Argo Fan No-Shows?

[R.J]

That being said, the Go transit situation this season sucked balls!

It really did, it took almost double the amount of time I was at the game just to get to and from the game. I'm never doing that again.

[Harpastum]

Ok - I wasn't going to comment - but maybe it's neccasary.
I'm a long time season seat holder - mostly since 92 - but know I missed a couple years along the way.
Anyway - I went to 4 games this year... Would have been more if the team had performed better.
Gave away 2 games - & yes those tickets were used.
To be honest -I can't see myself renewing for next season though.
Anyone won't make a case for why I should?

[ArgoZ]

Ok - I wasn't going to comment - but maybe it's neccasary.
I'm a long time season seat holder - mostly since 92 - but know I missed a couple years along the way.
Anyway - I went to 4 games this year... Would have been more if the team had performed better.
Gave away 2 games - & yes those tickets were used.
To be honest -I can't see myself renewing for next season though.
Anyone won't make a case for why I should?

Because they will probably bounce back and maybe even win the Cup next year. You know that's usually the case with this team and you've been through much worse since 92. A new coach and possible new QB might happen too. Although the season was a loss, aside from the Calgary game, I enjoyed all our live football events. BMO is a great place to watch a game. A relative of mine enjoyed his time so much, we are likely going up to 3 season tix next year. As I watch the final four teams today, I realize the Argos can hang with any of them with only a few changes.

[Topshelf]

We stress too much over the crowd.
Neither western playoff games was sold out and those are cfl hotbeds. There are many factors for the gameday crowd.
There is no easy fix to the crowd. We have to find a way to just move on.

[AngeloV]

We stress too much over the crowd.
Neither western playoff games was sold out and those are cfl hotbeds. There are many factors for the gameday crowd.
There is no easy fix to the crowd. We have to find a way to just move on.

Calgary hasn't sold out games in years, no matter what time of year. Division semi's have always been a hard sell too. Don't know why. Canadian fans are very fickle. Nice to see a full house in Ottawa yesterday. Maybe that will put to rest the (IMO) stupid thought that fans won't go to games if it's cold.

[RB957]

Calgary hasn't sold out games in years, no matter what time of year. Division semi's have always been a hard sell too. Don't know why. Canadian fans are very fickle. Nice to see a full house in Ottawa yesterday. Maybe that will put to rest the (IMO) stupid thought that fans won't go to games if it's cold.

Ottawa has been a model franchise since their return to the league. The most amazing thing when they scan the crowd during televised games is the fact that there are so many young people there... and they are having a great time. Somehow, we need to start to replicate that here in Toronto... and with Liberty Village and City Place so close to the stadium and packed with young people, I believe the team should make this a priority. With MLSE now owning the team, and Mitch Marner having been to a game and spoken highly of how much he enjoyed it, that could be a key marketing strategy.

[AngeloV]

Ottawa has been a model franchise since their return to the league. The most amazing thing when they scan the crowd during televised games is the fact that there are so many young people there... and they are having a great time. Somehow, we need to start to replicate that here in Toronto... and with Liberty Village and City Place so close to the stadium and packed with young people, I believe the team should make this a priority. With MLSE now owning the team, and Mitch Marner having been to a game and spoken highly of how much he enjoyed it, that could be a key marketing strategy.

Couldn't agree more.

[Topshelf]

I lived in Liberty for 2 years.
Super convenient for games. But also super convenient for everything else that's going on in town.
The Argos first tried that approach right after the move to BMO. They had a liberty village offer code, they had kate bereiness from tsn giving away free tix at the Local bar before each game.
It just didnt catch on.
It's worth trying again. But itll be a challenge.

I think a big help would be if the city and MLSE got together and came up with some transit strategy for gameday.
Getting to the stadium is only going to get worse with all the new condos going up in liberty. 5 of them alone at king and strachan.
Also the new shelter took away at least 1/4 of the lamport lot.
If you go to buffalo, while the crowd is obviously much larger, they do have traffic cops out.

[Will]

Ottawa has been a model franchise since their return to the league. The most amazing thing when they scan the crowd during televised games is the fact that there are so many young people there... and they are having a great time. Somehow, we need to start to replicate that here in Toronto... and with Liberty Village and City Place so close to the stadium and packed with young people, I believe the team should make this a priority. With MLSE now owning the team, and Mitch Marner having been to a game and spoken highly of how much he enjoyed it, that could be a key marketing strategy.

They did nothing with Marner this year as far as I know.

[RB957]

They did nothing with Marner this year as far as I know.

I know. But when Marner went, he said it was because he was invited to go by some of his buddies. I remember the tweet he put out where he really did a shout out to the quality of the game and players. My point was that given this, I think they could leverage that into some great messaging and marketing. One of the biggest issues that the CFL faces IMO is that certain people don't give the league's athletes any serious respect. Having someone like Marner pulling for them, could be a game changer.

[ArgoRavi]

Calgary hasn't sold out games in years, no matter what time of year. Division semi's have always been a hard sell too. Don't know why. Canadian fans are very fickle. Nice to see a full house in Ottawa yesterday. Maybe that will put to rest the (IMO) stupid thought that fans won't go to games if it's cold.

I would argue that the division semi-finals this year did exceptionally well as it was close to capacity in both Hamilton and Saskatchewan. You are correct, AV, that those games tend to be difficult sells and have been for decades.

