I posted this over on the CFL board and thought it was worth posting here too.
Just finished ordering my tickets to the EDF on Ticketmaster at THF and thought the prices were quite reasonable. So I decided to see how they compared to all the prices for the other three play-off games and here is what I came up from Ticketmaster. Montreal is pricey - and they have a lot to sell in the next 6 days too. (This does not include pricing for Club Seats or Suites)
Actually of the four cities hosting a playoff game Montreal has the lowest median family income making their pricing even more challenging for that marketplace.
In 2012 according to Statcan Median Family Income
Montreal - $71,390
Hamilton - $80,400
Edmonton - $96.030
Calgary - $98,300
From Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - end of 2013 average rental rate for a two bedroom apartment.
Montreal - $730
Hamilton - $932
Edmonton - $1141
Calgary - $1224
Which again makes the Montreal high football ticket pricing seem even more out of whack..
Montreal has lower rental prices than the rest of Canada because of offer and demand. French Canadian were much later in the Home ownership game so you have a glut of old apartments and multi-unit dwellings built pre 1980. At least that’s my opinion.
Not what it use to be but rental properties, home ownership, hydro, mass transit is lower and I find restaurants also lower but everything else is more to much more.
And don’t forget that many businesses and head offices left Quebec in droves because of their language laws. It’s still a tough place to attract business, not just the language law but their high taxes too and very tough labour and union laws.
Don’t think it has any bearing on football prices, they charge what the market will bear.
It seems to me that the majority of Als fans are Anglos, but that’s just my opinion.
I can understand that a team (Montreal) wants to make as much money as possible but to me it makes absolutely no sense to price tickets well over the one hundred dollar mark especially when BC is the opposition. At that price the non-diehards will reason it is easier to stay home and watch the game and besides the weather is always questionable this time of year. It is an embarrassment for the team and the league when lots of empty seats are seen on television. Thank goodness the Cats (the Caretaker) aren't being greedy at playoff time. Hamilton's tickets are very reasonably priced in my opinion for a Eastern Final no less!
The same thing goes for the Grey Cup where high priced tickets in the upper deck are proving a tough sell. You have to know your market and price according to demand.
