Completely agree. Braley, Chayka, and Skulsky had an over-inflated assessment of the value of their tickets due to all those winning seasons and consequently, kept pushing the price points northward. It finally reached a point of diminishing returns and demand collapsed. You can't charge Canuck-like prices in this market to watch guys making $50,000 a year. Sorry, you just can't.
Where they really lost was the move to Empire. They thought the $563M hole in the roof and renovations would lead to a huge upswing in ticket holders. While interest in the BC Place re-opening spiked, it was only for a game or two. Many people dropped their season tickets when the club moved to the temporary digs and just never came back.
Many of us have been calling for this for years. Better late than never...
That's quite a quick splash from their new president LeLacheur. Pretty good cross marketing if I understand it properly and understand what a"voucher" means. I find the wording in some of this release to be confusing.
Does it mean you can take your Save on Rewards Card to BC place and they will sell you a ticket for $29. Where does that ticket sit you? Endzone?
And what if one of those 150 players is highly coveted? Take this example: Everyone knows Montreal has a need at quarterback, but unfortunately Hamilton owns the rights to the player that could have helped them.
I understand the league wants to keep salaries down, but a cap is a cap.
I can live with the negotiation list of course. It was just an example that came to mind. Is it the coaches challenges that I really don't like.
You used to be able to get 2 Lions tickets at 7-11 for $40. Bought them once a few years ago, and they wern't that bad of seats either. Corner of the field, but still better than the end zone. This was just before the BC Place renovation.
On that note... what if the Als went back to the Big O after the roof renovation, and sold super cheap season and individual tickets. When they used to play the last regular season home game at the O they offered tickets as cheap as $15, and always sold 40,000+ tickets. But for some reason... they stopped doing this around 2008.
66,000 Montreal area game attending fans is a lot better for the CFL than the 23,000 Molson stadium holds.
Big full stadiums and cheap tickets makes the game better for everyone. Period.
Could the league possibly be turning a corner with a marketing strategy that actually grows their fanbase rather than the old "lets charge NHL-like prices for tickets and then wonder why the fans aren't beating down the door to come to the stadium" approach while we grossly underpay the players?
Especially for a team like the Eskimos who have enjoyed a strong following, this moves goes to show the Eskimo organization is more worried about growing a fanbase and creating a great atmosphere for the Labour Day rematch (kinda how they did with the WILDY successful student discount for the labour day rematch years ago) rather than squeezing the existing fanbase for every last dime they can get out of them.
I agree, giving something away for free doesn't entice them to pay later. I'd like to think it's free (17 and under) for every full paying adult.
Edmonton does have a good size fan based, but in today's CFL, a 56K stadium is not needed so even good size crowds will have thousands and thousands of empty seats which is not good optics.
I'm glad some teams (BC, Edmonton and Toronto at least) are starting to get aggressive with their pricing and improve their optics.
The issue is that in larger markets the CFL is viewed as "minor league" along the lines of say the Canadian Hockey League or more "amateur" and therefore prices will need or could need to reflect that thinking in those markets. And then there is Riderville which is a whole different gestalt, as great as it gets, and everything in between ie. Hamilton which, of course, competes with sports entertainment with the Toronto teams being so close.
Difficult stuff. And how do you set ticket prices in say Montreal, an older type stadium with some upgrades with bench seating, in a large market, no MLB or NBA team, but gorgeous setting on the McGill campus.
Who the heck knows, I sure don't. The CFL is probably as non homogeneous as there can be in this aspect of stadiums and varying markets and demographics and "culture" with a 9 team league. In something that isn't the "majors". But uniquely Canadian with a tonne and history of lore and tradition. And the iconic Grey Cup.
If those receiving freebie tix buy a beer or a pop and a burger or hot dog - it's a win-win. Right now all those empty seats buy nada. Plus it looks embarassing on national TV.
These recent efforts by Edmonton and BC to get bums in seats are tied to the TV deal with the CFL and ESPN.
I am a little surprised it's the Labor Day rematch which traditionally is not a tough sell, versus giving away a freebie versus say, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats or a club who might not be as big a draw. That is what I find a little perplexing.
"Free" (no strings attached) is a bit of risky proposition as others have noted. $10 would be better OR.... bring a donation to the Tackle Hunger program and get in free. That would be better.
"Free" (no strings attached) is a bit of risky proposition as others have noted. $10 would be better OR.... bring a donation to the Tackle Hunger program and get in free. That would be better
Would agree with that Rymes unless someone is buying a meal and drink ticket for a game that is a decent price that just happens to include a seat.
I'd prefer a cheap seat, say $10.00 with no meal option myself but that is just me. $10.00 a game will get me into the stadium here in Hamilton, that's for sure. But Hamilton with THF is a small intimate stadium and they don't need to cater to my types and good on them.
The down side is if your paying customers feel ripped off for paying and then don't renew their STs the following year, leading to even more empty seats that need to be filled with even more free tickets, which further isolates paying ST holders, etc.
That's not to say I'm against cheap and/or free tickets, and I think they can renew interest, but there is a danger there and management has to be careful not to isolate those who currently pay.
Exactly . If the seats are a problem get rid of them but don’t give them away . It is a terrible marketing idea .
Just make them affordable .
If Edmonton and BC with large inventory have empty seats use proper tarping and you won’t notice the empty seats anymore .
You don’t market to give your product away unless it’s illicit drug use and your looking to hook a junkie and charge them big later for their addiction problem.
I worked for a marketing company years ago that actually gave tickets to kids (high school ) for Junior hockey .
It never worked and it actually ended up having less kids come in the playoffs when those same kids would buy tickets .
Don't devalue your product .
Let the companies /corporations buy at cheap and give them away with promotions like they did before it's a better marketing tool . It's the impression of how the tickets were obtained and that somebody purchased them that makes a difference .
That impression or perspective is actually a known quantity that can be tabulated and formulated to see if there is any change or value to the promotion . Plus it doesn't hurt the ticket buyer as much as those promo tickets are usually away from the regular season ticket holders .
How are giving kids tickets under 17 going to sell beer . If they don't have money today for 10 dollar tickets they won't pay 10 dollars for a hamburger at stadium prices .
BC needs to tarp better . That sheet system is not very good . A nice designed tarp over some not all of the upper deck would look so much better and give a better appearance to BC Place . They are just lazy with appearances .
One thing Cinnamon and S did was tarp Skydome nicely . It did make a difference when I went . It just felt better when you had 28t or 32t in a 54t seat stadium .
