to have him as a contributor to our community as well. I know there's a lot of accusations of bias or "conflict of interest" going on, but from everything I've seen, there's a fine line that he has done a great job of riding - I think as fans who are largely unaware of the exact processes that these situations are brought about by, we often don't have the full story and he does a great job of trying to provide as much perspective as possible. I still don't agree with a lot of the decisions the WFC made during this entire year of work to make the Grey Cup happen, but I have a better sense of understanding thanks to TrueBlue - and yes, some of the anger we (myself included) have is misguided. I think a lot of people here just need to step back and remember that before he started working for the club, TrueBlue was a contributor to this community for as long as I can remember. 10+ years, I would guess. He deserves a break from all the crap he's had to take from some people here. You don't have to agree with what he's saying, but at least respect that he thinks enough of this community to come and explain it to us.

[17to85]

Likely just a case of the Grey Cup game finding it's limit for what people can charge. Priced too high so tickets weren't moving, had to drop the prices to get asses in the seats. It's probably a good thing long term as it should keep the prices from going up crazy amounts every year

[IC Khari]

But why raise them so high in the first place? Just because you can get away with something doesn't make it right. That seems to be this team's mantra recently. I had hoped things would change with Miller but I guess some of the deeply engrained disfunction is still taking awhile to be exorcised. Time will tell if Miller is the priest who helps deliver the person or the one who runs insanely screaming out of the room ...

[17to85]

But why raise them so high in the first place? Just because you can get away with something doesn't make it right. That seems to be this team's mantra recently. I had hoped things would change with Miller but I guess some of the deeply engrained disfunction is still taking awhile to be exorcised.

people looking to maximize profits simple as that. If you can get away with raising prices a profit driven group will do it. What we've likely seen here is the league seeing what the cap on ticket prices that people will pay is. 

[IC Khari]

I understand that business principle, I don't understand it being applied in a situation like the Bombers find themselves in recently at least as an organization. Yes
there are us diehards who will buy tickets no matter what, but even the most loyal of us are losing or have totally lost faith. Don't make it worse.

[sweep the leg]

Likely just a case of the Grey Cup game finding it's limit for what people can charge. Priced too high so tickets weren't moving, had to drop the prices to get asses in the seats. It's probably a good thing long term as it should keep the prices from going up crazy amounts every year

Miller gambled on prices and lost. It will be interesting to see what next year's host does.

[Jpan85]

I have a feeling this happens most years other than the the 100th and 101st. Just don't hear about it because we are not in the host city.

[wookie]

i did not read all of this , but how did miller gamble on prices and lost, he won, 1,000 tickets or so left, do the math, bombers will do well on this game

i agree , price for all these sports are going up way to fast

but sooner or later they will have to come down, but for the grey cup game , the bombers will do well on a profit

[DR. CFL]

You still have to factor in the lost revenue when the game's capacity was significantly reduced. Lower prices for tickets while obtaining maximum capacity plus additional ancillary revenue from concessions and other sources. The fact that the game was not a pre sellout at a reduced capacity should indicate that pricing was perhaps out of line.

[Rich]

i did not read all of this , but how did miller gamble on prices and lost, he won, 1,000 tickets or so left, do the math, bombers will do well on this game

i agree , price for all these sports are going up way to fast

but sooner or later they will have to come down, but for the grey cup game , the bombers will do well on a profit

 

If you read the comments on here, he lost by alienating / losing good will with the very group of season ticket holders that are the financial life blood of the organization.

 

Is that price really worth maximizing the profits for this one event?

 

I don't think this episode alone is enough to affect ticket sales going forward, but when you combine the escalating prices in tickets (yes I know no increase this year), concessions, and parking, and the cumulative affect of the on field product over the last number of years, there are a lot of people that are getting turned off by this organization.

 

The way I see it is the Bombers thought they were the Jets, or at least saw what the Jets did and thought they could emulate it.  The Jets are able to make people agree to multi year season ticket agreements because the demand is there.  That demand won't be there forever, but they took advantage of it while they could.  Smart business.

 

The Bombers should have offered this discount to season ticket holders to guarantee a solid base of ticket sales without the multi year commitment (or even a one year commitment would have been fine).  The Bombers don't have the same demand as the Jets and they don't command the same level of "prestige" in the eyes of many as the NHL does.  In a series of a lot of gaffes from this organization over the last 5 years, they've just thrown more good will out the window with the people they should be catering to the most.

[Noeller]

If the Bombers kept Willy healthy and had a reasonable season, this would all be a moo point. Tickets would have sold very quickly. Once Willy was hurt and out season spiralled, people bailed hard.

[Mr Dee]

The Bombers org. based their last two years on building towards something good happening in Bomberland, what with the new staff that had been hired. They signed a lot of their own FAs over that time and added key FAs from outside. They drafted with the future in mind and believed that with the Bombers hosting the cup in 2015, that they would be close enough to be a party to the party.

It's not inconceivable that, with that in mind, and the guidelines presented by the league, that these prices for tickets were bandied about and agreed upon. From there, everything went wrong. Both the Bombers and the next in line, Sask. Riders were blown out and along with them, ticket sales.

If everything had gone according to plan, I doubt there would be as much consternation. It's just like the last few Bomber seasons..expectations exceeded actuallities.

It looked good at the start.

