Reasonable attendance expectation for Wednesday?

[Neely2005]

Looked like well under 10 thou to me.

No way, the west stands were 90+% full. Unfortunately the TV cameras are also on the west side.

[Gill The Thrill]

12,373

That sounds about right...still felt a lot busier than the same amount at the dome, where most games were at since the C&S period, which tells you how inflated the attendance was at there. I've been to TFC games that have had less, but to be honest they have more than that now.(sometimes not much more)

Truth is...other than the season opener, hamilton games and playoff games...the 12 -13 k is about the number of die-hards this team has in the GTA that have regularly attended games. Unlike other Toronto sports teams, the catchment area for this fanbase is not as wide. particularly in the Western part of the Golden Horseshoe and Ontario because traditionally a lot of CFL fans in those parts have been partial to the Hamilton Ticats, which is understandable. Therefore most fans from the 905 tend to be from north of 416, where the GO Train does not serve as well and where getting to yesterday's game would've been a pain to the ass, and from the east where the service is good...I'm sure there are some from Missy, Oakville, but very few from Burlington.

Gotta to admit, if I was a CFL fan living in Oakville, Burlington, I'd be looking to get my CFL fan experience in Hamilton and not Toronto, unless I'm an Argos fan.

Hope the brain trust at the Argos PR dept get to work getting people from Liberty village there as they so hope to do, there were probably more people from Durham Region at the game than people from Liberty village yesterday. It's going to take time...but it is a nice atmosphere at the CNE, and the breeze coming off Lake Ontario was superb to take the effect away from a 30 degree + day...that heat would've been stifling inside the dome....and Rogers would've probably had the roof closed doing repairs as they so conveniently would do to piss off the Argos.

[Will]

That sounds about right...still felt a lot busier than the same amount at the dome, where most games were at since the C&S period, which tells you how inflated the attendance was at there. I've been to TFC games that have had less, but to be honest they have more than that now.(sometimes not much more)

Truth is...other than the season opener, hamilton games and playoff games...the 12 -13 k is about the number of die-hards this team has in the GTA that have regularly attended games. Unlike other Toronto sports teams, the catchment area for this fanbase is not as wide. particularly in the Western part of the Golden Horseshoe and Ontario because traditionally a lot of CFL fans in those parts have been partial to the Hamilton Ticats, which is understandable. Therefore most fans from the 905 tend to be from north of 416, where the GO Train does not serve as well and where getting to yesterday's game would've been a pain to the ass, and from the east where the service is good...I'm sure there are some from Missy, Oakville, but very few from Burlington.

Gotta to admit, if I was a CFL fan living in Oakville, Burlington, I'd be looking to get my CFL fan experience in Hamilton and not Toronto, unless I'm an Argos fan.

Hope the brain trust at the Argos PR dept get to work getting people from Liberty village there as they so hope to do, there were probably more people from Durham Region at the game than people from Liberty village yesterday. It's going to take time...but it is a nice atmosphere at the CNE, and the breeze coming off Lake Ontario was superb to take the effect away from a 30 degree + day...that heat would've been stifling inside the dome....and Rogers would've probably had the roof closed doing repairs as they so conveniently would do to piss off the Argos.

You are correct about the catchment area Gill. I would say that once you hit the Burlington-Oakville border then the fanbase starts to transition from Argo to Ticat, however, Mississauga, Brampton and Oakville are all large suburbs that the Argos should be able to draw from. There are fans in Durham, but there aren't the significant population centres east of Toronto that there are west of Toronto.

I get attracting the Liberty Village hipsters, but does it not seem to narrow-focused to anyone else? There is a world outside of King.

[mchesher03]

i live the west part of oakville. you see some ticat gear around - however usually moreso into burlington and west into hamilton obviously.

love burlington ribfest and i notice a lot of ticats gear when I go to that. Also can't hurt that the tabbies are relatively good and have been for a few years now - there were many seasons in the 2000's they were just putrid.

[Godfather]

12K?

What do you expect from a Wednesday night game? If the bulk of the Argos fan base is in the 905 then they need a Saturday/Sunday schedule in order to draw 20K. People living in the 905 can't make the game in time and would be coming home very late for work the next morning. The jays can still get decent weekday crowds as they have a huge fanbase downtown.

