CFL attendance declining?

Just found this piece

[url=http://www.sportingintelligence.com/finance-biz/business-intelligence/global-attendances/]http://www.sportingintelligence.com/fin ... tendances/[/url]

on global professional sports attendance (courtesy of Drew). I was surprised to see that CFL attendance has declined every year for the last 4 seasons, with a drop of almost 2000 per game since 2007. Good news is that the CFL is still in the top 10 for average attendance worldwide.

I would check how many average fans per game the Argos have lost from year to year. The attendance in calgary was also much higher during the grey cup year in 2009 when Calgary hosted. Those would be major factors.

The attendance declined in pretty much all other leagues too. It likely has more to do with the change in the economic landscape than anything. Sport TV ratings are through the roof for many leagues, including the CFL.

I honestly believe if the CFL was on CTV it would get larger ratings, as that is network.

how do you dishonestly believe something???

I spose a dishonest belief would be using beliefs as lip service to get what you want or fit in.

Well…first you become a Riders fan, and then, before your brain is assimilated by the Rider zombie hive mind and intelligent thought is no longer possible, you say you believe they are going to win the cup next year in an attempt to fit in with the rest of the swarm. :wink:

Even the NFL is feeling the pinch of the economy and cheaper HD tv's.

The 2010 NFL attendance figures fell to the lowest levels since 1998

[i]Sunday's game between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers garnered the largest audience in U.S. history with 111 million viewers tuning in at some point during the exciting 31-25 Packers' win. Nonetheless, the league's in-stadium audience dropped for the third year in a row.

Ditto for Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association as the NBA expects that fully 12% of their arena seats will go unsold and MLB's attendance dropped 1% in 2010, from an already low level. Teams struggle to fill half their seats in baseball which plays 81 home games a season, compared to the NBA's 41 and the NFL's home package of 8 regular season games and two pre-season contests.[/i] ...

[url=http://www.huliq.com/10061/nfl-attendance-falls-again-scorebigcom-offers-cheap-tickets]http://www.huliq.com/10061/nfl-attendan ... ap-tickets[/url]

This is incredible! Great find Earl thanks! And damn right HD TV plus too much stadium hassle including high parking fees and concessions are also to blame along with the economy.

Also however for the CFL I wonder what the CFL trend would be if one strips out apathetic Toronto?

MLB has been on the wane since the last strike with only a bump in ratings due to the 'roid era that had passed.

Like in the “The Sham That Is The NBA” thread, the NBA is a lost cause that will remain so with its major jerk (a expletive) of a commissioner Stern about 10 years too long on the watch right before he dictated the change of the ball itself and had that renegade referee manipulate games for him. And then there is the inconsistent officiating of course that really makes the game more like street ball rules than whatever rules it is supposed to have. And then the whole matter of selling out an entire basketball league to ONE devil-worshipper of a player of course … :roll:

Btw down here in the Tampa Bay area, for sake of the Rays they could not have picked a worse spot to put the stadium in a metro area of perhaps 2.2 million in the three major counties in it. The teams stays but will continue to suck in attendance more for location than anything else you might here media from elsewhere banter about. You could give many like me a free ticket and even living in the same county we would not want to bother with that drive! Now free ticket and free beer well …ah never mind just dreamin’ again.

well, personally I find it difficult some days to go to a CFL game in Edmonton. but it's not because of tickets or convenience.. I just find it easier to sit at home and turn on the HDTV and watch it there.

no drunks in the stands to bug you, or always having to get up and have someone walk in front of you cause they had to go get their 9th beer.. (where's all the money for them coming from btw??)

and idiot fans who say stupid things..

I just find it way more appealing to stay home.

and in regards to Hockey? I'd love to go to a Hockey game but you can't. either cause the prices are so ridiculous, or they're NEVER available!

Yes attendance dropped but don't forget that B.C played in a smaller stadium 25000 or less. They averaged ?? around 30000 in 2009 I believe. Anyway their attendance will be affected again this year as they will be playing at Empire till Sept. 30. Anyway I also believe the Argos were also a bit down last year. :cowboy: I think that everyone else was close to steady and Montreal up with their new seating.

The prevailing perception, too, is that TO, prior to Braley, padded their attendence figures so the average would be inflated somewhat if it were true. i.e. if they reported 25,000 and there were really 20,0000 during 2009 and then there was 20,000 both in fact and as reported in 2010, in reality, there was a 0% drop but it would appear that there was a 25% drop due to the padding. Don't know if it is true in the first place, and my numbers are only dreamed up to demonstrate so don't go hanging on every nuance here ...

I guess it’s to each their own, but for me there is no better way to actually experience the game than at the stands. Seeing the whole field and not just what the camera’s show you is the most important thing for me. I want to know what the defence is doing, I don’t care if the QB has placed his mouthguard in, or what is going on on the sidelines while the play is about to start. It is well worth the ticket, dealing with the slightly slow guy to my left who gets up every 20 minutes, the idiot to my right who thinks he knows everything and is incredibly negative, and anything else that can be imagined. Plus you get to yell and scream, while if I did that in a home or a bar people would look at me funny. Well maybe they do look at me funny anyway but I don’t care.

Well swapping BC Place for Empire Fields would do that. You can make stats say anything...

BC is playing in a smaller stadium, but attendance dropped below capacity at Empire Field. So its not as if attendance dropped from 30,000 to 25,000 because of capacity. It dropped below 25,000 because of the ugly slow start the Lions got off to.

Toronto didn't inflate their figures under the previous owners. They papered the stands with discounts and freebees. They were pushing 40,000 for a regular season Argos - Cats game in 2005 when the Cats were out of the playoffs already while this past year when the Argos were over .500 early on, they couldn't draw 20,000? The difference now is the 20,000 in the stadium are the 20,000 paying.

Another factor might be that the 5 classically western teams this year featured the league's 3 worst teams. The league's classically eastern teams where all .500 or better. These are the teams that have typically drawn flies compared to their western counterparts save Hamilton on Labour Day or Montreal now that they've expanded their tiny stadium..

The drop in CFL attendance over the past 3 seasons can be directly attributed to the Lions, who have dropped nearly 10,000 fans. The 4,000 increase in Mtl last season is balanced by a equal drop in Toronto.

The Lions average home attendance:

2001: 19,856
2002: 18,507
2003: 23,653
2004: 26,697
2005: 32,614
2006: 31,190
2007: 32,456
2008: 34,082
2009: 28,610
2010: 24,371 (temporary stadium)

So there is no doom and gloom. The other markets have had consistent attendance from 2007. The drop in Toronto can be attributed to the lack of freebie tickets being distributed. That was the practice in B.C. also, until Mr. Braley bought the team. He gradually built up the season's ticket base from 6,000 to 24,000, although that number has eroded somewhat, but attendance should shoot back up in Vancouver when the new retractable-dome stadium retrofit opens this Fall.

So no worries, especially with new stadiums being constructed in Winnipeg, Hamilton and Ottawa.

Argos are WAY dowan the past few years (like 7000/game x 9 games = 63000), Bombers were down a couple years ago when their coach ripped apart their team and they refused to show support (can't blame them), BC had a temporary stadium last year.

There might be a little more viewership on CBC, but TSN does a way way way way way more professional job, and truly does support the league and promote it in other ways. The CBC was always like "here are the games." TSN also announced they would not black out games unless a club insisted.

Well on that basis whilst I am it with my posts today :smiley: , screw any attempt by CBC to cover the games again.

I like TSN’s coverage overall, and the only annoying part is the intrusive Sara O due to her annoying voice with even plays in action. :thdn: :thdn: :thdn:

TSN have to be able to find someone better male or female reporter than she for the sideline gig, and if female hopefully if she is a looker she’s also competent and not so whiny and squeaky.