Investors Group Field | Winnipeg

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by trueviking

Interesting chart. I always assumed attendance went up after labour day, but clearly it doesn’t. Which begs the question. Why doesn’t the CFL start earlier. Would help with frigid Grey Cups.

The season kicked off a week earlier this year, but ends the same time. They needed an extra wee to prevent quick turnarounds again like last year, because of the odd number of teams. They're looking at moving it up a week again next year. Once we're at 10 teams we'll be able to go back to 20 weeks, and if we can start the first week of June as is being discussed, that should be a big help.

Originally Posted by Andy6

You have to look at ticket revenue, not at tickets sold. And even more pertinently, revenue per patron including concession sales. Having 2000 extra people getting in for next to nothing and not buying anything could end up losing the club money.

Exactly. CanadInns made nothing off concessions, and you could bring in pretty much anything you want. There's probably 20x the revenue streams at IGF than CanadInns had.

--

In terms of the Goldeyes, I think they'll rebound. They're starting to think about younger people (not families) a bit more, and it's working. It's a pretty good alternative to a bar on a summer Friday night. As more people start moving into the Exchange and Railside develops – I think all the new residents (and likely some new hotels) will really help.

[ywgwalk]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

That’s rich, all the proponents for the stadium at the U of M said attendance would rebound to where it once was after all the parking issues were settled, once a proper bus stations was built near the new stadium, o ce the team was winning again and a myriad of other excuses well 26-27K is now the best the BB’s can do, a far cry from they drew at the Polo Park stadium location!

Do I have to link to this again?

https://stats.cfldb.ca/team/winnipeg...rs/attendance/

Except for 1984, 1985, 2011 the bombers did not get more than 28K at the old stadium.

It's only a "far cry" if you never look at facts and just filter your memories through "everything sucks now" glasses.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Andy6

You have to look at ticket revenue, not at tickets sold. And even more pertinently, revenue per patron including concession sales. Having 2000 extra people getting in for next to nothing and not buying anything could end up losing the club money.

Indeed.

Winnipeg doesn't break down their operating revenue into specific items (which is something both Edmonton and Saskatchewan do). The best we have is something the Blue Bombers call "game revenue". The following is from the 2017 Bombers Annual Report:

"Total revenue in 2017 was $32.5 million, an increase of $2.9 million (9.8%) over last year. This increase is attributable to a number of items. Game revenue increased by $1.6 million (14.0%) over last year as a result of increased game day attendance and hosting a home playoff game in November, 2017. Winnipeg Football Club revenue also increased by $1.4 million (13.5%) over last year, supported by increases in corporate partnership, Bomber Store sales, and food and beverage revenues. Many thanks to the strong support from Bomber fans and our corporate partners, who together helped us achieve our revenue objectives."

Since concessions and merchandise fall under WFC revenue we can probably assume that the game revenue is their word for gate receipts. If this is the case we can do some simple math:

Total Game Revenue:
2013: $10,277,118
2014: $10,010,748
2015: $9,794,778
2016: $11,638,086
2017: $13,267,198

Total Yearly Attendance (including playoffs):
2013: 275,734
2014: 254,827
2015: 240,713
2016: 233,442
2017: 276,373

Total game revenue divided by total attendance (per person ticket revenue):
2013: $37.27
2014: $39.28
2015: $40.69
2016: $49.85
2017: $48.00

Not sure how off base I am with this calculation but it mentally makes sense and puts Winnipeg between Saskatchewan ($54/game) and Edmonton ($33/game).

[esquire]

^ That sounds about right. Sask charges fairly steep prices for tickets while Edmonton offers some fairly cheap season ticket deals. I would expect the Bombers to fit somewhere in between.

To some extent I think the Bombers are leaving money on the table by undercharging somewhat for tickets. The P7s offer great sightlines and can be had for about $25 a game if you buy at least a 3 game package, which is probably one of the best deals in pro football. I think the Bombers could probably jack up prices 10-20% across the board without much of an impact. It would still be a fair bit less expensive than comparable seats at a Jets game.

[Ando]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

2-3K won’t boost much of anything, tier 5 soccer isn’t going to be a hot commodity!

It’s okay, I wouldn’t expect you to understand anything.

[Ando]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

Bolded is a good point. With regards to the suffering of the Bombers' attendance when the Goldeyes moved to Canwest Park, that did happen for awhile, but once Khari Jones established himself as a QB in the middle of the 2000 season, it wasn't long before there was 27,000+ at the stadium while another 6500+ were at the ballpark during the same evening.

Actually that theory is nonsense. A CPL team is not going to compete with football crowds, in a lot of ways they are targeting different audiences.

[Ando]

Originally Posted by trueviking

Interesting chart. I always assumed attendance went up after labour day, but clearly it doesn’t. Which begs the question. Why doesn’t the CFL start earlier. Would help with frigid Grey Cups.

They are considering it.

[Ando]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

That’s rich, all the proponents for the stadium at the U of M said attendance would rebound to where it once was after all the parking issues were settled, once a proper bus stations was built near the new stadium, o ce the team was winning again and a myriad of other excuses well 26-27K is now the best the BB’s can do, a far cry from they drew at the Polo Park stadium location!

The Bombers were averaging around 27000 when they left Canadinns their attendance is actually incredible given the fact they have not won the Cup for 28 years and suffer from chronic bad management and coaching. Bombers fans deserve a lot more.