[1argoholic]

How the times have changed. I guess it's hard to let go of the memories of the crowds at CNE. Now the sports dollar is spread thin with all of these teams. The Argos have to build from the basement up which they have never had to do. It's obvious that they've lost plenty of fans with little to no marketing for years. They can only blame themselves. The organization and the CFL need to look into every avenue on how to get this organization back. The stadium and atmosphere are there they just need to know where their fans are coming from and I believe weekend games are the best bet.

If my wife and I did get our seasons again this year we would have just wasted our money. My wife works until 5 pm and doesn't drive. I can't just bail and come to games myself. I've hashed things out in my mind over and over. Just to get to dome games with little time to spend before and after turned into 10 hour trips. Having older pets doesn't figure into the plan either. Hard as hell to sit on the couch.

[tennyis]

They didn't even have 25k at the home opener against Hamilton so that's just not realistic.

It was a disappointment as well... When a professional sports team opens a new building and it's not a sell out that's a disappointment.. When the 2nd game has 12k that's absolutely pathetic.

I'm a huge fan of the argos but they have absolutely no fan support.

[tennyis]

Just another set up for more negativity. IMO, a troll job.

Sorry I thought this was a discussion forum.

[tennyis]

Can't make the game, so stone me if the turn out is low..

We all should be pretty happy if attendance is North of 20k. I would only be worried if any less than 17 or 18 show up.

12 showed up but dont say anything negative

[AngeloV]

Sorry I thought this was a discussion forum.

It is. But you always seem to pick your spots in a very troll like fashion.

[tennyis]

It is. But you always seem to pick your spots in a very troll like fashion.

I guess I just have a more realistic approach... Anytime a team opens a new stadium you SHOULD see a big bump in attendance. For the 2nd game at a new stadium anything less then a sellout is a disappointment. What we got was a huge disappointment.

I live out of town, i'm a few hours away so i can only make it to games on the weekend. I've bought tickets direct from the Argos in years past on promotions and what not. They would call me up tell me they have certain packages, offer BOGO, etc. I have not heard a thing from them in over 2 years. Nothing from them saying hey we have a new stadium, etc No emails, calls, etc.

You guys can blast me all you want.. IMO when a team has a new stadium to play in and can't even get it half full in the second game that is a huge problem.

Look at other teams in the CFL and see how they did with a new stadium? look at NHL teams, NFL teams, etc. a new stadium should generate a buzz and get butts in the seats.

[Scooter McCray]

All of your points are true for teams that are stable. The Argos are anything but stable coming off the last few seasons. Hence the desire to see more marketing and media presence in the off season and in season from a hard core fan base that is still in the desert. I love the new stadium and my seats and the sight line and the new environment. I brought 2 additional family last night and I was embarrassed after telling everyone how good opening night was. I feel sick to my stomach that I may be staring at an empty east side all year long.

[1argoholic]

It's a sad day not just because of the loss but we all expected more from BMO. Time for those fans who wouldn't go to the dome because it was too big, too far from the field, too hot, to cold, too this and too that to get their asses down to BMO before it's TOO LATE. You can't tell me that there isn't at least 30 thousand Argo fans in the GTA.

[Gill The Thrill]

It's a sad day not just because of the loss but we all expected more from BMO. Time for those fans who wouldn't go to the dome because it was too big, too far from the field, too hot, to cold, too this and too that to get their asses down to BMO before it's TOO LATE. You can't tell me that there isn't at least 30 thousand Argo fans in the GTA.

There isn't 30k fans who are willing to go to every home game, no matter the day or time...it's been like this for 30 years. Even in the mid 70's, the Argos only averaged 45 k for 2 seasons after Exhibition stadium was refurbished for the Jays. Truth is the attendance starting falling by 1978 and never got up to those levels of 40k again. Even when the team got good in the early 80's, it only crept up to 37k and 38k for average and immediately fell after the Grey Cup win to 33k and this is when the Argos had strong media coverage.

