I've heard this debate time and again but a lot of key points are missed with regard to parking at a new stadium.
I think these points are all valid, but that's debateable
parking for 30,000 people right beside the stadium is great in terms of being right beside the stadium, I'm sure people like the idea of that
will Ticat fans pay $10 - $15 to park their cars? about half of them now do not. If we are having trouble getting people to pay $30 for a ticket, will they pay $30 for a ticket and then $15 for parking?
driveway to driveway? great! but the fact is, if a parking lot the size of Limeridge mall's x 2 is constructed, it will take lots of time to get out of said parking lot. How many exits to this lot could there be? and if everyone is going the same way (Red Hill/Linc) expect to be waiting 30 mins - 1 hour just to get on the highway, which will then be jammed packed
If you have ever been to Bills game, you know what I mean. It takes up to 2 hours to get out of the parking lot, yes there are 70-80k there, but cut it in half and there you go, 1 hour to get out of the lot at EM.
which brings me to the current parking at Ivory Wynne. Yes most of the time, I have to park about 10 minutes away and walk, but you know what, it's usually free or $5, and when I leave it takes me 10 mins to get to my car and I sit in ZERO traffic, because I am away from the main area where people park their cars (beside the stadium). By walking a little bit, you can avoid the traffic and you are quicker than if you park right beside the stadium and try to leave.
I think the West Harbour site would provide the same situation as Ivor Wynne (parking discussion only here) mind you, the Cats or city would not make money from said parking, but overall, unless the Cats build and maintain the lot (as proposed for EM) the city should get the revenue
Do we really think people do not go to games because of parking? or is it because the team has not been the greatest in what some (not I) consider a "second class league"? I grew up in Burlington, and I don't think you will draw more fans from Burlington/Oakville, by putting the stadium further away and on highway access (hey maybe I'm wrong)
Overall, I think the idea of on site parking is not as great as we have been made to believe. Yes it's convenient for some, but costly and a pain for others (in terms of traffic). Is parking really that bad right now at Ivor Wynne, from the fan perspective? I say no it's not, compared to paying twice as much and waiting a longer amount of time to exit the convenient lot.
Hey guys, I'm more of WH guy, but I do see the points for both, but in the end, if WH is stuck to, BY- why wouldn't you look at subsidies? If the city garauntees you 25,000 tickets per game, what's the issue? If the fans of the Cats step up and commit to buying tickets for WH, why not go there? Isn't that what it's all about?
There would be more potential in and out access at the the Aldershot site.
Both by car and transit.
$15-25 is what I expect to pay for parking, and if you think ticket prices will stay the same in a new stadium, think again.
The Cats have the cheapest ticket prices in the league now.
Parking is $30.00 at Empire field this year. A new stadium…?
We raised this question on the board during the EM debate and never got an answer.
At least at the WH you will have options and competition to keep the prices down lower than they would have been at the EM, where the team would have had a monopoly on parking (a big reason for that being BY’s preferred site).
There will be lots of room for all of the school buses and parents driving to watch their kids play their High School football games at the WH site. Just not professional.
Parking definitely won't be an issue at a WH stadium.
Well, that was a pretty dumb comment by Mega asking if the council guaranteed 25,000 ticket sales, what more could the Ti-Cats want? Duh... :roll:
There are thousands and thousands of posts on this topic on this message board. He only has to do some minimal reading and he could be much better informed about the issues...and not just make vapid comments which illicit angry comments from grizzled veterans fighting the trench warfare over the past several months. :x
They most certainly do not. I have attended games at every stadium in the CFL in the past 3 seasons, including Montreal, Regina and Winnipeg this year. Tickets in Winnipeg and Regina are substantially cheaper than in Hamilton. Montreal is more expensive than us, Toronto a little cheaper. I just bought tickets at Empire Field and they were pretty expensive. I would say we have the 3rd highest ticket prices in the league.
Congrats on your CFL journeys across Canada, but its pretty easy to just look up single game prices on the interweb for adult tickets and compare. Let facts be facts.
8) You're wrong on the ticket price for TiCat games.
Highest price is Platinum Seats--$90.00 for individual games/ $70.00 each for season ticket package !!
Cheapest Price--is as you mentioned is $20.00 for individual games / $12.50 each for season ticket package !!
Add $5.00 on for all tickets for the Labour Day Game.
Unless someone can find the median ticket price, just posting listed prices tells you nothing.
For all I know, in Regina, 90% of all seats are priced at the highest level. Or, the opposite.
Gonna take some research to find not only the average, but the median. Which I think would be the best way of comparing.
