Quote:
Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby
While I don't totally disagree, and for the record I've never really been tailgating at a Stamps game. But isn't it part of the 'event' of a football game? I mean how is it any different from the playoff "Get Red" parties?
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Tailgating's also one of the contributing factors in filling the stadium. This is why the Stamps chose to unviel their security plan
after they had everyones money. They know that had they announced this back in November many tailgaters would have chose not to renew their tickets.
The hope on their part is that that the sport's interest in this town is at it's peak (Stamps winning the cup in '08, and hosting in '09) and it will not effect ticket sales next year as it would have in say 2003 or 2004 when the team was crap and the owner's son was the focus of the franchise. They also seem to underestimate what this will do to ticket demand. Had this been a bonefide 'Major League Team' playing a major sport in the area (Like the Flames are here), they could probably get away with the restrictions, the long lines to allow the new security procedures, the long lines at concessions, the poor quality of the concession items, and charging $6.25 for a 355ml can of Molson Canadian(A beer I hate). However a poor performance on the field (which will naturally happen as the league ebs and flows in a cap world) combined with these new security restrictions, no Grey Cup year, and concession price-gouging, I can forsee really poor season ticket renewals and dire consequences for the going concern of the franchise.
Bottom line is the first rule of marketing is you do not annoy your best customers in an attempt to gain more 'casual customers.' In fact the rule works the other way around in that the key to additional sales is to sell
more to your best customers. Tailgaters are for the most part long-time season ticket holders (There's a huge waiting list to get parking passes because they are coveted for tailgating purposes, meaning that most people with passes for the parking lot have been ticket holders for years). Tailgaters will be there when the temperature is low and the snow is flying. The next step from the draconian playbook is to re-introduce the local TV Blackouts to try and force fans like me to renew and come back to the stadium next year by taking away my alternative options for watching the game (the old "you have no choice" method). Little do they know that once the experience of the game is stripped right down to only the football itself, a lot of people find that there are plenty of other things to do than severly inconvienence themselves to watch second-rate football.