So much for having to have a 40,000 seat venue to host a Grey Cup!
Scott Mitchell ?@SUNMitchell 15m15 minutes ago Blue Bombers announce Grey Cup game at Investors Group Field is 70% sold out. Ticket sales at 25,576. Capacity is 36,634. #CFL
Arash Madani ?@ArashMadani 17m17 minutes ago Oh my. The Blue Bombers announce more than 10,000 Grey Cup tickets remain in a venue that seats only 36,634 for November's #CFL title game.
Mitch Rosset ?@mitchrosset 16m16 minutes ago #Bombers have removed north end zone temporary seating for November's Grey Cup. Reduces capacity to 36,634 #CFL
Mitch Rosset ?@mitchrosset 16m16 minutes ago #Bombers say reason for removing seats is to accommodate halftime performance in north end zone #CFL
Scott Billeck ?@ScottBilleck 14m14 minutes ago Over 11,000 tickets need to be sold to sell out IGF. Also, for some reason, the half time show will not be at midfieldā¦ #Bombers#CFL
The 103rd Grey Cup, hosted in Winnipeg, is losing seating capacity after a decision was made to use the north end of the field as the location for the pre-game and half-game entertainment, instead of the promised temporary seating.
Winnipeg to host 2015 Grey Cup
In March, Winnipeg Blue Bomber CEO Wade Miller said the seating capacity of Investors Group Field would grow to 41,000 from 33,000, with temporary seats in both end zones. With the elimination of the north-end temporary seating, capacity for the event will be 36,634.
Seats in the north-end section were being sold for $175 each, which means the seat reduction will result in a potential revenue loss of more than half a million dollars.
Historical seating capacity for the Grey Cup is typically between 45,000 and 60,000. If the 2015 Grey Cup is played in front of a sold-out crowd, it will still be the lowest attendance on record since the mid-1970s, with the exception of the 1998 Grey Cup also played in Winnipeg, in front of 34,157 fans.
Friday, the Winnipeg Football Club announced in a press release that the event was 70 per cent sold out, with 25,576 tickets sold.
Many people wait till they know who is in it also. If they can't sell all 36,000 by game day, then something is wrong with the CFL fans; at least the ones who can afford to go.
I highly doubt that it won't be sold out by the game.
Well clearly Winnipeg organizers are concerned about ticket sales - otherwise why would they take 4500 tickets off the market - which is basically what they have done today by scrapping plans for one of the two temporary stands they were planning on adding for the Grey Cup.
I can see why, sadly, the bummers and Riders (Riders in my opinion are a better team than the bummers) would make up a majority of ticket sales......and unlike leafs fans, who only cheer for losing teams, Riders and Bummers fans are staying away. More fans have a hard time paying anywhere from 175 - 450$ to sit in the cold in November, when more guys like myself, have >45" screen TV's in their living rooms and there isn't lineups to the washroom or to the fridge..........Sadly I have never been to a GC game, but ticket pricing is the only thing that kept me from attending the 100th GC a few years back :oops:
Remember the 1996 Grey Cup here in Hamilton, Tim Hortons bought many tickets and sold it cheaper to fans to avoid Hamilton from being embarrassed, maybe Winnipeg needs some help too.
This is a desperation move to avoid the bad PR of a bunch of empty seats. Surprise, there's not an endless stream of people who want to spend $200 and up to sit outdoors in Winnipeg in late November, not to mention the fact nobody wants to visit Winnipeg for pleasure, period. Dumb move awarding them the game to begin with.
Well, I'm not surprised. Let's think about this just for a minute....
It's late November in Winnipeg...Yes it will be freezing cold...last time it was almost unbearable cold and I sold my ticket for face value and sat in a nice warm bar with a big screen TV and a bunch of like-minded friends.
It's an outdoor stadium. (how much would it have cost more to put a roof on it?)
Not much chance of Bombers or Riders being in it...so, no , there are some people who would only go if their team was in it.
It's early yet...some people have to see if the time and finances work for them. The ticket prices are getting stupid if you ask me...the surcharges are criminal.
Yes, they need the space...only because of all the other reasons above. :roll: At least it will help with the half time set-up and take-down.
I don't think the Riders or Bombers doing poorly has had a huge effect on the ticket sales yet. They are just too expensive this year. I'm not going to pay over $313 to sit in the endzone or over $400 to sit in the upper deck. I know a number of people that go regardless of who is in the big game, and they've just been priced out.
The issue isnt winnipeg. If people travel to regina they'll travel to winnipeg. The issue is ticket prices are far too high. Bc place didnt sell out last year either. Combo of too high ticket prices and too soon back at bc place.
It wasnt dumb awarding the grey cup to winnipeg. The grey cup rotates. Nothing new. Everyone gets a chance. Even hamilton in the near future.
How about holding a Grey Cup in Orlando ? sponsored by Disney as part of Canada Week. A showcase for the CFL in the US and they can still bring in Canadian artists for the half time show.
A million Canadians are living in Florida permanently or for 6 months, another 3 million vacation there. It's cheaper to fly to Florida from southern Ontario than it is out west. Only a one day drive, thousands of hotel rooms and no issues with the weather....... :thup:
I would jump at this idea if I knew that a regulation sized CFL field is possible at the Citrus Bowl. I would love to go to Florida in late November for Canada's "National Annual Drunk" aka the Grey Cup.
I have been to only 5 US States so far (and 7 of 10 Canadian Provinces). They are Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan and New York. I would like to go to Florida next as it is such a popular destination for Canadian Snow Birds.
I might just take you up on your invitation Challenger99. I just don't think the Grey Cup could/should be played on an American football sized field. It would not be the same. :?
