Is a Hamilton Grey Cup Profitable?

The fact that Bob Young has shied away from hosting Grey Cups makes me wonder, is a Hamilton Grey Cup even profitable?

If so, how much would they make (keeping in mind, they'd have to add seats at a cost that might eclipse the price of tickets)?

I think they are just waiting until the deficiencies at the stadium are sorted out - and the construction of the school and rec centre across the street is complete - and not a construction zone - so that they can then use the land beside those for giant game day corporate tents, beer gardens and stage etc.

Right now they can do that sort of stuff (as they plan for Labour Day) in the south plaza area of the stadium - but that area will largely be taken up by temp seats for a Grey Cup - and hence the need for the area across Cannon Street to be done. Supposedly it will be at least two years for those things to be completed.

It depends on how many temporary seats that they can add. I don't think that they've ever confirmed that.

If Winnipeg was able to make money on the Grey Cup last year with a reduced capacity and really lukewarm hype than Hamilton for sure would be able to make money.

You would hope that it would be.

It has been a long time, but 96 was a bust.

That BTW, was a funny one because the crowd was booing the Argos and cheering the Esks.

Anyway, I am not familiar enough with the city of Hamilton to comment.
However, I have a good friend who lives in Burlington that is.

He said that the big problem is the location. Residential area with a lack of hotels and transportation.

Please Cat fans do not rip on me.
I am only repeating what my Ontario friend has told me.
Right or wrong, it is not on me.

More info. http://3downnation.com/2015/09/16/hamil ... grey-cups/

Yes you are correct, the stadium in a residential area, no bars/restaurants/hotels near the stadium. Nothing to do in that area at all. Any festivities or partying around the stadium will be limited to game day and a lot of temp concessions brought into the stadium area by vendors. They could close off streets around the stadium for street parties etc
They could install around 12k temp seats. I don’t think Hamilton would have a problem selling 24k GC tickets to their existing fan base and 12k to out of towners. There are a few downtown hotels and most from out of town would have to find hotels somewhere in the region but not in Hamilton.
The costs to the city and the team probably more than other CFL cities due to setting up the temp stands and more temporary facilities and the extra costs to shuttle people to the stadium area. I’m sure the Ticats have done all the research.
With the new stadiums in the league it’s about time the CFL rotates the Grey Cup every year, with the 9 cities every city would get their chance once every 9 years. The exception would be if Montreal doesn’t get the Big Owe back.

Why does Montreal need the Big Owe? Thr CFL's new business model would be to simply charge more for less. 25000 seats at 800 dollars is still 20 million dollars.
To hell with tourist dollars impact on the local econony. We alrewsy got our free stadiums.

I've read the temp seats would cost nearly what the Ticats could charge and that limits the profits considerably. The fact that Bob Young has not bid for a Grey Cup, to the best of my knowledge, speaks volumes.

It's not actually up to the CFL clubs to put a bid in. For all we know Bob could be advocating hard for the GC in Hamilton but it's up to the municipal government to write up and submit a bid.

It’s a huge construction project and a lot of workers over weeks to put up the temp stands.
In 04 I watched them put up two 12k temp stands at Lansdowne Park, it took weeks but they did manage to get 52,000 to the Grey Cup
At least now in Toronto and Ottawa it’s going to be offset by having an outdoor NHL game just after, the NHL teams would pick up most of the cost.

The game itself was a tough sell for the price of tickets and combined with the Bombers having zero shot of being in the game. The buzz was there all week long. Every venue was jam packed, including 5000 people at noon "social’ at the convention centre.
The biggest issue that comes out of Hamilton, is the lack of hotel space in Hamilton. People don’t want to stay in another city, 45 minutes away. They want to attend the events and have a short walk or a short cab ride back to their hotel.

I agree about the neighbourhood and the hotel situation.

That and Southern Ontario is going to be saturated for Grey Cups in the next few years.

A Hamilton Grey Cup would have to rely on many locals in the area buying tickets. If you check sites like Trivago/Travelocity there are only 4 hotels less than 1km walking distance, all other hotels in the region are quite a way from the downtown. City hotels could accommodate no more than 1500 fans, assuming 2 to a room.
The majority of out of towners attending would have to drive to any events from outlying hotels in the region.

I still say that with 9 teams the cup should rotate every 9 years, if a city/team doesn’t want to host then move on to the next city.

If Bob Young was advocating, I am sure we would know about it .

I would.

"Hey Cat fans , I am doing everything I can to get the Cup into our nice new stadium. We are long over due "

I would want the people to know , the hold up is not me.

I know the big ouch is a problem.

However, it would be nice if the CFL had more than 1 domed stadium as an option for Grey Cups.

That or start the season early like everyone wants.

There is a big difference in Oct vs Nov.

Bob Young said he would prefer to hold a Hamilton Grey Cup at the Rogers Center - but that was before THF. I still think he has crunched the numbers and feels it is not a slam dunk financially in Hamilton.

I'm pretty confident it would be a success and Hamilton would make money. If Regina can host a Grey Cup with the hotels (which have gotten better since 2013) than Hamilton should have the accommodations to do it.

It is up to the Member Club to initiate the Grey Cup bid, with the cooperation of the host City.

Good Luck getting any cooperation on a Grey Cup Bid from Hamilton’s old crony, in fighting, dysfunctional council that will do anything and everything to screw each other around and led by the existing Mayor who absolutely despises and detests Bob Young and THF Stadium. :roll:

FYI - October 22, 2018 is the next election

[b][i]"The Grey Cup host is determined by a bid process. This is similar to the bid process for cities to host a Brier, World Junior Hockey Championships, etc. or even Olympics, though the bid will be initiated by the member club in cooperation with the host city. Once the Grey Cup is awarded, a Grey Cup organizing committee and company will be setup to conduct the Grey Cup festival and game planning and business.

Teams/cities submit bids to the CFL to host the championship game and the prior week of festivities."[/i][/b]

“If multiple cities bid for any specific year, revenue, market saturation (how long since they’ve last held the event) and special circumstances will be considered, likely in that order. If only a single city bids, but low balls their revenue due to lack of competition, the league could defer a decision, asking for other bids. Lack of being named a Grey Cup host is only due to not bidding or having an unacceptable bid. This is capitalism, where the bid that guarantees the most revenue to the league wins, not socialism, where everyone gets a turn, even if they can only offer break-even prospects.”

https://cfldb.ca/faq/league/