In yesteryears, the Montreal Alouettes never had a problem filling Molson Stadium up. But in 2014, on a cold, rainy and miserable autumn day in downtown Montreal, the Alouettes were playing their first home playoff game outdoors since 2000.
The Alouettes slayed the Lions, 50-17, in front of only 15,107 fans – the lowest attendance all season. Fan support dwindled in Montreal in the 2014 season, after losing fan-favourite Anthony Calvillo to retirement in January, then starting the season 1-7.
The average attendance of 20,675 fans in the regular season was decent. The number peaked at 23,069 seats filled when the team retired Calvillo’s number 13 on Thanksgiving Monday against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. 18,141 fans even packed the stadium for the team’s pre-season game against the Ottawa Redblacks in June. So why did only 15,000 fans show up to a playoff game in Montreal?
That’s a question that president Mark Weightman and owner Bob Wetenhall will have to answer, and fast, because they face some serious competition this summer from Montreal sports fans and city nightlife.
Sports and Summers in Montreal
Montreal is a serious festival host in the summer months. The Jazz Festival, Just for Laughs, the Grand Prix, Osheaga and many more are held between June and August. Every year the Alouettes have to compete with these outdoor activities for attention, to convince Montreal to spend an evening downtown watching football instead of listening to jazz music or having a good laugh; for many, the latter two are already the better option.
This year, however, they get the added bonus of having Montreal being one of six host cities for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, to be played at the Olympic Stadium. The event runs from June 6 to July 5, with the final match in Montreal being the semi-final on June 30. The Alouettes kick their season off with two home games on June 25th and July third, while the World Cup is still the top event in the country.
With the city’s professional soccer team, the Impact, having enjoyed success in the CONCACAF Champions League and gaining a ton of fan support, the Alouettes may also face a football dilemma outside of their proper playing surface. They might have to attract Montreal sports fans away from European football and back towards Canadian football.
Winning Teams Fill Seats
It will be challenging for the team to attract fans in their first few home games with everything else happening in Montreal. Their play will be the only catalyst that will drive the fans to fill Molson Stadium.
Montreal fans are among the tougher people to attract and buy tickets – especially when the local team is doing poorly (with the Canadiens the lone exception). The Impact’s attendance faltered in 2014, for example, when the club finished the season with only six wins. For many years, the Montreal Expos failed to draw fans to the Big O because of their crummy record.
However, when a team plays well, fans will take notice and flock to the stadium – as we saw with the 61,000 in attendance for the Impact’s Champions League Final on Wednesday night.
If Wetenhall and Weightman want to sell serious tickets, they need to field a competitive team right off the bat. The training camp and pre-season games are key opportunities for them to show the potential ticket-buyers that they have a good team. Jonathan Crompton returning as the starting quarterback should bring some stability to the offence, which was vastly revamped this season, especially at the wide receiver and slotback positions.
The ownership group should be thankful for the team’s resurgence last season, finishing 8-2 down the stretch, grabbing attention from the otherwise idle Montreal sports fans. This year, fans may start the season by remembering the team’s charisma and game-winning ability and start showing up to the earlier games.
If the Alouettes organization doesn’t realize that this summer the team will be under pressure from other events in the city, they may be in for lower ticket sales and an under-filled Molson Stadium. Their home field is right in the heart of downtown, which is a huge plus, and they could use that to their advantage.
If not, many more people will remain on the Metro at McGill Station – where Molson Stadium is – for another ten stops east, departing at Viau Station to support the other football team, the Montreal Impact.
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