2018 All Things Lions Marketing & Promotions

[David]

Does anybody sit on the visitors' side of the field? I was cringing looking at the empty seats over there. I was wondering how the home team side looked from over there. From my perch in 242 it's difficult to get a sense of the seats on my side but it feels like there are twice as many sitting there than on the visitors' side.

There have always been more people on the Lions' side of the field than the visitors but I was shocked at the number of empty seats there Saturday, even the mid-field seats which used to be mostly season ticket holders. Maybe there were no-shows for a non-divisional game in mid-June (much like if the Canucks were playing the Florida Panthers in their opening game), but it was quite noticeable.

That said, there were considerably more people in the endzones and corners than previous years, presumably taking advantage of ticket specials. While this development is not revenue friendly, it likely means more young people in the stadium which is good for the future. Just walking the concourse, there seemed to be many more Gen X and Gen Ys as well as kids at the stadium.

Were people entertained? Not sure. There was a good energy in the building. People always seem to have a good time at Lions games but that was just not a well-executed contest. Far too many flags and only three combined touchdowns scored. It looked and felt like the 3rd preseason game.


DH

[CardiacKid]

I don't know if it was merely coincidence or planned that way but another subtle thing I noticed was that the participants in the sideline contests all appeared to be in the 12 to 16 age range.

I did the Coffee Cup Shuffle a few years ago and they were happy to have a old-ish guy with a salt and pepper beard appear on the big screen.

Last year I tried one more time to get on but was given the “we’ll be in touch” treatment. They went with a much younger guy who just had a Lions hat on over me with all my glorious Lion’s finery from head to toe, from stem to stern.

I think the Leo’s are guilty of full-tilt ageism.

[Qman]

Huge Talent brings up a great point about their next challenge — those rows upon rows of vacant seats between the 20-35 yard-lines. Expanding the $10 deal is a great idea. They also may want to re-visit why they eliminated that price tier when they moved back to BC Place in 2011 and made between the 20s all the same price category.

Does anybody sit on the visitors' side of the field? I was cringing looking at the empty seats over there. I was wondering how the home team side looked from over there. From my perch in 242 it's difficult to get a sense of the seats on my side but it feels like there are twice as many sitting there than on the visitors' side.

i'm going with no shows right now.
considering there only a handful left on ticketmaster pregame in those sections and only showing a handful left for WPG game

[B.C.FAN]

i'm going with no shows right now.
considering there only a handful left on ticketmaster pregame in those sections and only showing a handful left for WPG game

The Ticketmaster chart is a sham. I looked the day before Saturday's game and it showed only one single seat left in the lower half of my end-zone section (253). Instead, the seven seats to the right of me and the entire row behind me were empty for the game, along with untold numbers of other seats in the section. The Ticketmaster chart showed a similar picture last year but I've never seen as many empty seats in the prime lower rows of the section as there were for this game.

Overall there were more people in the end zones than normal, and many regular season ticket-holders around me were not there (that happens for all summer games, as I have tried to stress to Randy Ambrosie). The cheap tickets, hotdogs and beer promotion worked, but I don't know if those people will come back next game at regular prices.

[Hambone]

In my row R in 242 there was me and my buddy in seats 1 and 2. A couple with lanyards and ST cards sat beside us for the first half but didn't return for the second half. I can only presume given the empty seats everywhere they moved and sat with friends elsewhere. The other 5 seats to the middle row were never used. The rows below us though seemed to be mostly full with scattered singles or pairs empty.

A better gauge than Ticketmaster might be when checking out available seats for re-allocation. At least then one gets a sense of where the ST holdovers are. But that window is only open for a couple weeks. I checked again to see if we could upgrade this year but really only paid attention to some very particular seats those being aisle seats between the 40s behhind the BC bench and higher than row R. Seing none I shut the app down without analyzing the overall lay of the ST land.

[TheLionKing]

There were empty seats in front, and beside me that are normally occupied by long time season ticket holders for both the preseason and last game. They have either not renewed or choose not to show up.

[CardiacKid]

The CFL website listed attendance as 20,182.

[DanoT]

The CFL website listed attendance as 20,182.

That would be "paid attendance", I presume, and that would include all the ST no shows.

[TheLionKing]

The CFL website listed attendance as 20,182.

No wonder the Lions are no longer announcing the attendance.

[cjones2451]

I will give the Lions credit, they are trying everything, today they posted Pro-Rated Season's tickets for the remaining 8 games.....smart, try to get those that had fun last game or were on the fence.
I also notice the kids pricing is 2 tiered so there is a kids sideline promo which I hope helps fill in the corners up to around the 25 yard line

[Bosco]

I'm on the visitors side, Dale, and frequently, there are multiple empty seats in each row.

There's a slogan - buy a seat.....get a whole row!

[David]

What would you think about a full season membership at a locked-in lifetime rate? In other words, if prices go up, your ticket price is guaranteed to no go up with it (and frankly, I can't see an owner raising prices more than they are set at right now)

This would be akin to the way gym memberships are sold. It might induce more fence-sitters to become season ticket holders.


DH

[SammyGreene]

It's encouraging to see they have crept the kids ticket deal into the edges of the coaches sideline seats — sections that have essentially become small ghost towns especially on the visitors side. The pro-rated deal is good given the two worst draws of the entire season — pre-season and Montreal are done with.

David, I hope you are right about going as high as they possibly can with the ticket prices. Skulsky's business model was raise the average ticket cost of the fan entering the stadium to overcome the falling attendance.
That was leaning heavily on the season ticket faithful but the base erosion is leaving a huge chunk of unsold $92 sideline seats between the 20s. Do casual fans see no problem paying $200 for a pair of tickets plus other expenses or just watch on HD TV at home?

I really would like to see the Lions not only keep the $65 end zone deal for the balance of the season but expand it to include some of those coaches sideline seats. Even $140 for a pair tickets plus other perks to sit on the 25-yard-line.

I think the entire league has drifted away from being that "affordable" pro league option. I was surprised to see how many empty seats in the lower bowl for the Bombers season opener in their outstanding stadium. Then I saw their ticket prices of between $92 (near goalline) and $155 (between the 30s) for the entire sideline lower bowl. That's nuts.

[BC 1988]

With the Canucks season sked out, the Lions have only one conflict this fall, and it's the 4pm start Sat Oct 27 vs SSK. Canucks play at home at 7pm vs PIT that night.
https://www.nhl.com/canucks/schedule/2018-10-01/PT

[B.C.FAN]

With the Canucks season sked out, the Lions have only one conflict this fall, and it's the 4pm start Sat Oct 27 vs SSK. Canucks play at home at 7pm vs PIT that night.
https://www.nhl.com/canucks/schedule/2018-10-01/PT

I’ll take that. Lions’ fans get the parking spots.