Quote:
Originally Posted by Pizza
A huge factor in the attendance is the local economy, which happens to be O&G where many are getting laid off
Hard to justify spending money on entertainment when you're unemployed and have mouths to feed
|
That's not the issue with Stamps attendance, it's been hovering around 26-28k for a few years now.
This year is actually a little better than previous years for early season games. It's a combination of the stadium's archaic, brutal condition and all games now being televised.
I think someone showed CFL ratings for TSN somewhere and they were very strong for what the league is. The fans are here. A lot of casuals have been permanently removed from the "attending games" group due to just watching at home for cheaper, but many more are just temporarily removed from attending games due to the Stadium.
I would suspect you'll see our new stadium seat 31 - 34k and we'll likely see sellouts on regular basis. And honestly, with the way CFL stadiums are around the league we end up looking worse on TV as a 36k stadium is on the large end for new CFL stadiums.
Nobody looks at a game in Ottawa and says what a weak turnout.......but their stadium holds 25k which the Stamps beat every single game. And nobody looks at 29k in Winnipeg and says what a weak turnout because their stadium is modern and the empty seats are less obvious on TV.
We have those huge empty corners where the sightlines aren't that great, you're really far away, and the benches are ****ing brutal to sit on. The fans that would normally be up there were the first ones to say "The games are all on TV? Perfect, **** that experience, I'll just get drunk with friends at home and forget the pricy game/transit/vendor food/beer evening out.
And if I recall correctly the Stamps have a hand themselves in the corners looking empty as I believe those used to be very cheap/affordable tickets but they decided to start trying to make better coin off them. Hopefully someone can confirm.