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Originally Posted by JHikka
Might be a difficult ask for public monies for a stadium they may not necessarily even need if they already have a larger stadium operating. If this were the case the business case would have to be good for Valour to move 14+ matchdays out of IGF to a smaller venue, and for governments to commit monies to a new stadium to use that isn't currently IGF. I don't know.
The main problem is that it's difficult to tell where CPL realistically is given that COVID dented most momentum the league had been building. We only really have one season of data to work off of for full seasons at normal capacity. In that season Valour drew reasonably well (averaging north of 5K, IIRC). Something 5K-7.5K would be reasonable. I think the new Rexdale stadium is 8K? That's likely the starting off point.
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That's fair. Valour also got double-whammied by being an also-ran for their existence so far which put a serious damper on initial fan enthusiasm. If Valour can get back on track and draw in that range of 5-8 thousand fans a game then I think that would be enough to create decent fan atmosphere.
If they can get to the upper end of that range, around 8 thousand, then perhaps they could open seats on both sides of the field and make it feel a little less empty.
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Oh boy, here comes JHikka...
Outside of the opening season IGF has only been sold out (for regular season games) against Saskatchewan. Otherwise crowds usually float around 25K-27K for Bombers matches. 33K is simply too large for the main tenant, IMO. It's a supply/demand issue when there's 7-10K tickets either available or unused for matches. Even an IGF at 30K would be more reasonable for the folks working ticket sales.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but with NFL teams these days downsizing their stadiums in the US it was likely a mistake to move to a higher-capacity IGF when they did. There was no way of knowing that a decade-plus ago, I guess.
COVID is the obvious asterisk here. 2022 will be a big indicator of where that league currently lies.
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I suspect that if the Bombers and their partners had to do it all over again, they'd build smaller to save money. It's probably fair to say that shaving off a significant portion of the project cost by going with a reduced capacity would be appealing in hindsight.
But that said...
I think the Bombers were hindered by going into a horrendous multi-season tailspin that coincided with IG Field opening. This was at the same time that the NHL returned to Winnipeg and took a huge bite of the sports market. Things have rebounded since then, and the Bombers have been drawing better than before. I suspect that will continue to improve as COVID restrictions likely won't be a factor in 2022.
Had the stadium been built with 40,000+ seats then I'd agree that it was seriously overbuilt, but with 33,000 seats you could say it's maybe 10% overbuilt at most, and the difference is so marginal at that point that I don't think it makes a material impact in terms of fan experience. Cutting out 3,000 seats probably wouldn't have made a major difference on the venue's bottom line cost either.
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