Stampeders Attendance

[Muta]

I think a new stadium is inevitable. Ill leave it at that.


Posted from Calgarypuck.com App for Android

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Red John

Obviously it's a sore spot to you that more Canadians like the NFL...why? If you like the CFL that's great keep watching it. And maybe start buying more tickets to games.

Yes, it is "obviously" a sore spot when I just stated the complete opposite opinion to the one you just invented for me. I don't care that Canadians like the NFL any more or less than I care that they like the EPL. Pick your sport and enjoy it. The sore spot comes from losers who can't enjoy their sport without trashing others.

[Cheese]

The idea that young Canadians are leaving the sport or not entering itis bunk. There are more and more solid Canadians playing football and quite a few in the Nfl now. Quebec is a hotbed for university football and Ontario isn't far behind...heck maybe even ahead of QC now. Football is an expensive sport...the fact that business puts their money into hockey in Canada, whereas the USA puts money into Football first, is the prime reason the game falls behind up here. More kids play soccer than any other sport in Canada but that doesn't seem to matter on the world stage. Football is doing fine here, we simply don't have the population or the all year round weather to practice/play in as does half the USA. The talent level is increasing though, no doubt about it.

http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/feature/?id=1190

http://canada.nfl.com/2013/07/30/nfl...-universities/

[Brannigans Law]

Calgary isn't really a "great" CFL market. It's a good one. Fans will never really abandon the Stamps, but never truly embrace them like the Flames. Biggest issues as I see it:

1)The regular season is a watered down mess. 18 regular season games? In an 8, soon to be 9, team league? And this to eliminate TWO teams?? What the F is the point?

2)Terrible stadium. Sightlines are good, location is good, but that's it. Uncomfortable,
horrible concessions, terrible food at a crazy high price.

The TV one is well documented so I wont go further into that. If the CFL schedule had 16 games, started earlier (why wait until July, start in June.. take advantage of the weather for the love of god) and McMahon wasn't such a dump attendance would likely go up.

[Fire]

Sit outside in the cold in a crappy stadium or sit on a comfy couch. Hmmm... hard choice.

I also think the season should be moved up a month.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

I think its in a great spot; somewhat central, right off the C-train line.

I disagree with this. Accessing McMahon is gigantic pain in the ass from three quarters of the city.

If you live in the south half of the city, the best route to the stadium is via the Crowchild/Bow/Memorial bottleneck. If you live in the NE or a significant percentage of the NW, the best route to the stadium is down 16th Avenue, which is better than it was a decade ago, but still isn't a convenient way to get across the city.

The C-Train is even worse because everyone from the south, west, and northeast legs all have to take the one northbound train out of downtown, and it still passes three more stations between downtown and the Stadium. There are 35 stations that feed into the northbound train into Banff Trail, and 4 that feed into the southbound train.


McMahon's location isn't enough to make me refuse to go to a game if I had tickets, but the hassle of getting there is certainly a factor in answering the "do I want to buy tickets to the game, or just watch it on tv?" question.

[Howie_16]

Originally Posted by Fire

Sit outside in the cold in a crappy stadium or sit on a comfy couch. Hmmm... hard choice.

Talk about a first world problem. When did everyone get so soft? Are we Canadian or not!? Dress properly and enjoy the game first hand, or turn in your passport!

[OzSome]

Originally Posted by getbak

I disagree with this. Accessing McMahon is gigantic pain in the ass from three quarters of the city.

If you live in the south half of the city, the best route to the stadium is via the Crowchild/Bow/Memorial bottleneck. If you live in the NE or a significant percentage of the NW, the best route to the stadium is down 16th Avenue, which is better than it was a decade ago, but still isn't a convenient way to get across the city.

The C-Train is even worse because everyone from the south, west, and northeast legs all have to take the one northbound train out of downtown, and it still passes three more stations between downtown and the Stadium. There are 35 stations that feed into the northbound train into Banff Trail, and 4 that feed into the southbound train.


McMahon's location isn't enough to make me refuse to go to a game if I had tickets, but the hassle of getting there is certainly a factor in answering the "do I want to buy tickets to the game, or just watch it on tv?" question.

You hit it right on the spot.

[Lil Pedro]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

The CFL rules are no more gimmicky than the NFL rules. They're just different. Some of us actually like them more

Sorry, but getting a point for missing a FG is a gimmick. Yay for rewarding failure with a point.

Don't get me started on the rouge...

Then again, this is about lowered attendance at McMahon. I don't mind the stadium to watch the game, as the sight lines are good and it's a fun atmosphere. What kills it for me is the concourse, lack of bathrooms, inability to park anywhere and how after September 15th games at the stadium are much less enjoyable due to the cold weather. Which is too bad considering how good the football team has been in the past 5 years.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Lil Pedro

Sorry, but getting a point for missing a FG is a gimmick. Yay for rewarding failure with a point.

