Winnipeg Blue Bombers

[Crisis]

Posted Today, 1:26 PM
esquire
With the Grey Cup being held in town this year, I wonder if the Bisons are going to put a bid to host a Vanier Cup? You'd think they'd want to show off their home venue on the national CIS stage and make a bit of cash... I would expect that a Vanier Cup could attract over 15,000 fans, and even more if Manitoba or one of the Sask teams makes it. 15K tickets at an average $40 a pop is $600K, 20K tickets at $60 a pop is $1.2 million. That's real money by Bison football standards.

Winnipeg has never hosted since the Vanier Cup left its Toronto home base 10 years ago.

Vanier Cup could've been great in Winnipeg this year. Unfortunately, it's already been awarded to Laval.

Unlike some of the bigger centres, I believe that Winnipeg would have done a first rate job with the Vanier. Too bad that the CIS/CFL/Bombers/Bisons didn't get this put together.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by esquire

I would expect that a Vanier Cup could attract over 15,000 fans, and even more if Manitoba or one of the Sask teams makes it.

It is definitely a missed opportunity. I thought in the past the Vanier Cup was played on the Saturday on Grey Cup weekend which could have made it easier to sell tickets here regardless of which teams were playing.

[esquire]

Not having the Vanier Cup in Winnipeg on GC weekend was a missed opportunity. I'm not sure why it doesn't happen more often... there have been impressive crowds in Van and Tor when they've combined the events in the past, and it would have been no different here. There is always so much football hoopla when the GC rolls into town that the rising tide would benefit the Vanier Cup. There would have been at least 20,000 fans in the stands even without the Bisons or a Sask team in the big game.

I really hope the Bisons get their act together and launch a bid for next season or the year after.

[CoryB]

Having Vanier Cup and Grey Cup share a venue should have some cost savings too as you could have a single camera team covering both events. Granted with Rogers (SportsNet) having the Vanier Cup and Bell (TSN) having the Grey Cup that could be a "challenge" but its likely the same bodies running those cameras, etc regardless of who is paying the bill.

The biggest challenge would be on the logistics side. Instead of having a block of rooms booked for two visiting CFL teams you would also need blocks for the Vanier teams. Perhaps that is behind why Winnipeg didn't bid. From the stories I hear when Regina hosts just the Grey Cup it pushes them past the limit on their hotel capacity.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

The biggest challenge would be on the logistics side. Instead of having a block of rooms booked for two visiting CFL teams you would also need blocks for the Vanier teams. Perhaps that is behind why Winnipeg didn't bid. From the stories I hear when Regina hosts just the Grey Cup it pushes them past the limit on their hotel capacity.

Yeah, true... logistics would be a challenge, although you wouldn't think it would be a huge problem to reserve, for example, a floor at the Delta for the eastern school, another floor for the western school, and a floor for CIS officials and sponsors. In the grand scheme of things you're only talking about a small part of one large hotel.

[UPP]

Originally Posted by esquire

Yeah, true... logistics would be a challenge, although you wouldn't think it would be a huge problem to reserve, for example, a floor at the Delta for the eastern school, another floor for the western school, and a floor for CIS officials and sponsors. In the grand scheme of things you're only talking about a small part of one large hotel.

You'd have to think there'd be at least a 1000 fans/entourage from the 2 teams at any Vanier Cup. That would fill at least a couple large hotels for sure. I think hosting the 2 together in large cities like Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver is doable, I don't think so with smaller cities.

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Booking floors of hotel rooms is easier said than done. The Delta currently shows no rooms available for Grey Cup weekend, like most hotels downtown. I am booked at the airport Hilton, and this is before tickets go on sale to the general public. At the moment, only season ticket holders of all CFL teams have access to seats. Once tickets go on sale to the general public I am sure that more people will attempt to book trips. Winnipeg could really use more hotel rooms downtown.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by DavefromSt.Vital

Booking floors of hotel rooms is easier said than done. The Delta currently shows no rooms available for Grey Cup weekend, like most hotels downtown. I am booked at the airport Hilton, and this is before tickets go on sale to the general public. At the moment, only season ticket holders of all CFL teams have access to seats. Once tickets go on sale to the general public I am sure that more people will attempt to book trips. Winnipeg could really use more hotel rooms downtown.

For huge events like the Grey Cup, the reality of a city the size of Winnipeg is that any hotel room within the Perimeter is in a good location. I read that for the FIFA WWC, people are resorting to booking hotels in towns up to an hour outside of Winnipeg...everything locally is taken.

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Since most hotels are already full, why add another game? I realize that the Bisons could make a profit off of it, but why tie up even more rooms with players who should theoretically be focusing on practice, rather than experiencing the city (and spending money at attractions and restaurants like Grey Cup fans). Fans of the CIS teams would not be able to travel at the last minute as the flights (and hotels) would be booked by that time. While a number of Grey Cup fans would purchase the extra ticket to the Vanier Cup, it would not necessarily be close to the number sold for the big game. The 2012 Vanier Cup had great attendance in Toronto, but nowhere close to the actual Grey Cup, even though many tickets were sold as a package deal. Similarly, the NHL Winter Classic in Ann Arbor was attended by 100K+. However, you also had to purchase a "lesser" outdoor game at Comerica Park. The AHL game quickly became a sparsely attended giveaway.

