How to attract Fans back to the BC Lion games?

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Being Old School, I really miss the old Empire Stadium.
Ya, it was sooooo cold and damp on some nights, Yes the rainy days and nights were ugly if you were not under the roof, and yes it was way to Hot at other times, if you were on the wrong side of the field, but what a great ambiance....being outside, at a much smaller stadium.
Seeing the North Shore mountains in the back ground, just added to that feel and the ambiance.
Very much like what Nat Bailey stadium has now, that is what playing Football outside is like.
A much smaller stadium, is what Vancouver is really needing.
The days of being able to sell out BC Place in the Don Matthews years,( due tp the novelty of a Brand New Domed stadium and a Great Team ) is long over and long past.
In order for the CFL to survive, it is needing to get back to its grass roots, and return to playing in much smaller Out Door stadium, with seating for may be 25,000 Max.
By reducing the seating, you make it a much harder ticket to get, and if we are lucky enough to have a Good team, the place will easily be sold out, for each and every game.
The novelty of playing indoors, is over.
Playing in BC Place is now, very much like the Seahawks playing in the old King Dome.....it has absolutely no ambiance.
When the Lions returned to play at the the quickly constructed and temporary Empire Stadium, I actually had tears in my eyes, from being given the chance to RETURN to some where that was a big part of my life.
I had been going to Lions games with my Mom and Dad ever since the early '60s as a little kid, and then I played all of our Junior Big 4 games there with the Meralomas and then played our Shrum Bowl games there with my SFU vs UBC.
I wanted my own Son and my wife to experience Empire Stadium, and it was like a Dream, that we had that chance to go back in time again, and ya.....I'm a tough macho type of guy, but in spite of that, I had tears in my eyes, the very first game that we went to at the New Empire, and my Son and my wife were both with me.
We immediately bought our Seasons Tickets the second that they announced that they were going to be playing at Empire Stadium again, and we LOVED every single second of it, and each and every game.
Its like the clock stopped or we had been transported back in time, and we got to relive something that was soooo much part of my life, as a kid and as a player myself and now as a dad.
My Dad and Mom were now gone, but....it was like they were both there....with us...as a Family.
Yup....Empire Stadium was a very Emotional experience, and I am soooo grateful and beyond Happy, that I got to share that with my own Son.
We kept our Seasons tickets right up till we WON our last Grey Cup, and once we had WON.....We renewed our Tickets for the next year, and that was it for us.
BC Place, in spite of having Great seats......was just not the same experience and we just gave up on the Lions.
So......what would make us come back?
Well.....A few things.
Number one would be, a New Empire Stadium.....in exactly the same spot!
OK.....since that will never ever happen, the one thing that would spark our interest would be.....IF....the Lions were to do it Right!
By that we mean, take care of the Families out there......Families that want to take their kids to the games, but can not justify paying the ridiculous Ticket prices and then the even more insane concession prices for simple things like Hot Dogs and Pop!
Bring back the FUN into attending the games, as Nat Bailey and the Canadians Baseball organization do.
If Costco can sell their Hot Dogs and a pop for $1.50....I am sure that the BC Lions could do the same!
The cost of Food and Drinks at the Lions games is what turns off so many families from ever attending.
I'm telling you right now, "IF" the Lions were to have Cheap Hot Dogs ( $1.50 each ) and Pops for "Everyone"....each and every game would be packed, regardless of the product on the field.
The CFL is doomed, if they do not drastically do something in regards to luring the Families back to the games.
Cheap Family tickets and Cheap Hot Dogs will do it!
Bring back Empire Stadium, and watch ( 25,000 seats ) the place sell out, for each and every game.
I should be the Commissioner of the league! lol
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Don Miller
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Those were the days my friend we thought would never end.. THe old Lions Woodwards QB Club in the north end zone. BC Place is a white elephant even with the new roof. 29000 seats lower bowl when full. Far away from the field. An outdoor stadium at the old site would and still work. Soccer and Football together in a new old Empire Stadium. I doubt we will see it happen. Toronto is a mess and has been for years. They are all waiting for an NFL Team. The Lions need to bring back family nites cheap tickets and hot dogs just like the Canadians are doing for baseball. I am a direhard Lions fan and it is hard to watch the number of fans decreasing as the younger fans are not coming out. There are fewer of the old guard left to continue to support the Team.
Peanut Butter Joe/Willie Show
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I suppose we are stuck with bc place. The league just isn't lucrative enough to warrant something purpose built.