[Ando]

Originally Posted by Andy6

You have to look at ticket revenue, not at tickets sold. And even more pertinently, revenue per patron including concession sales. Having 2000 extra people getting in for next to nothing and not buying anything could end up losing the club money.

Wow, brilliant financial analysis. Are you an accountant?

[Ando]

Originally Posted by ywgwalk

Do I have to link to this again?

https://stats.cfldb.ca/team/winnipeg...rs/attendance/

Except for 1984, 1985, 2011 the bombers did not get more than 28K at the old stadium.

It's only a "far cry" if you never look at facts and just filter your memories through "everything sucks now" glasses.

Yeah, facts don’t really enter into the magical dark Skylar-world.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ That sounds about right. Sask charges fairly steep prices for tickets while Edmonton offers some fairly cheap season ticket deals. I would expect the Bombers to fit somewhere in between.

To some extent I think the Bombers are leaving money on the table by undercharging somewhat for tickets. The P7s offer great sightlines and can be had for about $25 a game if you buy at least a 3 game package, which is probably one of the best deals in pro football. I think the Bombers could probably jack up prices 10-20% across the board without much of an impact. It would still be a fair bit less expensive than comparable seats at a Jets game.

I'd agree the Bombers are probably undercharging in the current cheapest seats, but I think they're overcharging in the lower bowl corners and end zones. And I think that's backed up by the fact the corners are always empty – the prices are way too steep compared to others, especially in the corners.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I'd agree the Bombers are probably undercharging in the current cheapest seats, but I think they're overcharging in the lower bowl corners and end zones. And I think that's backed up by the fact the corners are always empty – the prices are way too steep compared to others, especially in the corners.

The current pricing structure is a huge gift to the fans, but yeah, the way they're doing it a) leaves a lot of money on the table, and b) really hurts the presentation of games on TV by ensuring that the biggest concentration of empty seats is in the corners, within easy sight of the cameras. You'd think the team would appreciate the PR value of wanting the lower bowl to be full.

Not surprisingly, few people will pay $50 for a ticket in the corner when the $25 upper deck seat is as good if not better.

[robertocarlos]

You see what happens Larry when you start funding arenas and stadiums.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by trueviking

Interesting chart. I always assumed attendance went up after labour day, but clearly it doesn’t. Which begs the question. Why doesn’t the CFL start earlier. Would help with frigid Grey Cups.

The challenge is the early parts of training camp are already bumping into the end of April. Another fixed line in the sand is the NFL draft. Yes, we are talking CFL but normally the absolutely best Canadian players get drafted in the NFL essentially making them unavailable to ever play in the CFL. With most CFL teams drafting players they hope to have on the roster that same year they need to know who has been claimed by the NFL first. Those same players are the ones that get invited to the rookie mini-camp which is the first part of the pre-season training sessions so it isn't easy to have them join a team later in the process.

Backing it up further there is the combine for draft eligible players in March and free agency is in February. Free agency is somewhat of another hard line fixed date as it is timed to be after the NFL Super Bowl as some of the best active CFL players might move to the NFL but those teams can't really have conversations until after the Super Bowl.

There are lots of pieces at play and trying to sync up between two independent leagues pulling from a single pool of players makes timing more delicate. It isn't as simple as changing the dates just because Canada has cold weather at the end of the schedule.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by esquire

The current pricing structure is a huge gift to the fans, but yeah, the way they're doing it a) leaves a lot of money on the table, and b) really hurts the presentation of games on TV by ensuring that the biggest concentration of empty seats is in the corners, within easy sight of the cameras. You'd think the team would appreciate the PR value of wanting the lower bowl to be full.

Not surprisingly, few people will pay $50 for a ticket in the corner when the $25 upper deck seat is as good if not better.

Oddly they did the same at New Mosaic. Lower bowl corners are more than upper deck 25 yard line.

[buzzg]

Investors Group has changed its name to “IG Wealth Management” effective immmediafely. There’s a new logo as well. Can’t wait to go catch a game at IG Wealth Management Field.

Puke. Bring back CanadInns.

https://twitter.com/igwealthmgmt/sta...360596993?s=21

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Investors Group has changed its name to “IG Wealth Management” effective immmediafely. There’s a new logo as well. Can’t wait to go catch a game at IG Wealth Management Field.

Puke. Bring back CanadInns.

https://twitter.com/igwealthmgmt/sta...360596993?s=21

Yeah, Investors Group Field wasn't bad, especially when abbreviated to IG Field. But "IG Wealth Management Field" sounds absurd.

[Stormer]

The Argo colour scheme is going to look great on the stadium.

[Ando]

Banjo Bowl is sold out.

[Stormer]

Attended my second Banjo Bowl on the weekend. A few observations from a Rider season ticket holder:

1. Overall IGF is a great stadium, excellent atmosphere;
   
2. It is way louder than Mosaic;
3. Great selection of local food vendors. I had the shawarma on the upper concourse, visitor side. Yum!
4. I was surprised at the long lines in the Men's on the upper concourse even during the play. Last time I was on the lower concourse and there were minimal lines;
5. Very frequent visits by beer vendors in the stands, which explains my issue in 4.
6. I am surprised that there are no ramps down from the upper concourse. Stairs seem to work OK though.
7. Park and ride from Hydro was excellent.
8. Seats are a bit wider than Mosaic, but do not feel as comfortable to me. It seems to be related to contour and slippery texture.
9. Site lines in the upper deck are outstanding.
10. It was a windy day, but not particularly noticeable in the stadium.
11. The Bombers have great fans and they were also very respectful to the Rider fans. Lots of fun banter.