Personally, I would suggest the Bisons host the Vanier Cup in a non-Grey Cup year. While I would imagine marketing would focus on Man/Sask/NW Ontario, hotels and flights should be easily available in a normal late November for fans of the teams involved.

[CoryB]

I question if the hotels are really "full" for have blocks of rooms set aside for either tour operators, other Grey Cup official uses (ie visiting teams, media) or even blocks set aside to release timed with the public on-sale dates at higher than normal market rates.

I had looked around a little some months back and couldn't find much of anything available.

[esquire]

I would think the potential for many locals to buy tickets outweighs the challenges for travelling contingents of other schools' fans, mainly because I wouldn't expect that many people to come to town in any event, except if the Rams or Huskies make it because it's such an easy drive here from Sask. It's not like there will be thousands of people coming to town from Sherbrooke if the Vert and Or make the Vanier Cup... 200 hotel rooms would probably cover pretty much all of the official needs of the Vanier Cup (teams, officials, sponsors, school and conference representatives, etc.) and then some... that's basically one mid-size hotel or two smaller ones.

But that said, I don't mind the idea of spreading out the fun by hosting the event on a non-GC year.

[UPP]

Originally Posted by esquire

I would think the potential for many locals to buy tickets outweighs the challenges for travelling contingents of other schools' fans, mainly because I wouldn't expect that many people to come to town in any event, except if the Rams or Huskies make it because it's such an easy drive here from Sask. It's not like there will be thousands of people coming to town from Sherbrooke if the Vert and Or make the Vanier Cup... 200 hotel rooms would probably cover pretty much all of the official needs of the Vanier Cup (teams, officials, sponsors, school and conference representatives, etc.) and then some... that's basically one mid-size hotel or two smaller ones.

But that said, I don't mind the idea of spreading out the fun by hosting the event on a non-GC year.

I think that's seriously low-balling. Players, coaches and team officials alone would be close to 100 people per team. Then, even if only parents of players came, that's another 100 people per team. Add to that CIS officials, reps from teams, any fans from the two teams and you'd have at least 1,000 visitors.

Plus, and maybe even more importantly, there's the Vanier Cup's own awards banquet, breakfast and such which would take up very valuable convention room space that is usually scarce at the Grey Cup. I don't know why any city outside of MTL, TO or Vancouver would want that strain on their hospitality resources.

[Danny D Oh]

I'd rather the Vanier Cup be played elsewhere and be played on a weekend other than Grey Cup weekend. It tends to get little attention in the Grey Cup city. I attended both in Vancouver 2011, not too much attention for the Vanier which was one of the greatest games in the history of Canadian football.

Depending on who is in the game there could be thousands of people travelling to see it. It's never going to be an event that Canadians travel for, more about the schools involved.

[esquire]

Bomber rookie camp is now under way... due to the WWC, it is taking place on the fields west of the University Stadium near the indoor soccer complex. The real deal main training camp begins on Sunday.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by esquire

Bomber rookie camp is now under way... due to the WWC, it is taking place on the fields west of the University Stadium near the indoor soccer complex. The real deal main training camp begins on Sunday.

Can't wait for the season to start..Hopefully enough changes this year to at least make them competitive?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Cyro

Can't wait for the season to start..Hopefully enough changes this year to at least make them competitive?

I think so... they've done a lot to address their number one sore spot last season (the O-line), and they have a new DC who is likely committed to a more conventional, and hopefully effective, defense than Etcheverry was last year.

I would say that much like with the Jets this past season, making the playoffs will the be measuring stick this year.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by esquire

I would say that much like with the Jets this past season, making the playoffs winning the Grey Cup will the be measuring stick this year.

There, I fixed it up for you.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

There, I fixed it up for you.

Heh. I admire your optimism

[Simplicity]

Just watched the Riders/Argos game. Same frustrations as with the other night in Winnipeg. A flag on nearly every single play - warranted or not - rendered it almost unwatchable. Every pass play had some form of penalty down field, every second play was reviewed, and nobody could get any momentum going at all. Yet they still managed to put up 82 points between the two teams.

I sincerely hope they're polling fans in some capacity. I'd much rather have a game with some incidental contact between two athletes running down the field (regardless of whose advantage at the moment) then defenders literally throwing their hands in the air as if to imply "I didn't do anything" every time the ball is thrown.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Just watched the Riders/Argos game. Same frustrations as with the other night in Winnipeg. A flag on nearly every single play - warranted or not - rendered it almost unwatchable. Every pass play had some form of penalty down field, every second play was reviewed, and nobody could get any momentum going at all. Yet they still managed to put up 82 points between the two teams.

I sincerely hope they're polling fans in some capacity. I'd much rather have a game with some incidental contact between two athletes running down the field (regardless of whose advantage at the moment) then defenders literally throwing their hands in the air as if to imply "I didn't do anything" every time the ball is thrown.

The game pace has slowed down considerably with the addition of the new rules, it has become some what frustrating to watch at this point.

It also appears to be the general consensus among many CFL fans that I've discussed it with at this point.... only 2 weeks into the season. An adjustment period for players to familiarize themselves with the changes may help the situation later into the season..wait and see..