In the 1972 season, the Ticats' annual attendance was in excess of 32,000. Three seasons later, it had dipped below 24,000. By 1982, attendance dropped below 20,000 annually — where, with the exception of four seasons, it remained until 2004 (the team won the Eastern Division six times and the Grey Cup twice during this period).
A bit of a narrative convenience that Young does not consider the $115 million in public money poured into the new stadium (to say nothing of naming rights concessions or leasing arrangements) as outside financial aid, however.
Ticats see black ink for the first time in 42 years
(Bay Observer, Sept 17 2014)
Bob Young always the optimist, is singing a particularly happy tune these days. You might wonder why, given that he is still vilified in some quarters over his refusal to move the team to a West Harbour stadium, and the fact that the tab that he has run up propping up the team is now at $40 Million. But the Hamilton Ticat owner, or 'caretaker,' as he prefers to be known, says the team would have turned a profit this year, had it not been for the stadium delays, but that it certainly will be profitable next year. For Young, restoring the team to financial stability was more important than anything that might take place on the field. “When the Ticats got into trouble and I made the emotional decision to rescue my older brother’s football team, I did so not with the ambition to win many Grey Cups, but with the ambition to get the Tiger Cats to financial stability, because they haven’t been there since the Grey Cup game of 1972.—that last year from all the records I can find that the Tigercats did not require outside financial aid,” he told the Bay Observer. He said he learned to appreciate the business side of the game from an early age, watching Ticat games with his businessman father.
The new stadium is the reason the club can make money. Longtime Ticat observers estimate that between private Boxes and various premium seating options the club stands to bring in roughly $2Million more than they would have been able to garner at Ivor Wynne. “We have completely sold out all of our premium seating products ,” said Ticat CEO Scott Mitchell, “and we have waiting lists for all of them.” He says the new stadium has also enhanced the club’s attractiveness in other ways.” For merchandize we’ve gone from being the last team in the league were now close to a million and a half dollars a year—our corporate partnerships were the worst in the league and now we could be number two.”
Read it in full
here.
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