From today's free press:

The coaches have bought in. And you only had to watch the team's performance in two hard-fought and bitterly contested pre-season games to know the players have bought in, too.

But the increasingly urgent question now is how long is it going to take for fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to buy into the sweeping and systemic changes the beleaguered club made on and off the field during the off-season?

That question is urgent because with just a week now remaining until the Bombers open their 2014 CFL regular-season schedule at home against the Toronto Argonauts next Thursday, the club has sold just 22,500 tickets for its home opener.

That's two-thirds of the 33,500-seat capacity of Investors Group Field. If ticket sales don't pick up meaningfully in the next week, this year's first game will be the most sparsely attended ever at Investors Group Field, setting off alarm bells about what's potentially to come for the rest of the 2014 season.

The Bombers sold out Investors Group Field for last year's home opener -- which was also the first regular-season game at the new stadium. They went on to average 30,637 fans at home last season, despite a woeful 3-15 record and thanks in large part to record season-ticket sales.

But the Bombers don't have the luxury of a record season-ticket cushion this year. As of Wednesday morning, the club had sold just 21,311 season tickets, down more than 3,000 from last year.

What that means is the Bombers are going to need significant walk-up crowds to fill all those seats at IGF. And those have been slow in materializing, at least so far.

Bombers CEO Wade Miller said he's not surprised by the pace of ticket sales, noting the season-ticket numbers are right about where the club budgeted.

Miller said the team always knew it would have its work cut out selling tickets this year.

"We're coming off a 3-15 season for starters. And then we had a new stadium last year and the lustre of that has worn off a little bit. So we knew our season-ticket numbers would be down," said Miller Wednesday.

"And let's face it -- it's been a couple of years where it's been tough on the fans and tough on the city. So we're going to have to show them the changes we've made. And that's what me and Kyle (Walters) and Mike (O'Shea) are all about. We're not talking about it -- we're doing it...

"We've got work to do. But we've got a plan in place and we'll get there."

With a new head coach, new starting quarterback, new and expanded scouting department and sweeping player personnel changes across the field, this year's team is unrecognizable from the motley bunch that finished 2013.

Miller said the club is hopeful that once fans see all those changes on the field, they will buy in just as completely as the rest of the folks who work at Investors Group Field.

"We knew it would be slow to start, but I really do believe we'll get the fans back," said Miller.

Given the crater from which his team is attempting to extricate itself, Miller is careful not to guarantee more wins in 2014. Rather, the CEO said fans can expect to see the kind of gritty efforts that led to a couple of narrow losses to Toronto and Calgary in the pre-season.

"We didn't win those games, but we lost one game on a field goal at the end and the other was very close and I don't think anyone would question our effort," he said.

There has also been major change to the game-day experience at IGF for fans, Miller said. There will be a new tailgate party outside the stadium prior to games, a new on-field autograph session after the game and all kinds of new bars and gathering areas during the games to help reduce some of the congestion on the concourses.

Toss in a transportation plan that most agree is vastly improved and Miller said skeptical fans who have adopted a wait-and-see attitude this season before plunking down more cash will like what they see and hear from other fans as the season unfolds.

But what about that home opener? Miller is an optimist but also a realist.

"It's Winnipeg, there's still a week to go and no question we will sell more tickets," he said. "But June is a busy month. The schedule-maker didn't do us any favours" by giving Winnipeg the very first regular-season game of the 2014 season.

Miller said a little patience by fans will go a long way.

"We've changed the entire structure of this organizaton, plus all the players," said Miller. "That's a lot of change, whether you're a football team or a regular business. And it's tough, but we're going to get there."

Nobody's debating the die-hards here...it's the casual fans who are going to take awhile to come back. They need to see wins...

 

 

 

I think the Thursday games were a bad idea.  Sure people are in the city as opposed to Friday games where people leave for the cabin after work on a Friday, but for people who work the next day, it can make for a rough morning.  With the new 7:30 start time, games are over at 11:00pm.  Get home by midnight if you're lucky.  Could hurt concession too...who wants to be hungover on a Friday at work?

Why should Friday be any different from every other day?

 

 

My point is that it would be easier being hungover on a Saturday when your not at work.

 

Yeah and my point is that when you are showing up for work with a hangover every day, Friday doesn't really matter.

 

 

Yea, I guess for the alcoholics, it doesn't really matter...

