Investors Group Field | Winnipeg

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

The balcony ribbon board is definitely not a CFL thing, even in Vancouver with the complete overhaul of BC Place. I think it ultimately comes down to the main use of the ribbon boards - displaying sponsor information, and getting it seen on tv. The current field level boards are what are common in other supports like soccer so I think they are hear to stay as-is.

Not necessarily... these types of things have a limited shelf life, especially when they're outside and exposed to the elements like ours is. And the price of displays keeps coming down too. So at some point in the next decade I'd imagine it will be replaced and maybe at that point it will be swapped out for something bigger. Edmonton recently introduced such a board that goes the length of their upper deck.

On that note, I am curious how long the big screens above each end zone will last. Based on past experience, outdoor screens seldom stay in place for longer than 20 years. We're practically halfway there. I wonder if there is any ability to put in larger screens in the future without having to put in entirely new supports?

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by esquire

Not necessarily... these types of things have a limited shelf life, especially when they're outside and exposed to the elements like ours is. And the price of displays keeps coming down too. So at some point in the next decade I'd imagine it will be replaced and maybe at that point it will be swapped out for something bigger. Edmonton recently introduced such a board that goes the length of their upper deck.

On that note, I am curious how long the big screens above each end zone will last. Based on past experience, outdoor screens seldom stay in place for longer than 20 years. We're practically halfway there. I wonder if there is any ability to put in larger screens in the future without having to put in entirely new supports?

I'm sure you'll be able to go larger as just look at LEDs the now. Shit I have an 85 inch and it's 1/3 the weight of my 8 year old 55 inch and paper thin. So seeing how light screens are getting, those old supports should be more then adequate

[buzzg]

Those supports were able to hold makeshift broadcast booths suspended from them like some sort of airborne Red Bull soapbox race, they can prob hold a lot.

[The Unknown Poster]

I always wondered why the lack of concerts. Werent they partnering with True North on those? Could the bombers be asking for too large a cut?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by The Unknown Poster

I always wondered why the lack of concerts. Werent they partnering with True North on those? Could the bombers be asking for too large a cut?

I would think the Bombers would love to put on big concerts... it's money in their pocket, after all. I assume it's a question of a) concert availability and b) venue availability. Probably more to do with column a... just not as many big stadium concert tours coming through Canada, or at least not beyond Toronto and maybe Vancouver.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by The Unknown Poster

I always wondered why the lack of concerts. Werent they partnering with True North on those? Could the bombers be asking for too large a cut?

Edmonton managed to secure 3 stadium concerts this summer - 2 Garth Brooks concerts and the Def Leppard/Crue/Poison, Joan Jett concert.

One thing that will likely never be admitted to the public is the seat layout of IG Field is a detriment to attracting big concerts. The break-even point for venues, in bidding to attract specific concert tours, may require 35 - 40,000 seats at a ideal price point to sellout. The way IG Field is laid out, a sellout is only around 30,000 people.

When ACDC was on their last stadium tour, Winnipeg wasn't on the tour schedule initially until some months after the tour was announced in 2015. Only when it became apparent that those 4,000 temporary seats in the endzone were going to be constructed months in advance of the Grey Cup, did Winnipeg secure a show. I had heard if it wasn't for those additional 4,000 seats that the city would not have secured it otherwise. Thus, the show was able to draw 34,000 instead of 30,000.

Contrast that to old Winnipeg Stadium. In 2009, ACDC announced their tour with Winnipeg on the docket. The stage was set up in beyond the endzone where the old practice field used to be. Thus no seats in the stands had to be tarped off due to no views of the stage and they could fit an additional 12,000 fans on the field resulting in an attendance of 41,000.

If the Bombers had hired an architect who had some actual experience with stadium building, maybe they would have realized that going with layout similar to new Mosaic Stadium AND a loading/unloading area with some thought put into it (unlike the current shitshow that exists) would have maximized the number of people that would be able to actually attend a concert....around 35,000 instead of the current 30,000.

[esquire]

^ Interesting comment.

Yeah, from what I've seen of concert photos, it looks like a fairly hefty proportion of seats are blocked off for concerts. And as you point out, the stadium isn't that big to begin with, although I don't know what we're supposed to do about that... no one was going to add 10,000 seats so that we could have a couple of concerts a year. It does not seem that we're alone either, I checked the event list and it doesn't look like Mosaic Stadium has any concerts coming up this summer either.



But still, 32,000 seats is 32,000 seats. That's basically two nights worth of arena concerts.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Interesting comment.

Yeah, from what I've seen of concert photos, it looks like a fairly hefty proportion of seats are blocked off for concerts. And as you point out, the stadium isn't that big to begin with, although I don't know what we're supposed to do about that... no one was going to add 10,000 seats so that we could have a couple of concerts a year. It does not seem that we're alone either, I checked the event list and it doesn't look like Mosaic Stadium has any concerts coming up this summer either.



But still, 32,000 seats is 32,000 seats. That's basically two nights worth of arena concerts.

True although we are talking about a city of 250,000 so they shouldn't get as many or potentially as many stadium concerts as Winnipeg. They did get Brooks and the Eagles in recent years.

[esquire]

^ Saskatoon gets a lot of the same shows as Winnipeg because it's on the arena circuit, and their building is basically the same size as ours. Same thing with Regina, the city is small but with as with Rider games, people come from all over the province for big shows.

[Goldie]

The Blue Bombers screwed up basically EVERYTHING about IG Field. I think we all can agree on that.

