I realize there maybe no plans to put a bid in to host the Grey Cup. However, at some point, I think that the city of Hamilton and the Tiger-Cats will look bad if we don't while all the other cities have hosted and will then re-host. Does anyone know if there are any plans in the works for Hamilton to host one in the near future?
I think the recent records of:
1-17
2-16
4-14
5-13
look stupid enough.
No need to make it more cloudy with visions of a Grey Cup game to host. The City lost a million bucks last time.
I was part of a Grey Cup committee last time.
The league was a mess. There was very little help from the Tiger-Cats.
The city didn't know what it was doing and the marketing was poor.
We have a very good business operation with the team, the league is in better shape and believe it or not I think City Hall staff is much better than the people we had to deal with 10 years ago
Godfadda, can I ask you some questions since you’ve been on the inside? Is it true that the team purchases the right to hold a Grey Cup and then they assume almost full responsibility for advertising, hosting the festivities and the Game? And the team also assumes any losses and enjoys any and all profits?
An Argo fan
I don't think the average person keeps track of when each city last hosted a Grey Cup game. I'm a fairly big CFL fan and I don't really track it. So I don't think any city will look "stupid" or "bad" for not hosting it. But that's just me.
(No offence to the Godfather, but I did think Hamilton looked bad in 1996 when we couldn't fill the stadium and had to give the tix away with a double-double from Tim's.)
Are there any online pictures of the temporary seats built for the 1996 game?
Does anyone have any that they can upload?
I agree it was embarrassing and I think that many on this site answer the “should we host” question everytime we talk ticket prices. The fact is Grey Cup tickets will be proced at $150 to $300 per seat and the people of Hamilton by and large won’t pay it for a football game. Like it or not, these are the facts.
So… would I like to see another Grey Cup Game in Hamilton? No. Would I go to the game and the events around the game? Absolutely!
A lot depends on whether the ticats are playing - and the weather.
The 96 Grey Cup probably would have sold out to a drive up crowd of Argo fans had it not been so stormy.
Grey Cup 1996 Inc , was a city backed agency created to manage and market the events and the game. The Ti-Cats of the day were sub-contracted for ticket sales and merchandising.
Started off with a bang, until the organizing group realized that all the hotel rooms were booked. The date of the game needed to be changed so the League could have access to the few hotel rooms in the Hammer.
Organizing comittee was asked by the City to promote Hamilton in a new image. After coming up dry, they ended up selecting the slogan “Showdown in Steeltown”…same old, same old.
It was a typical mess…but ended being a great game, with the bad guys winning.
i have this feeling, that maybe Bob's holding out till the 100th. And it would make sense and all, considering that the Canadian Football Hall of Fame is here in Hamilton....
I think in a few years, the Grey Cup will be held in cities where there is a covered dome (Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto) and maybe a few in Rider land where people will sit in -40 in sask! Not that I want this to happen to the league, but I think that's where it's headed.
I shelled out hundreds to sit in Winterpeg Manitscolda, last year out in Vancouver and even the year before in the Capital. The games are alot of fun to attend, the events and esspecially the people. If all you're doing is talking about the price of the ticket, the experience is probably not for you.
[url=http://www.bringbackthecup.com]www.bringbackthecup.com[/url]
That, I understand, was one of the difference between how Hamilton hosted the Grey Cup in 1996 and how every other city does it. It was the city of Hamilton, not the Tiger-Cats organization, that organized it. I understand it lost quite a bit of money with taxpayers having to pay for it.
But times have changed. The attendances for a 4-14 team this year indicate that they have changed for the better. And Toronto is getting another chance to host the event after they apparently did not do so well in hosting it in 1992. So why should Hamilton not get another chance? Well, it’s been pointed out a number of times before that with the TigerVision in place, there is even less room for temporary seatin at IWS. And as has been pointed out here before, the city of Hamilton may not be able to handle this kind of event, and may not ba able to reap any rewards to its economy.
i got a way to handle more people: BUILD A NEW STADIUM.
Are you buying?????
Two major hurdles hinder Hamilton's chances to host the Grey Cup anytime soon: hotel accomodation and stadium challenges.
The new Royal Connaught will go a long way in helping get over the first hurrdle.
Upgrading IWS or building a new stadium is the big question. In '96, capacity was 40 000 - there is no way the league is going to award the Cup with that low of a capacity. And, as someone's pointed out, IWS wouldn't be able to fit 40K anymore with the TigerVision.
I don't agree with the posting about only domed stadiums hosting Grey Cups - that's been proposed before. BUT, I do think Cups of the future will be played in stadiums that can seat a minimum of 50 000. I'm going out on the limb here and saying that this year's Grey Cup in Winnipeg will be the last Grey Cup held in a stadium with below 50K seats...especially when you consider Montreal will have 70K in 2008.