Riders vs. Lions, October 4th - Attendance/Seating

[ik17]

I know it's been discussed in the past here, but look at the sections that have been sold out (with singles only remaining) in the upper deck...it's the $25 family zone and now the $30 tailgating zone. If the Lions offered up the new sections opened up in the upper deck for $25-30 including all fees, more seats would be sold. Thus more people would be buying their kids hot dogs, popcorn and drinks, and buying themselves $8.25 beers. I am not sure why they can't clue into this...too many egos in the office and not enough common sense. Their product alone will not sell tickets to the fringe fans. Cheap seats will.

You do realize the Lions don't make any money off of concessions and beer right? That all goes to BC Place.

[daryldix]

A butt in the seat is a butt in the seat.

I've taught almost 1000 students in the last 10 years in Abbotsford and maybe only a handful of them have gone to games. Something has to give...whether they get money from the concessions or not, a cheap seat will still put people in the building. Look at those family sections and see how much Lions gear is floating around with the young ones.

On a side note, the Lions came out to our school last year to do their presentation. As cool as it was, and as good as their stories were, there was 0 talk about them when they left the building. 1 free t-shirt was given away to a crowd of 450 kids + 20 staff, etc. Would have been nice to see a few free tickets or 2 for 1, etc. thrown out.

[almo89]

A butt in the seat is a butt in the seat.

I've taught almost 1000 students in the last 10 years in Abbotsford and maybe only a handful of them have gone to games. Something has to give...whether they get money from the concessions or not, a cheap seat will still put people in the building. Look at those family sections and see how much Lions gear is floating around with the young ones.

On a side note, the Lions came out to our school last year to do their presentation. As cool as it was, and as good as their stories were, there was 0 talk about them when they left the building. 1 free t-shirt was given away to a crowd of 450 kids + 20 staff, etc. Would have been nice to see a few free tickets or 2 for 1, etc. thrown out.

You are right about a butt in the seat is a butt in the seat. I know to the team, they run a business and they have to do what is profitable. They use a stadium that they don't own, so there's a big cost there. I just wish there was more of a long term view from the team. Start out with cheaper seats and try to paper the crowd. The bottom line at the end of the year might not look as good financially, but now you have created a great atmosphere and experience that fans will remember. Slowly over time when demand is continually there, you can up the prices a little to make some money back. But it seems like the team is more concerned with the immediate profit and content with under 30k crowds.

[vanhalendlrband]

Just an update on the attendance looking at Ticketmaster again.

2 upper bowl sections are soldout now in the cheaper sections.

Seems like the new sections they have opened up are about 40% filled I would say given whats available on the site.

Its going to be a rockin' there tonight. Seems to sell more throughout the day. Lets hope for a big walkup crowd too.

[bc49]

...look at the sections that have been sold out (with singles only remaining) in the upper deck...it's the $25 family zone and now the $30 tailgating zone. If the Lions offered up the new sections opened up in the upper deck for $25-30 including all fees, more seats would be sold.

Daryldix you and I think the same way. Nose bleed end zone seats at $42? Come on! Having said that I will give credit to the Lions for coming up with some discount packages. The $25 family sections are an excellent idea. Personally I would like to see discounted youth (under 17) tickets for all upper deck sections like they have in Edmonton but that is for another owner to think about. Hi Rammer.

[Rammer]

...look at the sections that have been sold out (with singles only remaining) in the upper deck...it's the $25 family zone and now the $30 tailgating zone. If the Lions offered up the new sections opened up in the upper deck for $25-30 including all fees, more seats would be sold.

Daryldix you and I think the same way. Nose bleed end zone seats at $42? Come on! Having said that I will give credit to the Lions for coming up with some discount packages. The $25 family sections are an excellent idea. Personally I would like to see discounted youth (under 17) tickets for all upper deck sections like they have in Edmonton but that is for another owner to think about. Hi Rammer.

Sounds good to me Tommy, enjoy the game tonight.