From location, to design, to millions in cost overruns, to delays, to immediate problems after it was built, to the ridiculous (outdoor) pressbox that prevented us from hosting a Grey Cup right away, to the ditched "indoor bubble" that would've allowed for year-round use, I can't imagine anyone, football fan or not, looking at IG Field and thinking it was a wise way to spend $250 million of taxpayer money. (That will never be paid back by the Bombers).

And concerts are still passing Winnipeg by as well.

What an incredible screw-up that stadium was!

[pegcityboy]

The only way you could get 40,000 for a concert is a centre stage concert and Edmonton’s Commonweath Stadium loses lots of seats for a concert too , it just used to hold 60,000 ( now 53,000 ) with the new wider seats they put in , re IG Field , location is fine ( Winnipeggers don’t like change ) Design is like most stadiums with 2 end zones of seats not sure what you want , maybe horseshoe shape ? Not a fan personally, Bombers didn’t cause the cost overruns the bad job by construction company did that . Agree on the indoor bubble would have been good to use facility year round . Concerts outdoors aren’t happening that much anymore so it really has nothing to do with stadium , Calgary has little to none outdoor concerts at McMahon Stadium , One of the ones Edmonton has , Minneapolis has also so I’m surprised the Def Lepard one didn’t make a stop here abit .

[esquire]

We have a very nice, very comfortable venue that replaced our old poorly maintained, crumbling football stadium. It's a great civic amenity that will serve Winnipeg for many years to come.

[The Unknown Poster]

Very interesting. Makes sense.

What about big acts doing two day concerts? I assume they want to be paid twice and 60,000 seats hard to sell vs just wanting 35,000-40,000.

Maybe they should develop staging that is open on the back side and sell those too!

I like the location of IGF (I always argued it was a good location and the uproar over access was just extremely poor planning by the Bombers initially). I remember driving to the old Stadium and sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for ages and then trying to find a place to park and fighting the crowds after. So it happens now, whats different? For me, I live in the area so we either walk or spring for Parking and its a much quicker in/out.

[esquire]

^ It does seem that a lot of the traffic issues worked themselves out as people developed new routines and habits. I normally ride my bike to games but when my kids were little I would drive to cold weather games and it was never really that bad getting out after the games. Might take 15 minutes to get out of a parking lot or whatever, but then after that you'd sail along.

Looking at that stage picture above, I had a similar thought re: stage setup. A slightly different configuration visible from the sides could open up thousands more seats, not just here but in many stadiums. That Taylor Swift stage rendered many seats unusable.

[The Unknown Poster]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ It does seem that a lot of the traffic issues worked themselves out as people developed new routines and habits. I normally ride my bike to games but when my kids were little I would drive to cold weather games and it was never really that bad getting out after the games. Might take 15 minutes to get out of a parking lot or whatever, but then after that you'd sail along.

Looking at that stage picture above, I had a similar thought re: stage setup. A slightly different configuration visible from the sides could open up thousands more seats, not just here but in many stadiums. That Taylor Swift stage rendered many seats unusable.

Id imagine the artists wouldnt care so much. Someone obviously designs their staging. Some acts seem to love working the entire stage and might enjoy having thousands of people behind them. If you sell those seats a bit cheaper it works for everyone. Prime seats as they're close to the stage but you're maybe not getting the full interaction. Include large screens and ensure sound is blasting that way too. Whats the problem. Unless there is a lot of stuff going on ON the stage in the back (dressing room, costume change, tech stuff) but it would seem to be something they could easily work with.

I know in wrestling (my side hustle) there is always that debate with big shows, WWE in particular, with the giant stages cutting off so many seats and they reduced that in many cases to maximize sales.

[blueandgoldguy]

Deep down, I always knew you were a Taylor Swift fan Esquire.

[blueandgoldguy]

As I mentioned elsewhere, the turf would likely need replacing in the next year or two, especially now that there is a soccer team playing an additional 14 games per year at IG Field. Ottawa and Hamilton have already replaced their turfs or are in the process of doing so.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

Deep down, I always knew you were a Taylor Swift fan Esquire.

[buzzg]

The IGF layout isn’t just an issue for concerts - it puts way more seats in the end zones than something like Mosaic. It’s unfortunate because those seats get a premium price due to being in the lower bowl, but being in lower rows of upper decks are much better seats for much cheaper. So it always makes the stadium look so much emptier when there’s huge swaths of empty seats in the 100s, especially in the corners.

[esquire]

^ I remember when David Asper was first pitching a new stadium that was a really big deal to him, the 360 seating bowl. I guess the perception was that it was very NFL like and therefore very big time. And to a certain extent it's true, the old-style stadiums like CanadInns, old Mosaic and Ivor Wynne always looked a little rinky dink with their wide open end zones that had nothing there for the most part.

For football the 360 bowl does work, although end zone seating is arguably less desirable in the CFL due to to the bigger, longer field. I'm not sure why the Bombers price their tickets the way they do, but under the current pricing scheme the last seats to sell are the upper decks between roughly the goal line and the 40 yard line, and the lower deck corners. The unfortunate thing about that is that unless there's a big crowd of 30,000 or more, you can always see swaths of empty seats in the corners. You'd think from an optics point of view they'd want to fill the lower deck first (the part you can see on TV) and let the upper deck fill up later, once those seats are sold out. In other words, make the lower endzones and corners the cheap seats.

For what it's worth, Mosaic probably has a similar number of end zone seats as IG Field, it's just instead of lower deck seats behind both end zones, they have a lower deck and an upper deck behind one end zone. If you look at pictures of concerts at Mosaic, they lose seats in the corners too, much like IG Field.

And I guess if an act really wants to maximize seating they just have to do the Garth Brooks-style 360 stage and then they can use every seat in the joint, like this: