End Of An Empire - close to a sellout

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David
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If you haven't purchased tickets yet for Saturday's game, don't wait too long.

From CKNW:
Tickets are moving fast for the Lions - Argos game Saturday, sellout expected for final game at Empire Field.
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D
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Good weather and a couple wins can really help sales
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sj-roc
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jcalhoun wrote:I'm going to be in the North End-Zone. Any advice? Do I need sunglasses, a hat, etc? Is there a concession to avoid, or a washroom that's worth going out of your way for?

Cheers,

James
If this weather holds up to be anything like yesterday and today you'd def need sunglasses and a hat, and given the 1pm start time, sunscreen wouldn't be out of place either since you almost certainly won't be under any roofing for shade (only the sidelines between the goal lines are roofed) and will spend three hours baking in the early afternoon sun. If you're sitting low in the northwest corner of the endzone you might end up in the shade of the westside roofing by the game's late stages but I wouldn't count on it. And AFAIK, the washrooms are all port-a-potties, except I think there is something a little more advanced on the south side of the stadium, but that's out of your easy reach anyway.

It's a shame you weren't able to get south end zone seats since those offer a view of both the north shore mountains and the video screen mounted on the north side. You'd also be able to get an up close view of the players if you care for that sort of thing, as they have to go through the south concourse to get between the field and the dressing rooms (they actually swing out a temporary security fence at the start, halftime and end of the game for that).

If you're sitting in the middle of the endzone behind or near the goal posts, you'll potentially have a shot at catching a ball on short field goal attempts and converts. Empire doesn't have the usual netting for that, so the ball usually flies into the seats on such kicks.
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Definitely bring sunglasses unless you like squinting into the sun like Buono. Imagine 2 years at Empire and not one day of rain. (except for a drizzle)
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The north end of the stadium has the best choice of concessions, full washrooms as well as porta-potties, pre-game entertainment, merchandise tent and much more. It also has the easiest access from Lot 9, where tailgating takes place. The seats are in direct sun, though, and are in front of the video sceren.
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David
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The Lions are doing a "Shirts Off Our Back" promotion Saturday. While a nice gesture, it's going to mean bupkus to 99.9999% of folks attending Saturday's finale at Empire. If I owned the Lions and my bank statement started with a "b" and not a "t," I would offer Lions fans FREE parking for Saturday's home game. Just a one-shot deal. A way of saying "thanks for the inconvenience" to the 24,000+ football fans (average) that came out for the 14 home games at Empire that were, let's be honest here, mostly sloppy efforts.

While David Braley doesn't control PNE parking, he could still stroke a cheque to the PNE for the number of cars on the lot (I'm assuming Lot 9 and those around the facility will be full on Saturday afternoon). Think of wave of goodwill and publicity the club could ride with this initiative as the they make the move downtown. And the fans who would benefit most are typically those who have come the farthest and simply haven't had the option of taking transit: places like Langley, Aldergrove, Ladner, White Rock, and even the Valley and the Island. And to avoid gridlock they don't have to announce it either. Think of the looks on people's face as they pull up to pay....and get waved right into the lot!

What would this cost? Maybe 50-60 grand? Not chump change, but David Braley is going to make a mint this year on Grey Cup. And the $563 million renovation of BC Place that landed on his lap is the gift that's going to keep on giving (I suppose it's his reward for underwriting years of losses when he took over the club, but still....). This gesture would also erase the bad taste that many were left with last year when they thought they were taken advantage of with outrageous parking prices. I'm willing to bet a lot of people will drop that $20 bucks on souvenirs in the merchandise tent. Win-win.

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jcalhoun wrote:I was online earlier today, looking at ticket prices for the next two homegames (and flabbergasted at the cost for a pair on the 40-yard line, upper bowl on Sept 30th --98.oo each!?!) and I came to the sad conclusion that I just can't afford to go to games at the moment.
While it's nice to have the best seats James if affordability is a factor there are still 3 more price ranges that can get you into the September 30th game for considerably less than that, even as low as half that price.
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LFITQ
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So looks like the Lions will have managed close to 2 sellouts in the "cozy" confines of outdoor football if this holds up.

I really think someone in the Lions front office and high up needs to look at this and say "what went wrong?". When it was initially discussed about moving to Empire it was anticipated that there would be almost nightly sellouts. Nothing of the sort of happened in 1.5 seasons of playing there. Nostalgia didn't bring people back. Good weather didn't have people coming out. Lousy football was probably a factor. High ticket prices was probably a factor. Lack of transit was probably a factor. No matter what there were obviously some really bad decisions made by people higher up in the hierarchy. The "Montreal" experiment never did come to fruition here, and should be a warning to other teams thinking about doing something similar (I am looking at you Toronto).
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LFITQ wrote:So looks like the Lions will have managed close to 2 sellouts in the "cozy" confines of outdoor football if this holds up.