Game dates and start times are dictated by TSN. Just the way it is when you pay the big bucks you set the schedule.

I prefer the 7:30 start. It makes it easier for me to get to the game after work.  I found 7:00 to be rushed.    I also don't mind the Thursday night games.  Mind you, I have one, maybe two beers at the most during a game.  I actually go to watch the football, not to get hammered.

 

My point is that for everyone that doesn't like Thursday, there is another person who doesn't want it on the weekend because they go to the lake.  For every person who wants an earlier start, there's one that wants a later start.

 

The diehards, like me, will be happy to go to games to support the team.  The casual fans will go if the bandwaggon is making alot of noise and the team is winning. 

 

Thursday (or other weekday) games don't hurt the Jets, or the ballet, or the theatre centre.  People who want to go will go, those who want an excuse not to go will find one.

 

I agree with the earlier posters, winning will solve these problems.

Game dates and start times are dictated by TSN. Just the way it is when you pay the big bucks you set the schedule.

 

Not true.  Bombers specifically requested later start times this season and more Thursday games during the summer months. 

I was kind of wondering this. I was looking at the seat map on ticketmaster, and alot of the sections were filled up with empty seats.

Winnipeg has always been a walk up crowd to fill the building, why are we surprised by the number of tickets sold now? In typical Winnipeg fashion people just need something to ***** about.

Winnipeg has always been a walk up crowd to fill the building, why are we surprised by the number of tickets sold now? In typical Winnipeg fashion people just need something to ***** about.

I think people bitching about Winnipeggers bitching is far more common then Winnipeggers bitching in the first place.

When you consider 21,500 seasons tickets plus flex pack holders they have probably sold only a couple of hundred "walk up" tickets for this game. Even with the usual last minute purchases tickets sold will probably be below any game last year. If you consider that a non-story that's cool. But they probably don't agree with you over in the Bomber's offices.

Well with those ridiculously priced end zone seats I'm definitely not surprised.

Well with those ridiculously priced end zone seats I'm definitely not surprised.

Winnipeg has always been a walk up crowd to fill the building, why are we surprised by the number of tickets sold now? In typical Winnipeg fashion people just need something to ***** about.

 

So you think they're going to sell 11 000 walk up tickets? Laughable.

The game is still a week away. Let's have this re-visit this topic next Wednesday.

 

The reason for the 7:30 start (as far as I know) is to provide a buffer between rush hour traffic and game traffic.  Im not sure I buy "game ends late" as a *huge* reason.  While Im sure it might keep a few people away, its Thursday night.  Its okay to be a bit tired on Friday.

 

Another angle to the story might have been "over 22,000 tickets already sold for Bombers home opener with only 7 days left to secure your seats".  Winnipeg is notorious as a walk up city.  Give it time.

 

I have a sense that the IGF issues are pushing attendance down but Im not ready to say that yet.  I went to two (or was it three?) games last season including the home opener which so many Kives' declared a disaster and I had ZERO issues getting in and out. 

 

Time will tell.

 

Also, to the person who said the Bombers budgeted for a loss, Miller said season tickets were where they budgeted, not game day attendance. 

 

I just think it's super sh!tty that we need a buffer between rush hour traffic and game traffic.  Hate to say the obvious thing, but building it right includes building transportation routes right.  There were public outcrys to consider transportation... the bumbling Selingers just flat out ignored them.

 

I think if traffic had been how it was mid-season right from the start, no one would say anything.  You also had an issue that was very hard-driven by the media.  I think the big brains involved never drove in that area and assumed having lots of busses would be the end all be all of the problem.  Once they realised how bad traffic was, they took steps to improve it and they did improve it.

 

I do agree though.  I will admit that when IGF was announced, I was on the other side of the traffic debate thinking it would be managable.  It was "worse" than I expected.  But I think a lot of the loudest complaining came from people who lived closer to CIS.  Because when someone says they have to wait in traffic for an hour to get there, I say "yeah, so did I when it was CIS, so what".  Rapid Transit will help.  Converting some of those side streets (like Markham and Thatcher) might help too, though Im not sure how they are utilized on game day other then seeing police blockades.

Lawless makes me laugh.  We should record this date and then wait for his first article tearing the regime he loves so much apart.

 

He changes his strong opinions weekly, just look at the Kane column this week.

With Micheal Boublé you are guarranteed a great night, The other choice...not so much.

