Did you read the 1st sentence of each of my paragraphs. I am not throwing shade on the Bombers. Quite the opposite. I am saying that perhaps those who throw shade on the other teams should stop talking how these poor clubs can’t get their act together.
There was a time when the Eskimos shared their largesse with the other clubs in the league through the equalization fund & did it without all the drama. If everybody’s so concerned about those hapless Argos, why not have them give Mr. Pelley a call & offer assistance. There can’t be much money left after that $500MM contract for Vlad. Or pay Mr. Doman’s CAP fines for him. Spread the wealth, let those other poor clubs benefit from your generosity just like the Bombers did in days gone by.
That was partially my point as well as I said all teams have had their rough stretches in the past. I’m sure that other teams have shared their well being in the past and all have had to when franchises were propped up by the league. Right now the Bombers are the ones sharing with equalization payments. Again, it would be nice if all clubs could turn a profit at some point.
As has been covered many times the expenses mean absolutely nothing as you can pepper those by just spending more on things and amortizing certain costs. No CFL team needs to spend anywhere near that amount of money.
And no most teams aren’t drawing less than 20,000. Only a handful are. (Except Toronto; they’re in a category all there own)
The Ticats for example drew just over 21,000 and they were one of the only private teams brave enough to admit they make money.
And you also forgot the league has sponsorships too
The average attendance was 22,000 but that was bouyed by the Bombers and Riders as usual.
Back in 2010 the league was averaging 28,00.
Last season five teams averaged less than 22,000.
The Lions were up (15.8 percent), Toronto Argonauts (5.7 percent), and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2.5 percent) also saw notable increases, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3.8 percent) experienced a notable decrease.
When did the Ticats “admit they make money” ?
The private clubs don’t have to publish anything and the fans don’t have to know what they are making as long as they keep operating and the fans come out to watch.
We should be very thankful to MLSE, they can offer cheap tickets, sell cheap beer pre-game and they put up with small crowds.
The attendance can be deceiving - they state the Argos were up 5% but the Argos sell a lot of cheap tickets. You can buy $20 to $30 tickets to an Argo game which is ridiculous and then move up and sit in the expensive seats. Teams would rather sell 18,000 seats at an average of $80 a ticket rather than 24,000 at $30
The Argos also had two home games during the CNE which included the Argo ticket plus free admission to the game.
No I didn’t forget the league has sponsorhips too, it was all in the link.
Caretaker made the statement regarding the Ticats before Covid. And the record price he got a couple seasons back for 1/2 ownership of the team is also telling.
And yes, attendance can be deceiving. No doubt. Now that can cut both ways too with corporate ticket purchases that go unused too but I’m guessing in the Argos case as you point out, it’s more people buying cheap tickets and moving into the many, many empty seats in better locations
We have been to a couple of Argo games, $30 a ticket and we move into the seats between the 50 yard lines. For Ticat fans a road game in Toronto is like a Hamilton home game, cheaper tickets and can be easier to park or get the train there.
It’s sad because it’s a great place to watch a game. It has a train station, street car stop and a huge parking lot and also next door is the convention centre with a lot of indoor parking too.
When we are in Toronto I stay at my daughters, take the GO train to downtown then have a few beers on the waterfront and walk to the stadium, maybe a 30 minute walk.