First Few Rows Not Desirable???

[MiamiBCFan]

Hi guys,

I am a long time Miami Dolphins season ticket holder. I am comming up to BC and definitly will be attending a Lions game. I'm gonna get a shirt and hat, bring a friend and see some football Canada style.

I spoke to the Lions office today about getting tickets for a single game. She told me that I could get on a waiting list because they are still assigning season tickets right now and dont know yet whats going to be available (understandable). BUT, then she told me that if I wanted premium tickets ($85/seat) that there may not be any left and if there were they would probably only be the first few rows. WHAT?!? Where I'm from the closer you can get to the field and the players the better the seat is considered. I was wondering if either the slope of the seats maybe made you sit too low to see past the sideline to see the action? I want the best seats I can get, but I wated to hear from you fans about why sitting in the first few rows would be worse than say moving up a few rows and farther away from the center line (hah, I am learning, I almost said 50 yard line).

Thanks for any advice,

Go Lions!
Jeff

[B.C.FAN]

Jeff,
My seats are in the second row at Empire Field as they were at B.C. Place so I hope they're not obscured. Since the teams will play this year in a temporary stadium that is just being built, it's hard to know for sure. The old Empire Stadium on the same site had a huge crown on the field which made it impossible to see from sideline to sideline unless you were about 15 rows up. I hope that's not the case this year.

Here's the latest view of the stadium under construction:
Link

[Blue In BC]

I would expect a crowned field as well because of the outdoor nature of the stadium being built. Drainage is a key in a city like Vancouver.

[David]

Was there on Sunday taking a good look around up close. They've erected the sideline on the west side (as well as the south endzone) in a type of bowl configuration. Not as sloped as first feared, but it looks like they're leaving plenty of space between seats and the sideline (almost replicating the Empire Stadium track, if you will). Can't tell for sure though until they build in the stands on the east side.

Jeff, as far as seating, the stands are elevated so I did not get the impression that the first few rows would be any problem. Looks like they're only building 30 rows high, so there won't be a bad seat in the house. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance on this end.

DH

[Centrum22]

It is difficult to answer your question because the stadium in which the upcoming season is going to be played has not been built yet. The traditional home of the BC Lions (BC Place Stadium) is having its dome replaced with a retractable roof and will be out of commission until 2011. As a result, a small, temporary, outdoor stadium (Empire Fields) is currently being constructed to host the team during the 2010 season and part of the 2011 season. Empire Fields will not be ready until June. Therefore, since no one has attended a game at the still-incomplete temporary stadium, no one can comment with certainty about the quality of specific seats.

I hope that it is not the case that there is something wrong with the first few rows.

[notahomer]

One thing I will say about Canadian football fans is we actually use the seats during the game. I recently saw a game (Jan 2010) @ Qwest Field. I STOOD in the third row. I was able to use the seat for commercial breaks and halftime but anytime the game was on, you were standing. Don't know if its like that in all NFL stadiums.

[Ballistic Bob]

Come sit in the south end zone. Ist row is J. Im in Sec 217 row W seats 1 and 2. You are welcome to them. We are loud and proud. BB

[MiamiBCFan]

Normally in the NFL we do use the seats, we are on our feet when there is a big stop defensibly, or a team about to score, or a huge 3rd down stop (I'd imagine same as a big 2nd down stop in CFL terms). But during normal action we sit (but are still loud for our defense). What I think I didn't realize is that there sounds like there is a big difference in stadium size. Dolphins stadium holds about 74,000 fans at a sellout and has 3 levels plus sky boxes. If there are only 30 rows and one level in this temporary stadium, I don't think it will be as big a deal if I move back. Also, if the field is indeed crowned as the other field, I can see how sitting low would be worse than high. I think I will probably drop down below premium to get a little higher (since higher is not that much farther from the field).

As far as the end zone tickets, I think because the CFL has a 20 yard deep end zone, it might put me too far away for my first game. My Miami tickets are in the end zone 10 rows off the field, but I am so close that when the players are ready for kickoff, they can hear me yell to them (NFL end zones are only 10 yards deep).

I appreciate the info, I will be in town on for the Aug 7th game against Calgary. My buddy and I are totally looking forward to it!!

-Jeff

[Blue In BC]

Hey. You'll be closer to the cheerleaders, so not all is lost.

