Posted By: Pike River
Canadian Reject NFL Gouge - 08/19/19 11:13 AM
FORBES ARTICLE
ome people continue to think that they can gouge Canadian fans into the experience of attending an NFL game in this country.
It didn't work years ago in Toronto. And this practice clearly isn't working in Winnipeg.
The latest example of this financial fumble broke in a Canadian Press story that ticket sales were going so slow for a preseason game in Winnipeg on Aug. 22 that prices have been slashed.
The Oakland Raiders will play the Green Bay Packers.
End zone seats in the lower bowl were originally priced at $164. And that's before taxes and fees. All in, fans were being asked to fork over about $200 for the privilege of watching an NFL game that won't count. And some prices were set over the $400 mark.
When the Canadian promoters saw that only half the tickets at 33,000-seat IG Field had been sold, they announced that up to 6,000 tickets would be cut to $92, including taxes and fees.
Of course, the biggest selling feature of this game was to be an appearance by Packers sensational quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but since it's a preseason game, it's not even certain that Rodgers would play, or even how much he would play.
On Ice Entertainment set original ticket prices with the Raiders, who are the home team. Oakland receives the gate revenue and the Bombers are being compensated for providing the venue.
Ticket prices ranged from $75 to $340 before fees and taxes with all-in costs up to $439 for seats at center field, The Canadian Press reported. Some tickets in the end zones will still cost a total of $192 and $266.75, depending on the row and location.
On Ice Entertainment president John Graham told CP that the prices were influenced by the cost of bringing in the NFL teams and converting the field. The CFL field is longer and wider than the NFL field.
It was a calculated risk by the promoters. The Minnesota Vikings are the closest NFL city, and the Vikings are more popular in Winnipeg than the Packers.
Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers is a big name. But when you are struggling to fill a 33,000-seat stadium for an NFL game, you have misread the marketplace.
Winnipeg is football country. But it's the Blue Bombers of the CFL who run the show there, and they are an exciting team with a great quarterback in Matt Nichols, and they have a good chance of winning the Grey Cup in November.
That would be a big deal. Winnipeg hasn't won the Grey Cup since 1990.
The NFL is so big in the U.S. that people must assume that you can just over-price seats for a neutral-site game and people will shell out.
But apathy and greed have never proven to be a winning formula, and Toronto knows about that.
Several years ago, bright thinkers had the idea of bringing the Buffalo Bills to Toronto, believing this would a natural fit and a money-maker. The Bills are just two hours away from Toronto, and the NFL team attracts many Canadians to their games each home game.
But many Buffalo fans weren't pleased about the Bills appearing in Toronto, fearing this was a precursor to a relocation plan. And Toronto fans weren't happy because an incursion by the NFL could threaten the CFL, which has been a big part of Canada's identity and culture.
The price gouging was another problem.
There was so much gouging going on that tickets were slashed and many were given away at the last moment to try to fill Rogers Centre in Toronto. In the end, the Buffalo Bills experiment in Toronto died in 2014.
Football is a sport that is best served with passion. This is not a curiosity sport. Hard-nosed fans want to root for the home team and jeer the visitors. They want to drink beer and have tailgate parties.
When the Bills were in Toronto, the stadium was so quiet because no one cared about the Bills or the Atlanta Falcons, or whoever else was brought in for this snore-fest.
It perhaps didn't help that the Bills didn't have much in the way of a marquee name. Toronto is a good sports city and so is Winnipeg.
If the NFL were to come to Toronto and this team could be Toronto's own, what a difference it would make. The CFL's Argonauts are not even relevant in this city anymore.
But Winnipeg is different. The fans there love their Blue Bombers and their hockey team, the Jets.
There is a rich history of football and hockey in Winnipeg. It's cold in the fall and the fans are hardy. And they want to root for a winning team. Not Green Bay or Oakland in an exhibition game.
What would you rather do? Pay $400 to see the Packers-Raiders in a preseason game, or $25 to watch your hometown Bombers in a game with meaning?
