Regina | New Mosaic Stadium

[Davidson]

Originally Posted by Nathan

You do realize that with the added capacity, you're basically asking 1/4 to 1/3 of the Regina adult population to show up right (if you are letting out-of-towners off the hook, and assuming you don't expect children to go in -20)? That'd be a pretty crazy expectation, especially considering that even in Regina (and Sask), not everyone is into sports/football.

I too wish it was a fuller stadium; people who could have gone, but didn't, definitely missed a good one, but we are kind of cranking expectations way out of wack now.

Nathan I agree with you on this point - the expectations were out of whack. Take away the temporary stands for Grey Cup and a "sell-out" would be 33,000. We averaged over 37,000 for the season. So to criticize the Rider fan base in any way is out of line IMHO.

For sake of argument, let's 2/3 of the 30,000 people at the WSF were from Regina and the other 1/3 were from out of town. If 20,000 people from Regina were at that game, that's roughly 10% of the ENTIRE POPULATION of Regina. And out of the total Sask. pop of 1.1M, 30,000 makes it almost the 3rd largest city (MJ pop is 33,000). That is a crazy level of support.

I think it also confirms that plans to have 33,000 permanent seats in the new stadium is the right number.

[Nathan]

I'm more thinking that 33k is alright for now... But this stadium is going to have to last for 40+ years, so 35k might be better for long haul.

Also, I really wish the max cap would be closer to 50k than 40k like we're being led to believe.

[wacko]

I'm not sure about 50,000 for an expanded capacity. That could be too much space going empty and unused for much of the time. 45,000 would sound about right to me. For the record, this year's expanded Grey Cup capacity is 44,910.

As for regular-season capacity beyond the 33,000 planned, the Riders could always add some temporary bleacher seats to expand capacity. If attendance remains steady in Mosaic Stadium (current capacity 32,848) the next few years with regular sellouts, I could see the Riders adding a couple thousand temp seats in the new stadium for the first year or two, just to see where the demand curve lies. As the newness wears off though, I'm sure attendance would drop a bit after a while. If it remains high though, then the temp seats could become permanent.

Originally Posted by Davidson

Of course I was glued to the TV for the semi-final game. IMHO blacking out that game would've just punished a fan like me who's made 10 round trips of 500 Kim's each this year to see the riders play. Plus black outs are very "old school" thinking - it's what caused an entire generation of football fans in so. Ontario to turn their backs on the CFL in favour of the NFL.

As I posted in the CFL thread in the Canada section, I have suggested local TV blackouts as a possibility to put more bums in seats and thus support the team should a game be likely to fall substantially short of a sellout (32,848 normally). However, by "local blackout" I mean a blackout in the Regina area only. I would hardly want to force someone to drive 250 km on icy roads in bad weather just to see the game.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by wacko

I'm not sure about 50,000 for an expanded capacity. That could be too much space going empty and unused for much of the time. 45,000 would sound about right to me. For the record, this year's expanded Grey Cup capacity is 44,910.

As for regular-season capacity beyond the 33,000 planned, the Riders could always add some temporary bleacher seats to expand capacity. If attendance remains steady in Mosaic Stadium (current capacity 32,848) the next few years with regular sellouts, I could see the Riders adding a couple thousand temp seats in the new stadium for the first year or two, just to see where the demand curve lies. As the newness wears off though, I'm sure attendance would drop a bit after a while. If it remains high though, then the temp seats could become permanent.

This years Grey Cup capacity was a disappointment to me. Previous capacities were 55k and 50k. Also, notice how steeply the Grey Cup tickets for the cheapest seats went up compared to previous Grey Cups (not including the 100th as that is a special case). Smaller capacity for big events means much higher prices, and the CFL is going to have to be careful about pricing out too many people; the biggest supporters are the regular working class person... and that person is starting to be squeezed out. Smaller max capacities make even less sense now considering Reg/Sask's growth and the fact that the prairies are the CFL's strongest markets.

I know they are trying to go or a more "intimate full atmosphere", but by doing so, they are actually accelerating some fans' transition from live to couch/TV. And once someone decides to be a full out couch fan, blackouts will just mean they don't watch at all.

And I'm not a huge fan of temp seats becoming permanent, if that were to happen, they should be forced to use proper materials and actually make it full-out permanent (maybe you meant this in the end though?).

[wacko]

Yes, if the temp rental bleacher seats worked out, then they could potentially be replaced by proper permanent seats. Although on the other hand, those bleacher seats could also attract more casual fans to the game at a cheaper price.

I agree that it is a tricky balance between having too many vs. too few seats, and also to set proper pricing for those seats. Don't forget that every ticket sold also includes a facility fee of $10, an amount that will go up to $12 soon enough. Of course, that very same facility fee will help to repay the $100 million loan from the province for the construction of the new stadium. So I suppose in that light we can't complain too much about user-pay fees, can we?

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by Nathan

I know they are trying to go or a more "intimate full atmosphere", but by doing so, they are actually accelerating some fans' transition from live to couch/TV. And once someone decides to be a full out couch fan, blackouts will just mean they don't watch at all.

I actually think that a larger capacity for the Grey Cup year would have led to more people staying at home. I remember going to a few games the last time they held the Grey Cup and it was a completely miserable experience. Rush seating in all the temporary stands, concessions built outside of the stadium and lines and lines of outhouses sitting on muddy, wet ground. If I was a fan attending for the first time and that was my experience at a Rider game I'd likely be more inclined to stay at home since the experience in the temp seats is completely different than in the permanent stands. Given the state Mosaic is in, I think 45,000 is a good size. Though I would agree that they should plan the new stadium to have more seats and the potential to expand to even 50,000 permanent if the need arises in fifty years.