But now the teams are set, and I'd expect any remaining tickets to be scooped up...maybe even through Kijiji.

[Jimmy Pop]

My biggest issue with GC ticket prices was that for me, a GC ticket is nearly identical to the cost of the entire season's worth of games. That's why I said thanks, but no thanks. There's just no value there.

 

Re: committments from STH. Bombers really misguided their pull here. They are NOT the Jets. And certainly not in a 33,500 seat stadium. Why the heck would I commit to 3 more years when I could wait and see what next year brings, first? I sit up in section 209 and have empty seats directly on either side, and literally entire rows worth empty right behind me. 

 

The only thing that really made/makes me want to renew is my family "seniority", which dates back to '84 and four years before I was born.

[IC Khari]

If the Bombers kept Willy healthy and had a reasonable season, this would all be a moo point. Tickets would have sold very quickly. Once Willy was hurt and out season spiralled, people bailed hard.

 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

They tried to pull off a Jets pricing scheme. Limited seats. Make them some of the most expensive seats in the NHL.

 

Wait till you see the beer prices!

 

Forecast is -3 as I write this.

 

http://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/mb-36_metric_e.html

 

iPhone says 0c on Saturday

[JuranBoldenRules]

i did not read all of this , but how did miller gamble on prices and lost, he won, 1,000 tickets or so left, do the math, bombers will do well on this game

i agree , price for all these sports are going up way to fast

but sooner or later they will have to come down, but for the grey cup game , the bombers will do well on a profit

 

I'm sure certain people could put hard numbers forward if they wish, but I'd wager a majority of the seats are discounted through either the "deal" offered season ticket holders, corporate sales and now outright discounts.

[Tracker]

In a week's time after a great Grey Cup game, all the angst will be fading, but the concerns for the upcoming season with the usual suspects at the helm will remain.

[Guest J5V]

In a week's time after a great Grey Cup game, all the angst will be fading, but the concerns for the upcoming season with the usual suspects at the helm will remain.

The angst will fade but if the team gets off to a horrific start I can see this thing getting ugly like no one ever believed was possible. I, for one, will not sit through another season of misery watching inept coaches and players play the role of the circus clowns. It won't take long to see where the 2016 team is and if Walters and O'Shea go into damage control mode early, and if Wade Miller is as silent as he was this year, I predict a mass exodus of fans. Everyone has some pride and everyone has their limit. Let's hope for another 5-0 start.

[Tracker]

Not sure if a 5-0 start is mandatory for the Bombers in 2016, as nice as that would be. We do need to see a competitive, well-balanced team that doesn't have the glaring problems it had this year. I am not optimistic, based on the lack of progress this year over last.

[Old Bomber Fan]

I think you will see an exodus of not only new bomber fans but also us old folk. Where I sit with my season ticket friends of over 15 years or more 1/2 are not renewing next year. And then to rub in the season ticket holders faces to reduce prices, give away tickets etc with no consequences after demanding a 3 year contract for a lousy 100 off over inflated prices, well that I think has broken the camels back in other instances as well. Time will tell however the most telling stat is that season tickets sales and attendance has consistently gone down for the past 4 years, save for the first year at IGF and one can attribute that to the novelty of a new stadium albeit a bungled effort at that. I still wish them luck but will not travel to and from the lake each and every game to be embarrassed game in and game out, wanting to leave at half time but can't, and generally not entertained. I certainly don't mind losing, just look at our record of late, however I would like to be entertained while losing. Can't say that is happening anymore.

[iso_55]

I think you will see an exodus of not only new bomber fans but also us old folk. Where I sit with my season ticket friends of over 15 years or more 1/2 are not renewing next year. And then to rub in the season ticket holders faces to reduce prices, give away tickets etc with no consequences after demanding a 3 year contract for a lousy 100 off over inflated prices, well that I think has broken the camels back in other instances as well. Time will tell however the most telling stat is that season tickets sales and attendance has consistently gone down for the past 4 years, save for the first year at IGF and one can attribute that to the novelty of a new stadium albeit a bungled effort at that. I still wish them luck but will not travel to and from the lake each and every game to be embarrassed game in and game out, wanting to leave at half time but can't, and generally not entertained. I certainly don't mind losing, just look at our record of late, however I would like to be entertained while losing. Can't say that is happening anymore.

Wade Miller is clueless as I don't think he is listening or doesn't care... He & the Board of Directors deserves everything they get. .

[ALuCsRED]

I think you will see an exodus of not only new bomber fans but also us old folk. Where I sit with my season ticket friends of over 15 years or more 1/2 are not renewing next year. And then to rub in the season ticket holders faces to reduce prices, give away tickets etc with no consequences after demanding a 3 year contract for a lousy 100 off over inflated prices, well that I think has broken the camels back in other instances as well. Time will tell however the most telling stat is that season tickets sales and attendance has consistently gone down for the past 4 years, save for the first year at IGF and one can attribute that to the novelty of a new stadium albeit a bungled effort at that. I still wish them luck but will not travel to and from the lake each and every game to be embarrassed game in and game out, wanting to leave at half time but can't, and generally not entertained. I certainly don't mind losing, just look at our record of late, however I would like to be entertained while losing. Can't say that is happening anymore.

 

Which games this year were we embarrassed at halftime?  Besides the Hamilton blowout, we were in most games if not leading at some point in the 3rd or 4th quarters.