 

Winnipeg has always been a walk up crowd to fill the building, why are we surprised by the number of tickets sold now? In typical Winnipeg fashion people just need something to ***** about.

 

So you think they're going to sell 11 000 walk up tickets? Laughable.

 

who ever said anything even close to that? I said ticket sales for the Bombers are always lower a week before the game. In Winnipeg most of the non season ticket holders buy their tickets last minute. No one expects a sell out on this team, they need to rebuild a lot of the casual fans trust, but they'll get into the 25000+ range I have no doubts, especially if it's a nice evening. 

 

 

Winnipeg has always been a walk up crowd to fill the building, why are we surprised by the number of tickets sold now? In typical Winnipeg fashion people just need something to ***** about.

 

So you think they're going to sell 11 000 walk up tickets? Laughable.

 

who ever said anything even close to that? I said ticket sales for the Bombers are always lower a week before the game. In Winnipeg most of the non season ticket holders buy their tickets last minute. No one expects a sell out on this team, they need to rebuild a lot of the casual fans trust, but they'll get into the 25000+ range I have no doubts, especially if it's a nice evening. 

 

 

 

I'd hope they'd be much closer to 30k than 25k for the season opener.

Still have a week to go, i'll agree with the poster who said let's revisit this topic Wednesday next week.

I'd like to see 28-29k for the opener.  I had initially assumed the home opener would sell out, but obviously that's not the case. 

I think the Thursday games were a bad idea. Sure people are in the city as opposed to Friday games where people leave for the cabin after work on a Friday, but for people who work the next day, it can make for a rough morning. With the new 7:30 start time, games are over at 11:00pm. Get home by midnight if you're lucky. Could hurt concession too...who wants to be hungover on a Friday at work?

Why should Friday be any different from every other day?

My point is that it would be easier being hungover on a Saturday when your not at work.

Yeah and my point is that when you are showing up for work with a hangover every day, Friday doesn't really matter.

Yea, I guess for the alcoholics, it doesn't really matter...

As a teen I always thought I would end up a sexaholic not an alcoholic.

Funny what marriage does to a guy.

New stadium location and all the inherent problems with it dictates that the walk up will be much lower than the old Canad Inns site.

 

I think they will get a crowd around 25,000 - 26,000.

 

 

Winnipeg has always been a walk up crowd to fill the building, why are we surprised by the number of tickets sold now? In typical Winnipeg fashion people just need something to ***** about.

 

So you think they're going to sell 11 000 walk up tickets? Laughable.

 

who ever said anything even close to that? I said ticket sales for the Bombers are always lower a week before the game. In Winnipeg most of the non season ticket holders buy their tickets last minute. No one expects a sell out on this team, they need to rebuild a lot of the casual fans trust, but they'll get into the 25000+ range I have no doubts, especially if it's a nice evening. 

 

 

Yeah, I see what you're getting at now. Sorry.

This is no suprise to me.

 

Bad year last year.

 

Stadium Traffic issues.

 

Ticket pricing. They have gone way up over the last few years.

 

 

 

Winnipeg has always been a walk up crowd to fill the building, why are we surprised by the number of tickets sold now? In typical Winnipeg fashion people just need something to ***** about.

 

So you think they're going to sell 11 000 walk up tickets? Laughable.

 

who ever said anything even close to that? I said ticket sales for the Bombers are always lower a week before the game. In Winnipeg most of the non season ticket holders buy their tickets last minute. No one expects a sell out on this team, they need to rebuild a lot of the casual fans trust, but they'll get into the 25000+ range I have no doubts, especially if it's a nice evening. 

 

 

 

I'd hope they'd be much closer to 30k than 25k for the season opener.

 

After all the **** this team put them through last year? Gonna take a while to build up some goodwill. The games were so bad last year that even the diehard fans were having trouble sticking it out until the end, how do you think the casual fans reacted to that? They'll take a wait and see approach and the first couple games are likely to be low attendance. If they show some back bone and maybe even win some games early in the year fans will come back, but they gotta earn the support back at this point. 

Honestly, it isn't surprising.  Past poor performances would eventually come to bite us in the rear in terms of attendance.

 

Put a quality product on the field, and the fans will support it.  Last season pushed a lot of fans to their breaking points.  

AGREED.  I'm one of them.  nothing to do with start time and all to do with how terrible we were last year and the year before.