ok, remember back in November folks when there were a number of threads created about Riderville at the Game?
well.. I saw another thread in the Edmonton forum about the Spirit of Edmonton and I thought about it.
Last year they sold a lot of tickets to the event yet many people who had tickets to the event never got in or had to stand in line virtually all day to get in.
I really think that they need to only sell enough tickets for the space that they have or make a way to not have an event location that can only handle a 1/4 of the tickets sold.
like if you are holding it in a place that holds 60,000 people at max. sell 100,000 tickets?
(just for example) don't go and sell 180,000 tickets or 240,000 so that you have 4 times the capacity out there.
A lot of the problem last year was created by the Calgary Convention Center (not sure if that is the actual name, but you know what I mean). They derailed it by having WAY too much security. Not only did that cause problems for Riderville in the pocketbook, cause those 80 security guards have to be paid, but it also created huge problems getting people in and out of the venue. They also did not allow Riderville to go to full capacity. It was almost cancelled beacuase of the demands the venue made to Riderville, but luckily cooler heads prevailed and it still went down.
Example of the big brother policies put out there, the famed funnel guys were not alowed to bring their funnel into the party. These 5-8 guys go every year, and carry around a beer funnel. It's a pretty good time, It's a party tool, and it is not there to hurt anyone (excluding alcohol poisoning). In fact Dressler's Dad was doing rye and coke funnels, ice and all, in Montreal.
Last time the Grey Cup was in Edmonton, Riderville was in a hotel conference center. Not sure which hotel, but it was definetly not big enough then, so I highly doubt they will be back there.
I'm sure someone is already working on this party, and lets all hope that they can accomadate everyone. All I ask is they remove all the big brother security. It is the Grey Cup, and in the 11 I have gone to, I have only seen 1 fight, and it was quickly broken up by other party goers. People are there to have fun. I don't care what "day and age" this is, having the amount of Security they had in Calgary is just a huge waste of money and time.
not sure why they just don't set up a structure like they had downtown in regina but even bigger such as the size of a circus tent and be sure to have enough room the organizers know the have the popularity and the flocks that would go just to say they hit the best party in town
to bad were not having it hear in regina to help celebrate the riders 100th
personally i don't think they should sell tickets to riderville. first come first serve for the night just like any other bar or pub. tickets never work because you still have to wait in line no matter what.
as for the space, it never seems big enough. riderville is always popular but yet they can't seem to get a big enough room to let everyone in. i though the edmonton space in montreal in 2008 was a really good size. the riderville/ti-cat space in montreal was nice but still too small. but i guess line-ups build the hype.
besides size and tickets, i would like to see riderville let owners/shareholders get free entry. besides the rider store discount what else does that card get me?
I agree that something needs to change. What they did last year simply didn't work very well. It seems the event is becoming a vitim of it's own success. Riderville is a unique hospitality party. The organizers can't use the same model as other teams use for their parties.
I'm sure it's tough though because the turnout of Riderville does change based on weather or not the Riders make it to the Cup. I agree that the amount of security they had for the event in Calgary was over kill.
Personally, I'm really against the idea of selling tickets in advance AND selling at the door. What's the benefit of getting your tickets in advance? IMO, it's a way for Riderville to sell tickets to people who don't end up showing up. Either because the Riders don't make the cup or because the lineups are simply too long and people don't want to wait outside in the freezing cold or where ever.
They should do first come, first serve OR advance tickets only.
Talked to someone about this years Riderville. It will be in the Shaw Center. And apparently the organizers are already way happier with the arrangements then last year. Didn't get really any details, but that's good to hear.
Got the opinion that last year was a scam between the city and the convention center. All of the security was required to be cops, and cops cost a lot. Riderville barely broke ven last year and they had the biggest party by far.
