How do you rate the year CFL has had? Probably the year can be rated on the plus side – just barely.
Ottawa rejoined the league, television ratings were good, and Hamilton opened a new stadium.
But when you look at CFL attendance for each team, game-by-game, a different picture emerges. The gate could be a lot better. Here is a breakdown of the CFL’s strengths and weaknesses.
Some Sunshine
Ottawa: If this year is a success for the CFL, it is because of the return of Ottawa. Not only did the Redblacks come back in a rebuilt new stadium, every game was a sell-out. The owners did their marketing homework well. But the real downfall of Ottawa in past years has been the inability to build a contending team. Redblacks football was a novelty in Ottawa this year and the fans were not expecting much from an expansion team. How much improvement do those fans expect, and how long will they wait?
Saskatchewan: The Roughriders cracked the 30,000 barrier several times and are probably the best draw on the road in the CFL. Fans in other cities love to see a team from that cute little city from the prairies take on the brutes from the big cities. Last year Regina added extra seats because they were hosting the Grey Cup. Maybe they should have left them standing to see if they could fill them again this year, but CFL teams seldom show that much imagination.
Edmonton: It was good year for attendance in Edmonton and yet somehow one senses it should have been better. Three times the Eskimos cracked the 40,000 barrier when Calgary and Saskatchewan came to town, but as the year wore on, attendance dropped off. Attendance for the Western Semi-final was disappointing. Maybe the fans, still remembering Ricky Ray, do not realize that they have got a good contending team again. Winning a playoff game and recognizing that Mike Reilly is a good quarterback might increase attendance next year.
Calgary: The Stampeders played like a good team and got good attendance generally. But its best attendance was for regional rivalry games against Edmonton and Saskatchewan. The CFL will be happy but probably wants to see better attendance for all the games.
Winnipeg: As in Edmonton, there is hope here. The new stadium started to prove its value as Winnipeg topped the 30,000 number several times. When the team went into the tank, though, attendance understandably fell off. Still, there is optimism for increased attendance next year if Winnipeg improves on the field.
Nothing To Get Excited About
Vancouver: It is hard to get excited about Vancouver considering that it is hosting the Grey Cup this year – compare the enthusiasm and increased attendance in Regina last year) and that the Lions play in the best stadium in the CFL. Three times the Lions cracked the 30,000 barrier, for Calgary, Saskatchewan, and the novelty of seeing a new Ottawa team. The Lions have declined since Wally Buono stopped coaching the team and maybe the fans sense it. Travis Lulay’s injury did not help attendance either.
Montreal: It was the year that the Alouettes said goodbye to Anthony Cavillo and began a new era with Jonathan Crompton. Though the Alouettes have expanded their stadium to 25,000 seats, they never hit that mark once and generally remained at the 20,000 attendance level. Even attendance for the Eastern semi-final was disappointing. One expects better from a city the size of Montreal. Not even the return of traditional rival Ottawa made a difference. There is one discernible pattern in CFL attendance: regional games draw better than teams from far away. Based on that evidence, the CFL should find a way to get Quebec City into the league as soon as possible to increase attendance in Montreal.
The Achilles Heel
Hamilton: Attendance picked up as the year went on, as the delayed stadium partially opened; the biggest crowds were counted when the stadium opened fully for the last regular season game and the Eastern Final with Montreal. But it is hard to be enthusiastic about Hamilton’s new stadium. When Toronto used to visit Hamilton in its old stadium, attendance was always near or above 30,000. This year, even if the new stadium were fully open on time, it would have been under 25,000. Yet somehow Bob Young, who screamed that a bigger stadium at another location would be a disaster, and Commissioner Mark Cohon, who backed him up, claims that this is a victory for the CFL.
A new stadium with 30,000-35,000 seats (with possible expansion to 50,000 for a Grey Cup Game) could have been built at a new location with the 2015 Pan Am Games opportunity; that’s what Winnipeg did. Instead, Young and Cohon used speculative “evidence” to thwart a promising project. Now that opportunity is gone. How long can the Tiger-Cats stay in a stadium that is smaller than the one they left?
Toronto: The CFL still has not found a way to improve its image in Toronto, where it is considered minor league and football fans allegedly wait for the NFL to grant a franchise. Not even the acquisition of star quarterback Ricky Ray has changed things. Not one game cracked the 20,000 barrier and the highest attendance was for the novelty of seeing an Ottawa team again. Saying that the Rogers Center is to blame is rubbish, because fans do not mind coming out to see the Blue Jays. The football snobs in Toronto still keep their noses stuck up and refuse to drop their NFL obsession no matter how shabbily the NFL treats them – as shown by the high ticket prices for the one Buffalo Bills game.
In past years, the Argonauts have resorted to gimmicks like having Muhammad Ali ride around in a car waving to the fans. And despite all the evidence that the NFL will not come to Toronto in the near future, the snobs persist with their defiant attitude which spreads like a dark fungus over all of Southern Ontario. The pro-NFL attitude also hurts attendance in Hamilton and delays expansion into both London and Kitchener who would be fine rivals for both Hamilton and Toronto.
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