Don't get me started on the rouge...

It's not a reward for missing the field goal, it's a punishment to the other team for downing the ball in the end zone.

You have to make the choice to either run the ball out of the end zone and get what you can without giving up the point, or you can give up the point and gain the guaranteed field position.

Also, you can get a single after a punt, and you can have missed field goals that don't result in a single, so it's not a reward for a missed field goal.

I would support seeing the rule changed so that you only get the single if the ball either touches the ground in bounds or touches a player who is in bounds before going out of bounds.


As far as gimmicky rules are concerned, that's all about your perspective. I learned the game by watching the CFL, so there are a lot of differences in the NFL game that seem gimmicky to me.

Really, every rule in every sport is a gimmick of some sort. People found an aspect of the game unappealing and not entertaining, so rules were changed to get rid of those unappealing aspects. In hockey, teams would get a lead and go into a defensive shell, shooting the puck down the length of the ice with no consequence, so the icing rule was introduced. In basketball, teams would get a lead and go into a defensive shell and play keep-away with the other team, so the shot clock was introduced.

When Harvard adapted the game of football from what was being played at McGill at the time, they didn't have a large enough field to play the game on, so they reduced the size of the field from 110 yards to 100, and also reduced the number of players on the field for each team from 15 to 11; they also thought that giving teams an extra down per possession would increase scoring, so they played with four downs instead of three. Those are all gimmicky changes made to the game that survive to this day as the most obvious differences between the Canadian and American games (of course, along the way, the Canadian game reduced the number of players from 15 to 12).

[Fusebox]

I was at a Calgary/Toronto game a few years back. The game was tied with mere seconds to go with Toronto about five yards out of field goal range. They lined up in a punt formation and booted it in past the end zone for the win. I'm sorry, but that is gimmicky, no matter how you slice and dice it.

Allowing forward motion before the snap is the big one. Yes, it compensates for the lack of skill of the receivers, but again, it is gimmicky, just like the Arena Football League is gimmicky. No, I'm not a NFL snob. I actually prefer watching the CFL. Still, it is gimmicky, no doubt about it.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

While the thread is about antendance, I cannot comment on that. However, I do have a couple comments as the thread has shifted toward popularity of the CFL as a whole.

In terms of the gimmicky rules I believe getback put it best, by saying that a rule can't be gimmicky if it's the original rule. A gimmick is an attempt to haphazardly change something. It's the NFL that introduced the different rules, it doesn't make the CFL gimmicky seeing as how it, apparently, was the original.

I also like the beforementioned rule change to the rouge. As previously stated it's to penalize the defensive team for not attempting an offense of play as opposed to merely rewarding the offense of team for missing a kick.

One issue I have with the NFL, I have always had with the NFL, is the four downs. I once heard a stat that the average running play in football is 4 yards. Now if you have four attempts, or downs, to go 10 yards to get your first down, statistically run the ball four times and voilà. And the CFL if the average running play is four yard and you have three times, or towns, to go 10 yards statistically speaking if you run the ball every time, it only going to hit 9 yards, which means more passing plays. In my opinion, and this is only my opinion, passing plays in football are far more exciting than running plays. (I do believe that the popularity of quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning also agree with this belief).

I believe the NFL does two things considerably better than the CFL. The first is schedule. By the NFL having a set systematic schedule it helps create rivalry and consistency. I don't like that the NFL has shifted towards a Thursday night game, I much preferred the all games on Sunday with one game on Monday.

Secondly, and I can't stress how important this is, the NFL's ability to take advantage of fantasy sports is unbelievable in terms of growing the game increasing its popularity. I don't even know if there is a CFL fantasy football league, or app, or site, or if there's anything remotely close to that. If there is, they do an absolutely disgusting job of promoting it. I think this is something that CFL in conjunction with TSN should get off the ground and give the fantasy footballers something to do in the summer months. I think it would help increase the game, it's popularity and it's overall awareness of the CFL.

Lastly, I think the biggest thing that the CFL can do is have former players, who are well-known either because they went on to the NFL, or have become popular in other genres (Dwayne Johnson for example, although he'd cost a fortune - he's just someone I thought of off the top of my head) explain and promote the game. Let people know this is not the AHL of the NFL, this is a different football league.

On a final note, the best thing that the CFL can do is to ensure that the NFL never comes to Canada. I think we can all agree that that would be absolutely horrible. Not that having an NFL team necessarily is a bad thing for Canada, but think of how much coverage the Raptors and Jays get compared to the rest of their leagues. Oh God, it would be unbarable to have an NFL team. It would be like if the Leafs were the only NHL team in Canada.