I really think someone in the Lions front office and high up needs to look at this and say "what went wrong?". When it was initially discussed about moving to Empire it was anticipated that there would be almost nightly sellouts. Nothing of the sort of happened in 1.5 seasons of playing there. Nostalgia didn't bring people back. Good weather didn't have people coming out. Lousy football was probably a factor. High ticket prices was probably a factor. Lack of transit was probably a factor. No matter what there were obviously some really bad decisions made by people higher up in the hierarchy. The "Montreal" experiment never did come to fruition here, and should be a warning to other teams thinking about doing something similar (I am looking at you Toronto).
All of the factors you cite are important but the biggest one is that this town loves a winner, and the team's record regular-seaon record at Empire is 4-9. Still, I wouldn't make too much of the lack of sellouts. Most B.C. fans also want to sit on the sidelines under cover and virtually all of those seats have all been full for each game. Most seats in the south end zone facing the scoreboard have also been full. The Lions have played to close to 90% of capacity at Empire. Also, the fan experience inside the stadium is much more intense than at any regular-season game at B.C. Place. Anyone who hasn't sampled that at least once is missing out on something special.
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Toppy Vann
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LFITQ wrote:So looks like the Lions will have managed close to 2 sellouts in the "cozy" confines of outdoor football if this holds up.

I really think someone in the Lions front office and high up needs to look at this and say "what went wrong?". When it was initially discussed about moving to Empire it was anticipated that there would be almost nightly sellouts. Nothing of the sort of happened in 1.5 seasons of playing there. Nostalgia didn't bring people back. Good weather didn't have people coming out. Lousy football was probably a factor. High ticket prices was probably a factor. Lack of transit was probably a factor. No matter what there were obviously some really bad decisions made by people higher up in the hierarchy. The "Montreal" experiment never did come to fruition here, and should be a warning to other teams thinking about doing something similar (I am looking at you Toronto).
What went wrong was not the Lions but the fans who went all gaga and googoo over being outdoors. It is a marketers dream to have the target market making your case. What fans missed (most) was that the small venue would mean higher ticket prices. What it is also means is that once they go up, they likely won't come back down.

The Lions went along with the fans who screamed for the great outdoors.

I used to think fans should be careful what they wish for. I also wondered if Gordon Campbell might not have taken all that love for the outdoors and torn down the stadium as the events they need there besides football are home, boat and car shows which he could have forced elsewhere and built more condos and commercial.

The Lions have gone to a higher ticket and we may not see those days of family friendly prices.
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Hambone
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One thing that mightt be diffferent today James is that I think season ticket holder get a much better break vs single gamme purchases. I suppose some could say the single gamer is getting gouged. I bought a single season ticket this year at $600 for lower bowl 45 yard line. If I recall the season tickets I used to have in what would be the same area ran around $400 or $450 back n 1999. Those top dollar seats you mentioned for Montreal would be in the new club section which is BC Place's equivalent of what was the Air Canada section in GM Place. I think it includes having somebody take your food and drink orders from your seat.
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I was lucky enough to attend 4 games at Empire Field. 3 last year (including 1 pre-season game) and 1 this year. My biggest disappointment of the "Tempire Era" was the fact that the Lions did not sell out any of their games, never mind ALL of them as I would have hoped. Now, of the 4 games I watched, only the pre-season game in 2010 was entertaining so I can't blame the fans for not supporting boring (yes, I am mostly pointing my finger at you Chap) football played by a team that hardly ever won at home.

BUT I also blame the typical Vancouver sports fan who (as I have said before) find any excuse NOT to attend a Lions game. BC Place is too stuffy but Empire doesn't have enough shade... Skytrains are too crowded, but there is no transit to the PNE... Beer line-ups are too slow at BC Place, but... well beer lineups suck even worse at Empire!

Anyone who missed the "Tempire Era" missed out on a once in lifetime opportunity, to see CFL football in the most intimate environment this league will likely ever see. It was like having the pros come and play a game on your high school field... you will never get closer to the action than we've been in the past 1.5 seasons. Yes parking sucked, beer/washroom lineups sucked, transit sucked, and for the most part the team sucked... but anyone who "suffered" the lack of comforts to watch the Lions live was treated to an up close and personal experience they will never have again.

The Lions had a golden opportunity at Empire that they sadly squandered. A few more wins would have helped exponentially, but despite the losing record at Empire the Lions should have gone all out to mitigate the reasons why the place was not full for every home game. I love David's suggestion of free parking... in fact they should have thrown in parking for all season tickets and multi game packages. Or how about running a free shuttle service to the nearest sky train station? Not much could be done about the long beer lineups, but then again the less you drink the less you need to line up for the port-a-potty! The Empire Field season and a half should have been viewed as a loss leader for move back to BC Place. A string of consecutive sellouts, and a hard to get ticket would have served the Lions well for years to come. Just ask Montreal.
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Toppy Vann
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The Lions barely make money if they make any. The PNE is not dropping their parking charges.

Fans created this whole 'wow.. great outdoors.' If folks had thought more about it instead of just whining about how bad BC Place was (90% of those whiners never went to games but they helped form the view that Empire was fantastic." I went to 1 game this year at Empire only as I am in Hong Kong most of the time but I'd gladly have kept driving by there to go DT. My problem is I can most recall the cold, rainy days of Empire, not the crisp nice fall nights as in those years the games were not in summer. No fan of being outside in the cold when BC Place is there. I can stand the warmth.

Now fans have huge ticket prices. Question is what will the Lions do next year? We all know that they can make the new BC Place look cosier with fewer higher paying fans rather than fill it more with lower aver. ticket prices.

I think the vibe of DT and Skytrain and bus makes DT the kind of place to be with so many options after. I think even fans who go home post game like the option of eating or drinks DT.

I know I did.
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