Closing off the upper section has helped a bit. But they keep shooting themselves in the foot. Roof closed last night! At least turn on the air conditioning! It was muggy and sticky in there. The one benefit of a stadium like bc place is the comfort aspect, but they can't even get that right. Ridiculous.

Yes they need a family section which includes a hot dog and pop. Calgary does it I believe.

The cost is definitely a factor. I like going to games, but after $150 for a pair of tickets and $62 for two sandwiches and two beers, it makes me question the value. Especially when the team doesn't score a touchdown and they close the roof in July with no AC.
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David
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If anything built a case for a "Nat Bailey-type" outdoor venue for the Lions and Whitecaps to play in the summer months, it was last night's asinine decision to close the roof at BC Place. The warm summer sun streamed through the translucent upper panels, creating a solarium effect with sweat dripping off players and fans alike. Idiots. :bang:

For $583 million dollars, the BC Place roof is hardly ever open and doesn't open wide enough the few times it is. The stadium should have just been spruced up and given a non-retractable fabric upgrade. Then the savings put toward a 23,000 seat football/soccer/concert venue that the Lions could play in until October, at which time they could return to BC Place for the rainy season and (**pipe dream**) playoff games.


DH :cool:
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Toppy Vann
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An exciting, winning team is always a good thing to attract fans to attend as well as reasonable prices - tickets, beverages, etc.

The other challenge is how much more I get out of a game in terms of what's going on when I have the TSN broadcasts to rely on and the panels etc. The better the TV coverage and it's soared in quality in recent years with more cameras and more analysis and they even show the concert half time shows. You miss nothing and get more than attending other than the excitement of the crowd.

I still think getting more kids and parents coming is a good thing.

Never understood why the Lions wouldn't partner with colleges and schools for marketing ideas as young need internships and Lions needs fans.


While I attended games from the late 50s on at Empire it's funny I don't remember it as nostalgically as others do - hahah. I like the warm, friendly indoors environment at BC Place.

If others recall the movement in that era was along the lines of the USA with stadiums moving downtown and that is how they promoted getting BC Place dt. The business leaders wanted it dt as part of revitalizing dt.

Here's a Sudbury arena proposal that speaks to these issues of dt vs suburbs.

https://www.northernpolicy.ca/upload/do ... 6-1108.pdf
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Honour Dewalt
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The argument that there is no atmosphere at BC Place is not accurate in my opinion. Nothing has atmosphere when people aren't there. But when it's a good crowd the place is filled with energy. They definitely need to keep that roof open almost every night, just to change the mindset of the place. And cheaper food, which isn't in their control, would be great. I still think they have priced tickets too high. I think they need to concentrate a lot on selling packages. I don't have season tickets now, but when I did, I liked that I always had an event that day to attend. If people are left with making a decision of which game to attend, it's pretty easy for them to decide to watch at home. 3 packs etc with a really enticing package is probably something that would help. They have it already, but maybe they need to do something more.
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B.C.FAN
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I love the atmosphere in the stadium this year. It’s mostly a result of the music, which keeps the building rocking between plays. The DJ in the end zone always seems to have a lively young crowd around him, and the hype team adds to the young vibe.

I noticed lots of young women in cowboy hats for country night on Thursday. Even the three-generation family that sits beside me came decked out in cowboy hats and scarves.
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The_Pauser
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From what I’ve noticed, ticket prices are too high. For mid-field you’re looking at $90, and for the corners you’re still looking at $50-70. If you’re targeting families and youth, in this city they just don’t have that kind of disposable income for every game.

The roof is another issue and the team/stadium operators have completely bungled that. Absolutely no excuse for that roof to be closed last game. And this isn’t a one-off. This happens every year. If there’s even a cloud in the sky they close the roof. Is it really so bad if there is a bit of rain and the roof is open? It’s football! The roof should be open by default, and only closed if the game is during a complete downpour or snow. Or if it’s November and freezing out, fine close the roof. Otherwise let in that fresh air!