Yes, my observations were based on seats between the 45 yard lines and no more than 20 rows from the sidelines. The price you have quoted in Montreal includes some kind of VIP package - for a mid-field seat only (no extras), 16 rows up, the price is $92.50 (ask ronfromtigertown). At Canad Inns stadium on Friday, I paid $62.50 to sit in row 20 on the 50 yard line. The price for Platinum tickets at IWS is $90.
But ultimately slo is right - need median price to make any meaningful comparisons.
Did the renovation in Montreal add more real seats? I believe the most expensive seats in Montreal previously were so priced because they were “real seats” instead of benches.
Even if they put in 40,000 parking spots and managed to sell each one for 50 bucks a per game the cats still won't be happy if the city says "we'll keep that money too"
I sat in the most expensive seats in Montreal and they were benches…along this point, in order to make money the Cats will need to raise ticket prices? Good luck…$90 for a Ticat game? Does anybody pay that? Anyone?
Mike, I like your perspective. Like you, I also have not read all the posts on this subject, as the subject has been kicked around plenty in some pretty long forums. I will add my two cents (even though this post has now become a debate on pricing at different stadiums). For those who have heard this all before, pardon my redundancy.
At IWS I get down to the game an hour before and park a 10 minute walk away. I come from the West, and have to go through a bit of traffic to get back to the 403, but it’s not like Buffalo as you mentioned. I agree that WH should provide a similar, but not exactly the same situation, but it is close to downtown where parking is generally readily available during games. The WH site does not have as much neighbourhood around it as IWS, so there could be a little less free parking available. The WH site is close to the 403 (although all the debate these days makes it sound like the highway is nowhere near the site). I believe there is some parking planned at the WH site, but it is not that substantial. This was a big problem for the TiCats. The City could have increased the on-site parking, but would not agree to spend more money on this.
I agree with you that the plan on the EM site with a huge parking lot would be more like the Bills. The attraction to this is the ability to perform tailgating (which is a big plus for many), and of course the financial benefit. The driveway to driveway concept is OK for the Ti-Cats, but has little benefit to the city, unless they get a piece of the financial benefit. The detractor to this is the wait to get out, the cleanup, and the impact of irresponsible tailgaters.
This of course is one factor that the TiCats are stating for “never” playing at the WH site. Pesonally, I can see both sides of the arguement, and I’m not going to side with one or the other.
Through all of this, I am mostly dissappointed in the end result. The City Council and TiCats, at this point haven’t gotten the job done. A lot of people are blaming the City Council for not working out a compromise with the main tenant. True or not we still have the same result.
As you are probably aware, parking is only one of the core reasons why the TiCats don’t like this site. To me the City Council appears to be hell bent on having a stadium close to downtown. I don’t fully dissagree with this idea, but besides the parking issue, ultimately I think the TiCats have a problem with locating the stadium with poor access for some of its core clients. My friend from Burlington said to me, it will take forever to get there going all away across Burlington Street, then to James, and then to Barton. I said, “Dude, it’s 5 to 10 minutes from the 403”. Unfortunately, those who have gone to IWS for years may not like the idea of going to downtown Hamilton, and would be glad to drive to a parking lot next to the highway, pay $20 to park, have a few cheap beers before the game, and then line up to leave afterwards.
This story is long from over yet. I just hope there is a good ending. Like many on this forum I really don’t care where the stadium is built, I will still go to games. I’m not from Hamilton, but I really hope the team does not leave the city. That would really be sad.
BY has said that the average ticket itcket price at IWS is $30. Which I find a little bit suspect but that’s what he said.
When the Ticats released the revenue projections for WH that showed how it was not a viable site for them, ticket revenue was calculated at 20,000 seats at an average price of $30, which they stated was the same as at IWS. Their expectation was that, since WH had the same parking problems as IWS, the ticket prices could be no higher. And that because there were no private partners to build to CFL capacity, the 20,000 seats was the maximum capacity of seats they could sell.
A $30 average ticket price, if the Ticats are to be believed, has got to be low, even by CFL standards.
We have a parking lot available for the 108th Grey Cup Game on December 12th at Tim Hortons Field.
Currently there is not a huge selection for on-site parking for a regular season game nevermind a Grey Cup event. Our parking spot can comfortably fit 60 cars and is going for $15 plus Eventbrite's service fee for the whole day. If you or your friends are looking for a parking spot for this day feel free to checkout some of the tickets we have available so you don't have to leave it to game day. Add your ticket to your apple wallets or emails or just show the receipt when you drive in.