It seems the fans in Winnipeg have spoken.
ome people continue to think that they can gouge Canadian fans into the experience of attending an NFL game in this country.
It didn't work years ago in Toronto. And this practice clearly isn't working in Winnipeg.
The latest example of this financial fumble broke in a Canadian Press story that ticket sales were going so slow for a preseason game in Winnipeg on Aug. 22 that prices have been slashed.
The Oakland Raiders will play the Green Bay Packers.
End zone seats in the lower bowl were originally priced at $164. And that's before taxes and fees. All in, fans were being asked to fork over about $200 for the privilege of watching an NFL game that won't count. And some prices were set over the $400 mark.
When the Canadian promoters saw that only half the tickets at 33,000-seat IG Field had been sold, they announced that up to 6,000 tickets would be cut to $92, including taxes and fees.
Of course, the biggest selling feature of this game was to be an appearance by Packers sensational quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but since it's a preseason game, it's not even certain that Rodgers would play, or even how much he would play.
On Ice Entertainment set original ticket prices with the Raiders, who are the home team. Oakland receives the gate revenue and the Bombers are being compensated for providing the venue.
Ticket prices ranged from $75 to $340 before fees and taxes with all-in costs up to $439 for seats at center field, The Canadian Press reported. Some tickets in the end zones will still cost a total of $192 and $266.75, depending on the row and location.
On Ice Entertainment president John Graham told CP that the prices were influenced by the cost of bringing in the NFL teams and converting the field. The CFL field is longer and wider than the NFL field.
It was a calculated risk by the promoters. The Minnesota Vikings are the closest NFL city, and the Vikings are more popular in Winnipeg than the Packers.
Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers is a big name. But when you are struggling to fill a 33,000-seat stadium for an NFL game, you have misread the marketplace.
Winnipeg is football country. But it's the Blue Bombers of the CFL who run the show there, and they are an exciting team with a great quarterback in Matt Nichols, and they have a good chance of winning the Grey Cup in November.
That would be a big deal. Winnipeg hasn't won the Grey Cup since 1990.
The NFL is so big in the U.S. that people must assume that you can just over-price seats for a neutral-site game and people will shell out.
But apathy and greed have never proven to be a winning formula, and Toronto knows about that.
Several years ago, bright thinkers had the idea of bringing the Buffalo Bills to Toronto, believing this would a natural fit and a money-maker. The Bills are just two hours away from Toronto, and the NFL team attracts many Canadians to their games each home game.
But many Buffalo fans weren't pleased about the Bills appearing in Toronto, fearing this was a precursor to a relocation plan. And Toronto fans weren't happy because an incursion by the NFL could threaten the CFL, which has been a big part of Canada's identity and culture.
The price gouging was another problem.
There was so much gouging going on that tickets were slashed and many were given away at the last moment to try to fill Rogers Centre in Toronto. In the end, the Buffalo Bills experiment in Toronto died in 2014.
Football is a sport that is best served with passion. This is not a curiosity sport. Hard-nosed fans want to root for the home team and jeer the visitors. They want to drink beer and have tailgate parties.
When the Bills were in Toronto, the stadium was so quiet because no one cared about the Bills or the Atlanta Falcons, or whoever else was brought in for this snore-fest.
It perhaps didn't help that the Bills didn't have much in the way of a marquee name. Toronto is a good sports city and so is Winnipeg.
If the NFL were to come to Toronto and this team could be Toronto's own, what a difference it would make. The CFL's Argonauts are not even relevant in this city anymore.
But Winnipeg is different. The fans there love their Blue Bombers and their hockey team, the Jets.
There is a rich history of football and hockey in Winnipeg. It's cold in the fall and the fans are hardy. And they want to root for a winning team. Not Green Bay or Oakland in an exhibition game.
What would you rather do? Pay $400 to see the Packers-Raiders in a preseason game, or $25 to watch your hometown Bombers in a game with meaning?
It seems the fans in Winnipeg have spoken.
