What do the Gades need to do?

Apart from the obvious, what do the Renegades need to do to get fans back in the park? And by the obvious, I mean "field a winning or competitive team". IMO, the team this past season was competitive.

I'm sure many of you will say that Lonie needs to go - but does he really? What if he just did some things to bring fans back? What should those things be?

I know what it's like to have a crummy owner - I live in Calgary. Even so, if Feterik had gone out and done the stuff that Hellard has done (and maybe if he had stopped trying to work his son up the depth chart), I don't think anyone would care that it was Feterik running the team. (Of course, it's things like those that make a good or bad owner)

Hamilton manages to very nearly sell out every game, and they finished 5-11! I've heard that there are Ti-Cats banners all over the place throughout Hamilton. Maybe that's a factor? Anyway, what are some things that the owners (forget for a second all that the Glieb's have done in the past) could do to bring the Renegades up to hot-ticket status?

  1. Open up an area in the parking lot and/or behind the Beaver Lodge for tailgaiting. Let the fans have a good time before the game. Will be tough to get the city to accept it, but I'm sure something creative could be done.

  2. Do something about the halftime entertainment. To date, it has been lame. The 'Sweet Caroline' guy was pretty much the most exciting show of the year. Did anyone else miss that guy once he was gone?

  3. Bring Rough Riders alumni to games. Honour these guys with something better than the lame red 'jersey' plaques under the press box. For those of us not familiar with the old days, we don't know who the hell they are or what they did for the team/city. Most other cities feature their honoured/retired players with large banners. No reason Ottawa couldn't do the same.

  4. Upgrade/replace the scoreboard. Yeah, it's not cheap, but nothing would give the stadium a facelift more than that. Also opens up lots of ad space. The city should pitch in on this.

  5. If the video board can't be replaced/upgraded, at the very least use it more effectively. Show us highlights of the team, shots of the players on the benches, shots of the crowd, etc.

  6. Upgrade sound system. Again expensive, but a good sign of long-term commitment. Again, the city should be helping with this cost.

  7. More signage around the city/downtown. Hamilton has gone with this marketing approach effectively. Really creates a nice sense of community.

  8. Perhaps have a section of the stadium where kids can play, but also give them a chance to see the action. Perhaps in the area where Beaver Lodge used to be? Swings, slides and whatnot. I've seen it at other stadiums/arenas.

Anything to get people more involved in the team is a great thing. Lonie being the 'creative genius' that he is should be able to come up with lots of non-offensive promotions, shouldn't he?

I've got the perfect half time show. You've heard about dwarf tossing. Let's have Lonie tossing. Get a harness on him and see how far you can throw him.

-Get a good QB
-Beef up the lines on both sides of the ball(the game is won in the trenches)
-Find a hardnosed MLB
-Find a reliabe kicker

and I know, that its way easier said than done

That cheap group of left wing Ottawa city Councillors are to blame for the shitty sound system and the scoreboard problems. The City of Ottawa hates to spend on anything that has to do with sports. Problems with the scoreboard and sound system dates back to the 1980's. Can you believe that ? City of Ottawa, cheap bastards. They hate it when someone wants to have fun. I agree, set up places for tail-gaiting parties and set up some charter buses to drop people off at bars or near home if they have been drinking. I would love to see someone drop-kick Alex Cullen in the nards. :evil:

Start winning and all the above will start to happen.

The tailgaiting idea near the beaver lodge is a must. And it's gotta be open to everybody not just the chumps in the endzones...

If you have a tix you should be able to get in that area.

Agreed MM... and agreed ORR... the freakin' city of Ottawa councillors need to spend some dough on THEIR stadium. They'll reap all the tax benefits that the Gades give them, but could give 2 sh*ts about supporting them or the stadium they play in.