[Arts]

Regarding the roof, I wonder if the CFL ever moved the season schedule up by one month (I know, not likely to happen, even though it makes a lot of logical sense) how much of an impact it would make in terms of the public desire for a roof? It is usually only the last game or two of the season plus the playoffs that cold weather really affects the game and attendance. And if it is significant enough here to sway the decision to spend tens of millions of dollars, it will also eventually be quite relevant to other CFL locations in the future (especially prairie ones such as Edmonton and Calgary).

[ceedub1170]

I agree that moving the season up one month would make the desire for a dome way less. In my opinion, cold weather really ruins the season for me. It completely changes the way you have played the first 18 games of the season. Footing is worse, hands are cold, kicking game suffers,... I want to see the athletes perform at their best.

There is a big difference in the weather from October 20 to November 20.

[Brutopian]

Just heard on the radio that the Grey Cup is not sold out.

[Robag]

Originally Posted by Brutopian

Just heard on the radio that the Grey Cup is not sold out.

They only have single seats left at this point, about 500 as of this morning. They may be releasing a few more this week as well.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Brutopian

Just heard on the radio that the Grey Cup is not sold out.

It's typical for some events to reserve some tickets to release a week or so before as a way to combat scalping and for the Grey Cup, to allow fans of teams that make it to have a chance to grab a last minute ticket. Those released tickets have all now been sold, and we are left with singles, which is termed a sellout (it's next to impossible to sell singles sometimes as generally people go to events with friends/family and not alone).

So yes... it is soldout.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

I actually think that a larger capacity for the Grey Cup year would have led to more people staying at home. I remember going to a few games the last time they held the Grey Cup and it was a completely miserable experience. Rush seating in all the temporary stands, concessions built outside of the stadium and lines and lines of outhouses sitting on muddy, wet ground. If I was a fan attending for the first time and that was my experience at a Rider game I'd likely be more inclined to stay at home since the experience in the temp seats is completely different than in the permanent stands. Given the state Mosaic is in, I think 45,000 is a good size. Though I would agree that they should plan the new stadium to have more seats and the potential to expand to even 50,000 permanent if the need arises in fifty years.

I believe it's basically all paved this year (Porto-potties of course are still present).

As for the season start time... Stanley Cup playoffs make it impossible, especially if the league wants to continue getting increases at media contract renewal talks. Would be nice for the league to one day have the stability a TV-revenue league generally has.

[SkydivePilot]

Originally Posted by Robag

They only have single seats left at this point, about 500 as of this morning. They may be releasing a few more this week as well.

The Monday night CKCK-TV News at 11:30 stated that there were 70 tickets left. (Singles.)

[ceedub1170]

Originally Posted by Nathan

I believe it's basically all paved this year (Porto-potties of course are still present).

As for the season start time... Stanley Cup playoffs make it impossible, especially if the league wants to continue getting increases at media contract renewal talks. Would be nice for the league to one day have the stability a TV-revenue league generally has.

There's not much hockey left at that point. Usually just the finals and they only play every 2nd or 3rd day. Does TSN even broadcast the finals? or is it split between CBC and TSN? I think it would work.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by ceedub1170

There's not much hockey left at that point. Usually just the finals and they only play every 2nd or 3rd day. Does TSN even broadcast the finals? or is it split between CBC and TSN? I think it would work.

Conflicting with the Stanley Cup finals is a disaster for the CFL when a Canadian NHL team is involved in them. I remember the Stamps played a preseason home game a couple of years ago the night of the Van/Boston Stanley Cup game 7. Between the hockey game and the fact that it was pouring rain, there weren't even 10,000 fans in the stands.

What makes the CFL attractive as a TV property is that it attracts viewers in the summer, once hockey is over. I highly doubt that the schedule will be changing anytime soon, although given that the hockey season is so interminably long the sensible fix would be to cut their regular season to 60 games and wrap up the Stanley Cup finals by the end of May.

[SHOFEAR]

I have no problem with october and November games. Just man it up and toss on a one piece ski doo suit and bring a thermos of coffee. 🞵🞵🞵🞵 it up you princesses.

[Dan0myte]

Originally Posted by esquire

the sensible fix would be to cut their regular season to 60 games and wrap up the Stanley Cup finals by the end of May.

Hockey goes on wayyyy too long. That NHL lockout last year was fantastic, they had just the right amount of games that year to keep your attention and got to the playoffs right when teams and rivalries were heating up. I actually enjoyed hockey for the first time in a long time last year.

Can there please be contract negotiations every year?

[bomberjet]

Lol cut the NHL season down so CFL football will have more attention?! That my friend, is crazy talk.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Lol cut the NHL season down so CFL football will have more attention?! That my friend, is crazy talk.

No one said that. What was said is hockey season is far too long.

One big advantage of football (regardless of the variety) is that individual games are much more compelling because there are few of them.

[Dalreg]

Originally Posted by SHOFEAR

I have no problem with october and November games. Just man it up and toss on a one piece ski doo suit and bring a thermos of coffee. 🞵🞵🞵🞵 it up you princesses.

Amen brother.

Too many soft [edited] types now days....