[Senator Clay Davis]

Why would anyone go to live sports to pay $100 minimum for a decent experience when you can get a decent experience in your living room for anywhere between 80 and 95% of the cost? That's the long term question most sports have to answer, and it's why live attendance at most sports is in decline. The Stamps played most of their season during one of the hottest summers ever, with the clear best team in the league by far, and couldn't sell out. It's not like McMahon is a complete hole, but in general unless the Riders are playing and are good, selling out McMahon has been a problem for a while now.

Is some of that McMahon being crummy? Probably to a degree, but why should we expect better attendance for an indoor product? One that, since it's a new stadium, is virtually guaranteed to cost more? I don't think the trade off will increase attendance, and is more likely to decrease it. People want to see the outdoor sport play outdoors, especially in the summer, which is short enough here to begin with. Tough to give up a warm sunny day to go inside. The easy solution is clearly moving up the schedule, and then the season would be over in a few weeks from now rather than 7 or so weeks, and cold weather is a virtual non-factor.