(Dictated with Siri on my iphone, lord knows if it will even read properly, I'll re-read a bit after I post)

[rotten42]

Love the CFL game. Like the NFL game.
Hate the stadium!
Can't believe how much ticket prices have gone up for even the cheap seats!
I grew up going to Stamps games. My parents had season tickets. I had seasons tickets. Our family's company had season tickets. I even met my wife trough going to Stamp games. Where it ended for me is that my son has a severe peanut allergy. I called the head office on a couple occasions wondering if there was a way they could accommodate him....there isn't. So the tradition in the family dies right there. I will watch on TV from now on.

[Cowboy89]

I say this as a long time season ticket holder who was in attendance for all but one of the games listed in the OP, but:

CFL isn't 'Big League' enough to generate enough buzz outside a hardcore group of ~25,000 fans to regularily sell out in a city like Calgary anymore. It happened in Toronto, BC, and Montreal, before us. Once a city gets to a certain size there's a perception that only the top teir professional sports will do for the scenesters and casual fans. A new stadium like Winnipeg's would change this probably for 10 years, but after that it will be the same old core 25,000 who buy tickets.

[Stay Golden]

Address the aged stadium once and for all and quit ignoring the looming problems. Quit dodging the responsibility.
A new stadium is necessary and the actual breaking of the ground should have already occurred by now.
Attendance started to dip how many years ago 3,4.

Its not the product on the field they have been at the top or near the top of the CFL consistently.

[flames_fan_down_under]

I disagree with the NFL vs CFL argument. I don't think the NFL has anything to do with it.
TV definitely plays a part, and it certainly is nice to be able to watch any game you want at home.

But like a lot of people have said it's about the experience, and I agree with that. A new stadium, or renovated stadium would help out. Lowering ticket prices is a huge factor. I can't believe that nose bleeds are 40 bucks each. A family of four is still shelling out 160 bucks for crappy seats, that's not gonna lure fans in.

Make beer cheap, lower ticket prices, renovate the stadium, and I would bet more people would show up.

[mykalberta]

When I had season tickets from 2004-2009 I didnt really enjoy the Stadium experience compared to Edmonton where I had tickets from 2000-2003.

I found McMahan to have a much more rowdy crowd and with the almost impossibility of being able to buy something from a vendor during halftime sealed the deal for me not to renew.

I first started in the flat seats with steep stairs, the last year I was able to get a pair in the plastic seats, but the overall Stadium experience compared to Edmonton just wasnt there for me. Maybe I was spoiled going to Commonwealth but I just didnt feel that I was worth the effort to go.

Ive been to 4 games this year and until some improvements are done to the Stadium I wont be returning to Season Ticket status.

[Travis Munroe]

This thread has proved that the NFL is a reason attendance is the way it is. Its been mentioned numerous times and I am another who forgets about the CFL once the NFL season starts.
I disagree that the talent level is the same and if a CFL guy could put on a bit more size he would be in the NFL. Money talks and when the highest paid player in the CFL makes less than the lowest paid player in the NFL it tells me that it would take more than a bit of size.
I wonder if anything could be done to help "insulate" McMahon allowing concerts to be held there? This would be a HUGE draw for the stadium during the summer months.
A page back someone mentioned reducing the schedule and starting earlier. I would assume they need the current full schedule for financial reasons but starting the season a couple weeks earlier makes perfect sense! More people come out when it is nice and extra weeks of no competition between the NFL, MLB or NHL. Last weeks attendance was surely hurt hard by the Flames playing at the same time.
The biggest is obviously the TV however one would have to look into it as the TV contract might outweigh the avg 5,000 fans that are missing the game because of it

[Senator Clay Davis]

The issue here and going forward for all sports is simple: 2 tickets to McMahon for the worst seats costs the same as 1 month of Shaw Cable, with access to dozens of sports across 30 days. Its just far too difficult to justify the expense when the home experience, particularly for football, is simply better. No lines, food and booze costing 90% less than at the stadium, replay, warmth (or cool in the summer days), no traffic or CTrain, a smaller amount (or no) obnoxious drunks. Everything being equal its just a substantially better deal to stay home.

I really don't think a new stadium means nearly as much as people think. Fundamentally its still the same: sit your ass in a seat and watch the game. The only thing a new stadium provides is more ammenities or better sightlines, and most people find food and booze to be horribly overpriced at the game anyways, and for an outdoor stadium sightlines aren't that big an issue. So is a new stadium really going to increase attendance that much if the cost of tickets rises with it? I don't see it. Maybe in the initial first few years as people go just to experience the new stadium, but in the long run until the cost of going to the game is at least a worthy value to watching a home, there's going to be attendance issues.

[Mazrim]

I'm a casual fan...watch around 5 regular season games a year plus all postseason games the Stamps are in, plus I go to 1 game a year. If it wasn't for the bench seating and concourse I would probably go more often. I enjoy seeing football live but I am not a fan of McMahon.