[notahomer]

Went to RottenRon's (MickeyD's) for breaky down near the Dome on Robson. The place was PACKED with Riderfans. I really felt like a minority. Made sure to chat them up, welcome them as CFL fans. No trash talk by either side.

I think I deserve credit for being able to eat breakfast in a sea of green!

[sj-roc]

Just looked at the map one last time, I'm thinking it'll in the 37's, ie 37xxx.

[Rammer]

Just looked at the map one last time, I'm thinking it'll in the 37's, ie 37xxx.

That is a solid crowd size, can't expect that the walkup would add much more to that amount, not like the old days when tickets prices were more...reasonable.

[notahomer]

Just looked at the map one last time, I'm thinking it'll in the 37's, ie 37xxx.

Not EXACTLY sure what the number was (37,312 or thereabouts, IRRC) but you win the prize, IMO.

[Upper Bowl]

That was a good final prediction SJ-ROC.....and Rammer is right, a big walk-up is largely a thing of the past.

I think this game serves as a good reminder that, unless the Lions explicitly issue a news release saying X amount of tickets are sold, we should take all predictions with a grain of salt.

[sj-roc]

Just looked at the map one last time, I'm thinking it'll in the 37's, ie 37xxx.

Not EXACTLY sure what the number was (37,312 or thereabouts, IRRC) but you win the prize, IMO.

Thanks for the kudos, nota. I can only wish the Lions were equally on their game.

That's the figure I recall at the game and TheLionKing gave the same in the GDT.

[sj-roc]

That was a good final prediction SJ-ROC.....and Rammer is right, a big walk-up is largely a thing of the past.

I think this game serves as a good reminder that, unless the Lions explicitly issue a news release saying X amount of tickets are sold, we should take all predictions with a grain of salt.

True, every time we get a "hoping for" or "expecting" number it always falls short. It's just something thrown out to help create buzz, give it the veneer of an event.

Earlier in the week I found an attendance thread on here (sorry no link handy) from July 2008 where the Lions and/or media were touting 40k for the home opener at this time. The Lions had a promotion where you could get a game ticket, a PNE pass and a couple other items (fairly minor stuff like, a newspaper and coffee) all for one low price, like $40 or so. The final tally was only 33,813, which like tonight was also a Friday night loss to Ssk (also happened to be the last game before Ackles died just two days later).

[sj-roc]

Just another general comment on the issue of attendance.

As much as we would all love to see bigger crowds @BCP, I've begun to question in the last few years whether this market really has the transportation infrastructure — whether it be roads, bridges, parking, public transit, whatever — to handle 50k football fans descending on downtown in the span of a couple hours, on top of the rest of our transportation needs on any typical evening. From Friday's game I heard several anecdotes, while tailgating and in the stadium itself, of how slow things were in travelling to the downtown area. For example, a couple from White Rock sitting near me said it took over two hours driving from White Rock (and they started around 3pm, before rush hour) before they got the car parked downtown. So they're spending longer getting to and from the game than they are AT it. What would it be like if 50k+ people showed up for every game? Even now with recent post-season games drawing such crowds, they advise fans to arrive earlier and open the stadium earlier than usual to help spread out the flow of people through the gates to a more manageable pace.

I don't know firsthand what it was like in the opening years of BCP but surely with a much lower population at the time things weren't as hectic as now, even if there were no Millenium Line or Canada Line back then, or even Expo Line until 1986 (which didn't even go into Surrey until 1990 and didn't extend to its current King George terminus until 1994). There was certainly more public parking available downtown in the 1980s and considerably fewer people competing for it.

I suppose this is all part of the larger issue of meeting the transportation needs of a rapidly growing metropolis but it is nonetheless an issue that impacts the Lions' ability to attract fans and is unfortunately one over which they have little to no control.

[TheLionKing]

It's only going to get worse as Mayor Moonbeam and his council puts in more bike lanes.