BTW, I just checked cfldb and playoff attendance was at almost 95% capacity league-wide this year. Post-season attendance was up over 660 per game compared to last season.

[AngeloV]

I would argue that the division semi-finals this year did exceptionally well as it was close to capacity in both Hamilton and Saskatchewan. You are correct, AV, that those games tend to be difficult sells and have been for decades.

BTW, I just checked cfldb and playoff attendance was at almost 95% capacity league-wide this year. Post-season attendance was up over 660 per game compared to last season.

But..but..but it's too cold to play football in November.

[gilthethrill]

It really did, it took almost double the amount of time I was at the game just to get to and from the game. I'm never doing that again.

Oh the GO Train disruption on Saturdays really stunk didn't it? I drove to BMO to see Montreal play and parked on the 401 near Milton in a construction zone for 90 minutes....never doing that again.

[Argo57]

Oh the GO Train disruption on Saturdays really stunk didn't it? I drove to BMO to see Montreal play and parked on the 401 near Milton in a construction zone for 90 minutes....never doing that again.

Shout out to you👍
I know how far you travel to attend an Argo game, good on you!

[Neely2005]

I would argue that the division semi-finals this year did exceptionally well as it was close to capacity in both Hamilton and Saskatchewan. You are correct, AV, that those games tend to be difficult sells and have been for decades.

BTW, I just checked cfldb and playoff attendance was at almost 95% capacity league-wide this year. Post-season attendance was up over 660 per game compared to last season.

That's great but also a little misleading as Ottawa and Hamilton are two of the smallest stadiums in the league.

[Neely2005]

But..but..but it's too cold to play football in November.

It's too cold for some people to want to attend games outside in October and November. That's why the Eskimos have been trying for years to have the season start and end earlier.

https://globalnews.ca/news/1679244/s...to-avoid-cold/

Poll Results:

Yes, it would help boost attendance during playoffs 83.33%


No, freezing at games is part of the experience. Canadians are tough! 11.66%


It doesn't matter to me either way 5.01%


https://globalnews.ca/news/3883817/s...n-bad-weather/

[AngeloV]

It's too cold for some people to want to attend games outside in October and November. That's why the Eskimos have been trying for years to have the season start and end earlier.

https://globalnews.ca/news/1679244/s...to-avoid-cold/

Poll Results:

Yes, it would help boost attendance during playoffs 83.33%


No, freezing at games is part of the experience. Canadians are tough! 11.66%


It doesn't matter to me either way 5.01%


https://globalnews.ca/news/3883817/s...n-bad-weather/

What a poll says and what is reality often give you completely different results. I'm sure Edmonton would really love going head to head with the Oilers should they every go deep into the NHL playoffs. And I'm sure the league as a whole would really benefit from the lack of national media coverage kicking off the season throughout the NHL playoffs.

I am willing to bet, the league will never start their season before June 10. Which I would be perfectly fine with a Grey Cup on the first Sunday in November. A 10th team would allow an 18 game schedule with 1 bye week, to finish the first Sunday in November if June 10 was the start date. My major disagreement comes with people that think the league should start mid May. That would be 3 0r 4 full weeks games going head to head with the final 2 rounds of the NHL playoffs. Financial suicide from a sponsorship point of view.

[argolio]

You also can't have training camp in late April/early May, especially out west. Camp is short and in many ways is the most important time of the year. Teams need to see players on the field on a daily basis to evaluate personnel and implement their systems. You would also have no choice but to schedule the CFL draft before the NFL draft. That would be a nightmare for CFL teams, which is why they moved the draft in the first place.

[Neely2005]

What a poll says and what is reality often give you completely different results. I'm sure Edmonton would really love going head to head with the Oilers should they every go deep into the NHL playoffs. And I'm sure the league as a whole would really benefit from the lack of national media coverage kicking off the season throughout the NHL playoffs.

I am willing to bet, the league will never start their season before June 10. Which I would be perfectly fine with a Grey Cup on the first Sunday in November. A 10th team would allow an 18 game schedule with 1 bye week, to finish the first Sunday in November if June 10 was the start date. My major disagreement comes with people that think the league should start mid May. That would be 3 0r 4 full weeks games going head to head with the final 2 rounds of the NHL playoffs. Financial suicide from a sponsorship point of view.

The poll results mean something. Are you saying that you don't think a significant number of fans stay home due to cold weather? Why would the Eskimos be lobbying to start the season earlier if they didn't believe that it would make a significant difference in ticket sales?

The Oilers aren't going to make the playoffs let alone go deep. There are only 7 Canadian NHL teams. It's unlikely that we'll regularly see Canadian teams having long playoff runs.

[SkalbaniasGhost]

The poll results mean something. Are you saying that you don't think a significant number of fans stay home due to cold weather? Why would the Eskimos be lobbying to start the season earlier if they didn't believe that it would make a significant difference in ticket sales?

The Oilers aren't going to make the playoffs let alone go deep. There are only 7 Canadian NHL teams. It's unlikely that we'll regularly see Canadian teams having long playoff runs.

It's not the Eskimos that want to change the schedule.It's Len Rhodes.This is his personal pet project.His stewardship of the franchise has not gone well with the core audience.
Go to Eskfans.com http://www.esksfans.com/forum/forumd...monton-Eskimos .It's just a small sample size(like the poll refered to in your post) but it is very telling.