[Gill The Thrill]

It was a disappointment as well... When a professional sports team opens a new building and it's not a sell out that's a disappointment.. When the 2nd game has 12k that's absolutely pathetic.

I'm a huge fan of the argos but they have absolutely no fan support.

No shite Sherlock...is this supposed to be a newsflash?

As far as a new stadium guaranteeing sellouts, who said that? Wait til the Vegas team in the NHL plays...it'll be reported as a sellout, but you can bet there will be as many empty seats as there was at the Argos game yesterday...they'll probably giving out NHL tickets with your poker chips in Vegas, but you can bet that won't be reported.

[marcwagz]

I live in barrie and its too much to afford driving down and goijg to more than 3 games a year.
If i lived downtown hiwever theres no way i wouldnt be at every home game (id just be watchong on tv anyways)

But with the price of downtown houses and condos i think thw only peoplw living there are the ones who go to the lwafs games and are on their phones the whole time... In suits.

[sthfan1988]

It might come down to night of the week for the Argos. For way too long the schedule has been all over the place, Tuesday morning (preseason a while ago), Wednesday nights, Saturday afternoon. I've thought for a long time, pick a good night of the week, Friday night and make that your night to play. The CFL might have to bend to help out on the schedule. I'm in section 226, mostly season ticket holders, and I have to say, it was a fairly young crowd.

[Neely2005]

That sounds about right...still felt a lot busier than the same amount at the dome, where most games were at since the C&S period, which tells you how inflated the attendance was at there. I've been to TFC games that have had less, but to be honest they have more than that now.(sometimes not much more)

Truth is...other than the season opener, hamilton games and playoff games...the 12 -13 k is about the number of die-hards this team has in the GTA that have regularly attended games. Unlike other Toronto sports teams, the catchment area for this fanbase is not as wide. particularly in the Western part of the Golden Horseshoe and Ontario because traditionally a lot of CFL fans in those parts have been partial to the Hamilton Ticats, which is understandable. Therefore most fans from the 905 tend to be from north of 416, where the GO Train does not serve as well and where getting to yesterday's game would've been a pain to the ass, and from the east where the service is good...I'm sure there are some from Missy, Oakville, but very few from Burlington.

Gotta to admit, if I was a CFL fan living in Oakville, Burlington, I'd be looking to get my CFL fan experience in Hamilton and not Toronto, unless I'm an Argos fan.

Hope the brain trust at the Argos PR dept get to work getting people from Liberty village there as they so hope to do, there were probably more people from Durham Region at the game than people from Liberty village yesterday. It's going to take time...but it is a nice atmosphere at the CNE, and the breeze coming off Lake Ontario was superb to take the effect away from a 30 degree + day...that heat would've been stifling inside the dome....and Rogers would've probably had the roof closed doing repairs as they so conveniently would do to piss off the Argos.

I think that the 2 games during the CNE will be a big draw too as you get free admission to the CNE with your Argonauts ticket.

[Neely2005]

It was a disappointment as well... When a professional sports team opens a new building and it's not a sell out that's a disappointment.. When the 2nd game has 12k that's absolutely pathetic.

I'm a huge fan of the argos but they have absolutely no fan support.

Are you sure about that? How many games have you been to this season?

[S.A.C.]

... I heard that this might be the last year for the Toronto Indy.

The only thing I've heard is that the present contract may be expiring after next year (2017). I suppose it could be possible to end after this year if the city and race promoter were to mutually agree they no longer wanted to continue with it.

Though it doesn't seem to be mentioned much in the media, its existence in recent years has apparently relied on government handouts. I have trouble thinking of any argument defending that situation. It's not as though it has any kind of real cultural or social significance. It now literally gets in the way of other events that attract more people and presumably bring in parking revenue instead of requiring handouts. If you're wondering, a generous estimate of the attendance last year was 7.5 to 10 thousand. Any wish or hope that it could return to the former popularity it had in the 1980s and 90s (when there would be around 70,000) seems to have disappeared. Mosport, out in the middle of nowhere in farm country, gets far more people at its major race weekends. And it has a billionaire owner, Carlo Fidani, and I assume he risks his money running the events instead of needing government handouts.