Of course nobody would attend...Torontonians wouldn't know what to do with a winning team
The sadder reality is that some people actually think the Leafs will make the playoffs this year..
Well, FYB, they do seem very exciting, would love to go to one some day! But let’s be realistic, the CFL is not gonna draw NFL numbers, ESPECIALLY in Toronto.
The Dome is just lousy for football. There’s no question a smaller stadium would help, but the chance for that was blown already. I don’t see where they can do it now.
Had seasons tickets for last 3 yrs. that the Argos played at Ex Stadium (before could only get scalper tickets, place was always packed). Had seasons tickets for first 3 yrs. at Skydump and I was never an Argo fan, just wanted to see the Bombers and some good football. At the same time my bro had st at IWS. We used to go to both venues. Also went to several Bills games at Rich Stadium, coerced by friends who thought the NFL was better, it wasn't! Much hype...little substance. If the Argos got out of the Skydump( aka the Rogers Centre) I think more fans would be inclined to go. I know I would. I watched the attendance decrease year to year after they moved out of the old Ex. Besides the game itself, I think the venue should be a fun place to go to, the Skydump isn't.
Toronto and southern Ontario were taken over by the NFL marketing 30 years ago, people here look at the CFL as minor league, similar to AHL, HOWEVER THEY DO NOT REALIZE THAT THIS IS WRONG THINKING OF COURSE, Because the CFL is the “BIG” league of Canadian football, which is a different game than NFL ball.!!
If Canada was picked up and place on the other side of the world we wouldn’t be dealing with this, because then Canadians would appreiciate the CFL more !! and not be influenced by the States as much! Bigger isnt always better !
Let's not worry about Toronto too much, if the CFL is only as good as having a team in Toronto, then the league is in trouble but this is really not the case as much as some seem to think. Toronto has many problems and issues but Canada keeps rolling along.
Torontonians will support a winning team if it is run properly. The Toronto Rock are one of the most successful franchises in the NLL consistently drawing one of the highest attendance figures in the league every season. I understand the allure of paying $1 for rent, but when the place you are renting is the Skydome it’s still too exspensive. The place was built for baseball, football was almost an afterthought in the design. They need to go the way of the Alouttes and find an outdoor venue in the 25k range that gets fans closer to the action. The best seats in the Skydome are a mile and a half from the field and the seats get worse from there. I’ll drive to Montreal or Hamilton before I’ll pay to see a game at Skydome.
If the view of the action sucks, all of the advertising in the world won’t get folks to go.
If the crime rate around the stadium is bad, they won’t go unless the area gets cleaned up.
If the team plays during the week (non-Friday and non-Saturday), and fans don’t like the idea of paying big bucks and having to leave at halftime because they have to go to work the next morning…
Please define the problem with facts before putting together a solution.
Three factors are what conspire to stop the Argos from being successful
Factor #1 - Bush Attitude - Many Torontonians (at least in my view) feel the the CFL is a bush league and is bellow them. That the team is entitled to an NFL team because they feel they are the center of the universe. It's sadly the same problem Hamilton has with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Toronto Marlies suffer from. They don't understand that if you can't make a "minor league" franchise work (which neither the Bulldogs nor the Argos are), you aren't going to get a major league one. I honestly don't know how to fix this, other then instilling that the CFL is Canada's league and to be proud of the CFL as top tier, different football. Hype and marketing, which the CFL needs to address, not just the Argos.
Factor #2 - Bad Stadium Atmosphere - Part of the CFL is player intimacy, and that's just not there in the Rogers Center. I don't understand why the Argos insist on curtaining off the seats close to the players. I don't understand why the Argos didn't do everything possible to get in on the ground floor for BMO, I don't understand why so many of their security guards act like jerks. I don't understand how you can justify $12 for a tall-boy. I don't understand how in a stadium that big nowhere near capacity, your concession lines are that long. There are things they could do to combat this, but the Argos don't, although the ultimate way to combat it is relocating.
Factor #3 - Ticket Pricing - Alright, the Jays may play around 4.5 times more home games then the Argos, so they have more chances to make revenue. That an the MLB TV deal probably makes a lot more revenue given the Jays draw from all of Canada. However, when you have a stadium with as much seating as the Rogers Center, and a team whose player salaries are nearly 15 times less then the Blue Jays, how can the Argos justify comparable pricing? Even more so if the rent is apparently $0 and the "Gold" section is some 20 rows back from the field (because they curtain it off) and the "Platinum" section is on the 2nd deck. Also, no youth pricing & no student pricing which many (although not all) teams implement. Argos season tickets save you around 15-18% Ti-Cat season tickets save you 19-30% (and really the 19% are the all you can eat seats). Lower your season ticket prices! You make your money off of season tickets as they are buying merchandise and consistently generating concession revenue.