Finally, we need to expand our party zone like what they have in Regina, Winnipeg and Ottawa. I know it’s not likely they can remove a bunch of seats and have a similar setup, but open Club Orange to all the fans, and make both end zones $20 general admission seating party zones.

Here is my ticketing suggestions:

Club seats: $100 per ticket
Non-club 40-40: $60 per ticket
End zone-40: $35 per ticket
End zone party zones: $20 per ticket general admission.

May seem low, but if you can sell the place out your revenue will be higher than 17,000 fans at the current pricing structure.
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KnowItAll
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just guessing re roof, but maybe they need to protect the field. Maybe it doesn't handle any amount of rain well. Maybe when wet it gets extra slippery, possible leading to more injuries or bad play. I dunno
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David
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KnowItAll wrote:
Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:59 pm
just guessing re roof, but maybe they need to protect the field. Maybe it doesn't handle any amount of rain well. Maybe when wet it gets extra slippery, possible leading to more injuries or bad play. I dunno
Rick LeLacheur was on President's Week last year (TSN1040 radio) and promised fans that he would keep the roof open unless it was raining. Either he had a change of heart, or he doesn't have much influence over BC Place Management.

I was in downtown Vancouver all day Thursday and can tell you that there was ZERO threat of any kind of rain. It was cloudy until 4:30pm then the marine layer broke and it was glorious sunshine.

I think there is something they're not telling us about the roof apparatus and operation. It's just too weird that it literally has to be cloudless conditions all day before they open that thing. I saw it open ONCE during a game, and that was during the first game played there. That is ONCE in eight years. Come on. Something fishy going on. Even CTV's Marke Driesschen, a Lion season ticket holder tweeted out a WTF:




DH :cool:
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BC 1988
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Whitecaps FC exercise their right to have the roof open almost every game, regardless of the forecast, as shown back in April 2017:
https://www.whitecapsfc.com/post/2017/0 ... t-bc-place
TheLionKing
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Was the roof opened for the Bell's game last night ?
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BC 1988
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TheLionKing wrote:
Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:04 pm
Was the roof opened for the Bell's game last night ?
Yes. Box score would say roof closed if it was.
"Weather: Clear"
https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/match ... y/boxscore
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Hambone
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Wally is looking for an apology re: the roof.

One thing we do know regarding the roof is that Pavco will neither open nor close the roof during an event should rains suddenly hit or cease. Once the decision is made to open or close it will remain that way for the duration of the event.

Now I don't recall what the weather forecast was. When it was closed my only assumption was that they had some high probability forecasted for a sudden shower in the area between 6:00 and 11:00. Sounds like there was nothing forecasted. Other than it being closed on request by the team the only other thing I thought of was mechanical issues. That seems unlikely.

What I'm now wondering is it was due to the half-time concert? Could it be they kept it closed for acoustics reasons requested either by the band or TSN/CFL? Or is PAVCO obligated by some sort of noise bylaws imposed by the City to keep it closed for all concerts or semblances of concerts? I have no idea if it was all that loud or how many songs were played. As it was a Hee Haw act I had zero interest in staying in my seat. I headed to the concourse and stayed there until the 2nd half kickoff.
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David
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Hambone wrote:
Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:40 pm
What I'm now wondering is it was due to the half-time concert? Could it be they kept it closed for acoustics reasons requested either by the band or TSN/CFL? Or is PAVCO obligated by some sort of noise bylaws imposed by the City to keep it closed for all concerts or semblances of concerts? I have no idea if it was all that loud or how many songs were played. As it was a Hee Haw act I had zero interest in staying in my seat. I headed to the concourse and stayed there until the 2nd half kickoff.
This seems like the most plausible explanation, Hambone. But what would have happened if it was clear skies and 23 degrees all day??

Could it be that in their year working together, Wally influenced Ed that the roof (somehow) gives us dome field advantage?? Clearly though, we were the more sluggish team in that stifling heat so the decision backfired. Noise? Pffft. We were down so early that it hardly made a difference.

As a side note, I'm with you. What is it with the CFL/TSN and country music? Enough already! "Long Live the Night" is a catchy Thursday Night Football intro tune, I'll give them that. But they seem to be going way overboard lately in shoving country down our throats.


DH :cool:
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