Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
What is the actual capacity at BMO for soccer? You say all games were sold out but attendance was never the same from one game to the next, and seemed to vary between 26,000 and 30,000.
Normally when all games are sold out the attendance is always pretty much the same. For example, the attendance at Montreal Canadiens games is always 21,273. If you're a fan of a team you know that number by heart.
Also, I can understand the optimism right now but if they had plenty of games that drew 26-27,000 this season, and others that were around 30,000, that means they're rarely turning fans away.
If they expand to 35,000 that doesn't necessarily mean that an extra 5,000 to 9,000 are going to materialize out of thin air just because the stadium is bigger.
Anyway, I don't really care as it's not my business. Just trying to inject some logic into what is perhaps an overly euphoric post-championship atmosphere.
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Assuming quotes from the President of the organization are inaccurate "due to euphoria" is hardly what I consider a logical addition to this discussion.
I've been pretty consistent in showing growth in attendance over the last few years, even before their epic run last year. All indications are this will continue with the current ownership/management group. Certainly, during the playoffs in particular, MLSE lost out on a lot of potential money by not having a bigger stadium.
Hockey games in an indoor arena are a whole other ballgame. Hockey tickets are much more expensive and they aren't affected by inclement weather and temperatures in the same way as an outdoor stadium. With so many TFC fans being STH's, missing a game or two throughout the year to attend a wedding or go to the cottage will barely touch your pocketbook, and you still get to keep your usual seat with your buddies.
People were saying the same thing when they expanded from 22,000 seats to 30,000, since some games didn't have 22,000 in attendance before the expansion. Yet 2 years later and suddenly 30,000 seats is not enough and we're talking about expansion again. A 35,000 seater can be sold out in 2-3 years but the average attendance will still probably be 33,000 outside of playoffs. Same scenario with a 42,000 seater unless they double or triple prices in which case people will be more motivated to resell tickets for games they can't attend.