$7,000,000

So are you saying they need a 30,000 seat stadium because they can only expect an average price of $30 per ticket over the course of a season in order to break even on their the $10m ticket sales goal?

IWS is near 30,000 yet it's partly empty for most games, what's to say it will be any different at a new 30,000 seat stadium? And why can't 25,000 or even 20,000 work? With a smaller stadium, there is a greater likelihood that a game you might want to attend will sell out before you get around to buying a ticket, perhaps even as a walk up, which is virtually never an issue at IWS. This creates an impression of scarcity, which in turn can fuel demand and can support a higher average price point. Even if you wouldn't want to pay $45 for a ticket, if the Cats are a hot commodity and good entertainment, enough people will.

And I think that is ultimately the problem the Cats are faced with. They have to make financial predictions, but much of that is very dependent on team performance. If the team is playing well and is playoff bound, they won't have any problem selling out a smaller stadium. If they don't, then it's shades of the past 9 years with relatively poor attendance, no matter the size of the stadium. But at least in a smaller stadium it won't feel like the place is only 1/2 full.

I can see the point of a 30k stadium. If the team plays well and is close to selling out every game, then they'll break their $10m target (I personally don't believe the average ticket price is $30) and actually make a profit!

I agree with others. Both sides have put spin on their numbers.

…or maybe more Hamiltonian’s should get off their duffs and got to more games and actually support the teams (Cats / Bulldogs) before they leave…Hamiltons City motto should be “same 'ol / same 'ol” … I’ve just moved back to Hamilton area after a 10 year absence (and drove back for every game from Durham region) and the place has barely changed…both mentality wise & outlook.
City council still can’t seem to figure it out since B.M. ran it into the ground.
As an acid test over the long weekend, ask as many people as you see / know, if they’ll be attending games this year…I’ll bet you’ll be lucky to get 5% saying yes…what a shame & a sham!

:cowboy:

The team, granted, hasn't been all that good for a number of years but, at any rate, it is a dream of mine to have one team in Hamilton pack a place game in game out showing that this city can rock it with one of their sports teams and the TigerCats are my favourite team so hopefully we can see this happen this year.

catattack is right .. not enough people attending the games ... sure they have stunk it up for quite a few years ..but even still when they were having winning seasons there were still plenty of seats available except for 1 game a year .. labour day against the argos ...

I do not doubt the passion of Hamiltonians .... every time in the past when the cats were on the brink of folding .. the fans came out in droves to support the team .. but that support is very wavering and dwindled down to what ya have now ( it doesn't matter the reason it just did)

All of Hamiltons sports teams have disappointing attendance figures ...

I doubt anything will change no matter what it's the nature of Hamilton .. after a year or 2 of people coming to gawk at the new place the attendance will dwindle back to where it is ... let them fight over dollars and cents .. people in Hamilton really n eed to decide weather they are REALLY going to support this team and get to the games or not ..

Good post RYCK.
What scares me is that the Caretaker is quoted in today's Toronto Star as saying he likes the concept of BMO Field.
That's the stadium on Toronto's lakeshore that looks like it was put together yesterday for a one-time weekend tractor- pull event.
He also says he doesn't mind looking at a shared stadium...... but at least he then expressed doubts about it because of the effect on fan support.
If this BMO Field concoction ever comes about I think there is a huge danger of losing fan support that way too.
If a stadium is built that looks like some kind of Lego project and only seats 20 thousand or so, how do you aim for a sustained 25 thousand figure for most games? And we can forget about ever hosting a Grey Cup with a deal like that.
What's the point in building something that's less than IWS if increased fan support is critical?

What’s the point in building something that’s less than IWS if increased fan support is critical?

Exactly! Dead on. :thup: