Season Ticket Discussion

CFL Talk
1

You know, we hear alot about how teams like Toronto “fail” because they do not pack stadium. But one thing I notice is we also pay ALOT more than other teams do. Especially for youth tickets many teams offer huge discounts (eg youth BC as low as $76 for season ticket)

Toronto has $2664 for field level and $244 for end zone
Saskatchwen $1970 to $188
Hamilton $1925 to $231
Montreal $1588 to $226
Ottawa has $1380 to $230
Winnipeg has $1234 to $264
Calgary $1077 to $227
Edmonton $970 to $175
BC has $819 to $261

And of course being Toronto we also pay most for parking or transit and food or beer…
Eastern teams also have highest tax rate (HST) on top of the already most expensive tickets

2 Likes
2

The Argos were struggling before COVID and now it seems challenging to fill the seats.

Only so much money people have these days for entertainment.

2 Likes
3

Assuming your numbers are correct it does seem ridiculous that the field level tickets are priced that much higher then the rest of the league.

Unfortunately they could be giving their tickets away for free and they’d still have a tough time getting people in the building.

1 Like
4

I think this posting is a bit misleading. At BMO field there are a few (200 perhaps) oversized plush seats that are $2,664 to $2,220. They were installed for TFC and appear to be more in demand for TFC games. They are similar to front row seats at a Rapter’s game. The highest price for a seat in the East and West stands is $1,412 for a lower level 50 yrd line. I have tickets in upper West stands, row 10 at the 30 yrd line. For 2024 season (9 regular season games plus 1 playoff game) I will pay $284 ($28.40 per game). Compared to Leafs, Blue Jays, Raptors, soccer, etc it is the best deal in town. If other cities have better pricing, good for them. It just confirms the entertainment value of the CFL. In this city, comparable Blue Jay tickets are about $100 per game and live plays are about $125 per ticket.

5 Likes
5

Because we are special.

6

Those prices are consistent with what I was looking at last year when I was comparing to the Ti Cats. My sense was the Argos were a bargain.

7

Despite the doom & gloom of team not making any $$$ and needing to be moved… every single one of those seats are sold out. Test the links above you can not even buy one. Best seat left is $2220 to sit in the end zone.

I could expand the chart to include all levels of seating (and as I have not been in other stadiums, last time I saw Montreal still had the big O) I am simply comparing best to best, mid to mid, value to value

I still find it odd they sell Hamilton tickets at Costco
I never really read the fine print (blackout dates?) but it is cheaper to buy individual tickets vs seasons tickets (presuming there is no restriction on buying 9 of them)

8

The problem is that you can buy Argo tickets for $20 to $30 for every game and just move to most expensive seats. There are many former season tickets holders that gave up buying season tickets because people sitting next to them in the $100 seats were actually paying $20.
As for the most expensive transit? I don’t think so. The only stadium in Canada with a train station, you can get on a train in the burbs and get off at BMO for a few dollars.
Beer? you can get the cheapest beer anywhere at the pre-game Shipyard, $4, hamburgers too at $4. Just load up with beer at the Shipyard.
The in stadium beer price is no different than in Hamilton or Ottawa.
As many have said, you can sell tickets for $20 and $4 beers, bring in rappers etc but you still can’t force people to the game. And it’s been said so many times before, the Argos are not seen as Major League by the ticket buying young people.
Crowds of 12k to 14k is the norm and MLSE is willing to pay the bills and continue to support the Argos, they are lucky to have these great owners.

2 Likes
9

I’ve noticed these seats and it gave me an idea for stadiums that do not fill to capacity. I’ll use BC place as my example.

For most games (Lions and Whitecaps), the upper deck at BC place is totally empty. If there were a “VIP” section for a few rows around the upper bowl filled with these luxury seats along with table-service and some other perks (casino/hotel attached to stadium) it might attracts some high-rollers and it would look better on TV than an empty bowl. I know it would involve renovations on a new stadium, but I’m already seeing news articles claiming the stadium must be modernized.

10

That is kinda what the Blue Jays did in their upper levels for the neighbourhood zones

11

I have two seasons tickets for the Grey Cup Champions Montreal Alouettes and I go to the games by driving from Manchester, NH in the States because I love the CFL. As a business owner and wanting to do cross border business in Canada and Mexico I opted to buy two seasons tickets to the BC Lions due to the lure of a potential Al’s & Lions Grey Cup. Imagine that developing a business model to enjoy the beauty and splendor of CFL football in two amazing markets Montreal & Vancouver. It doesn’t hurt to have guaranteed seats for Touchdown Pacific and the Grey Cup either. Can’t wait for opening night at Percival Molson Stadium…

4 Likes
12

This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.