[sj-roc]

Normally in the NFL we do use the seats, we are on our feet when there is a big stop defensibly, or a team about to score, or a huge 3rd down stop (I'd imagine same as a big 2nd down stop in CFL terms). But during normal action we sit (but are still loud for our defense). What I think I didn't realize is that there sounds like there is a big difference in stadium size. Dolphins stadium holds about 74,000 fans at a sellout and has 3 levels plus sky boxes. If there are only 30 rows and one level in this temporary stadium, I don't think it will be as big a deal if I move back. Also, if the field is indeed crowned as the other field, I can see how sitting low would be worse than high. I think I will probably drop down below premium to get a little higher (since higher is not that much farther from the field).

As far as the end zone tickets, I think because the CFL has a 20 yard deep end zone, it might put me too far away for my first game. My Miami tickets are in the end zone 10 rows off the field, but I am so close that when the players are ready for kickoff, they can hear me yell to them (NFL end zones are only 10 yards deep).

I appreciate the info, I will be in town on for the Aug 7th game against Calgary. My buddy and I are totally looking forward to it!!

-Jeff

Actually we've seen our share of 3rd down stops up here too lately

The temp stadium for this year is only about 27,000 seats. Our regular one is about 58,000 — which puts us a whisker below largest capacity in the league — but aside from some recent postseason games approaching sellout levels, it's only been about half full most of the time (last 40k crowd was 1994 and we've had some upper 30s; last year was mostly ~27k with a few low 30s against key rivals). Unlike most years, tickets will not be that easy to come by in 2010.

[MiamiBCFan]

Well, it kinda sucks that I am going to have to pay all that money to sit in bleachers like a High School game. What I mean by that is I have a conference in Seattle, so now I am going to have to rent a car, get a hotel for two extra nights plus the 65/85 for the ticket (plus food, drink , beer whatever).

The good thing is I get to experience the CFL with the REAL fans. Cause I know only real fans will go to see games at temporary fields. It will be my warm up for the Phins upcoming season which looks like its shaping up with the signing today of Brandon Marshall (but I digress). I hope to see some of you up there, I'll be the guy with the BC Lions shirt and Lions hat and probably a Miami Dolphins Jacket, so come say hi if you see me trying to figure out the rule differences

See you all on August 7th!!
-Jeff

[Ballistic Bob]

Well, it kinda sucks that I am going to have to pay all that money to sit in bleachers like a High School game. What I mean by that is I have a conference in Seattle, so now I am going to have to rent a car, get a hotel for two extra nights plus the 65/85 for the ticket (plus food, drink , beer whatever).

The good thing is I get to experience the CFL with the REAL fans. Cause I know only real fans will go to see games at temporary fields. It will be my warm up for the Phins upcoming season which looks like its shaping up with the signing today of Brandon Marshall (but I digress). I hope to see some of you up there, I'll be the guy with the BC Lions shirt and Lions hat and probably a Miami Dolphins Jacket, so come say hi if you see me trying to figure out the rule differences

See you all on August 7th!!
-Jeff

Come early and tail gate with us. BB

[MiamiBCFan]

Tell you what, as we get closer to the date, I'll post here again and maybe some of us can meet up for a beer! Like I said, we will be in town the night before as well, and I have NO IDEA what there is to do around there... I'm just going for the football baby!

-Jeff

[sj-roc]

Well, it kinda sucks that I am going to have to pay all that money to sit in bleachers like a High School game. What I mean by that is I have a conference in Seattle, so now I am going to have to rent a car, get a hotel for two extra nights plus the 65/85 for the ticket (plus food, drink , beer whatever).

The good thing is I get to experience the CFL with the REAL fans. Cause I know only real fans will go to see games at temporary fields. It will be my warm up for the Phins upcoming season which looks like its shaping up with the signing today of Brandon Marshall (but I digress). I hope to see some of you up there, I'll be the guy with the BC Lions shirt and Lions hat and probably a Miami Dolphins Jacket, so come say hi if you see me trying to figure out the rule differences

See you all on August 7th!!
-Jeff

Just curious, did Cameron Wake have anything to do with your interest in BC? I guess you're probably aware he played with BC for the two seasons before he ended up down there, and won a Most Outstanding Rookie and two Most Outstanding Defensive Player honours during that time. He's not the only former BC Lion with Miami at the moment (Rolly Lumbala and Ryan Grice-Mullen also played here last year, but weren't nearly as heralded).