Pricing chart is on this page, just scroll down.
http://www.bluebombers.com/grey-cup-2015-faq
Quite simply, Wade Miller and the Bomber organizing committee gambled on Grey Cup pricing and lost. Not only did they think it wise to charge the highest average Grey Cup ticket price in history, but in a unprecedented move, they felt it necessary to secure a three year commitment from season ticket holders before offering a discount on tickets vs. the standard one-year commitment.
Frankly, I'm inclined to believe Miller and co. looked at the pricing model in Regina from two years ago (when these ridiculous prices became apparent) and said, "hey, let's charge that in the new stadium. If they can sell tickets at that high of a price in Regina no reason we can't do that here!" Problem is, (1)Rider fans are amongst the most loyal fanbase in the league willing to pay some of the highest prices for tickets including the Grey Cup and (2)they were in the midst of a relatively prosperous period at the time Grey Cup sales went on sale leading to a large amount of goodwill. In contrast, the Bomber organization is at it's lowest point since the late 60s and the team's goodwill in the community has reached an all-time low due to series of bad hires, the stadium debacle and declining gameday experience.
'Peggers, maybe moreso than elsewhere, are value conscious. Charging the same $399 price for a front row seat on the 30-yard line in the lower bowl as a seat in the 27th row of the upper deck at the goal line is absolutely asinine. So it's no wonder that those upper deck seats are the poorest sellers for the Grey Cup as value conscious consumers appear to agree with me. This also applies to the $299 corner upper deck seats or $299 endzone seats - both available in abundance.
Prior to last year's game in BC, which incidentally, was also over-priced and undersold, the Grey Cup had sold out PRIOR to the beginning of the regular season for 5 consecutive years. That was the precedent that the Bomber organization should have tried to match and they failed spectacularly. Had they added another price point for the upper deck (ie. $250 discount, $300 non-discount for tickets between the 10 or 20 yard lines), rid themselves of the ridiculous 3-year commitment and lowered some of the price points on the current chart, I don't doubt that the game would be a near sellout by this point just as it was in 2006. Back then, there were only 1500 or so tickets a few weeks out from the game.
A poor Bomber and Rider team should have been of little relevance to ticket sales as proper price points would have resulted in several thousand additional seats sold prior to the season's commencement. Now, we have reached a point only 13 weeks out from the Grey Cup and there are still 11,000 unsold seats. Safe to say, a few thousand might sell at regular price.
Similar to BC last year, I expect thousands of seats to be sold to corporations at a steep discount. Hundreds or thousands more will be given to charities and volunteers to further pad the numbers - again, just like BC.
This may have some severe long-term ramifications for the organization. Besides the obvious - lower than expected profits to assist in the annual repayment of the stadium - the city may not be able to bid for the Grey Cup at the end of the next cycle in 8-9 years. A poor showing may result in a 12 year wait or even longer before we see the game return to Winnipeg.
Prev
Linear Mode
