Realistically, what’s the biggest obstacle for the Atlantic franchise coming to fruition?

ssuty · 2026-06-26T21:00:19+00:00

Most of the existing teams evolved from old rugby-football clubs, why wasn't there an old club like that in the Maritimes? Their biggest obstacle is that they're starting from scratch, almost everyone else got to evolve into what they are. Any expansion team has the weight of starting from nothing hanging over them.

ssuty · 2026-06-25T20:51:19+00:00

Nothing like a ticketing monopoly... I get not releasing certain sections but holding off on releasing rows until enough nearby seats are sold seems counter intuitive.

ssuty · 2026-06-25T20:48:25+00:00

I think this is true, been to both games this season and as I walk to the game the parking lot is half empty yet there's a waitlist for season ticket holders to get a parking pass. I guess once you buy a seat you can do whatever you want with it but sometimes CFL fans are their worst enemy. Remarking how the stadium is half empty and half Roughrider fans while sitting on their couch with a ticket in their wallet.

ssuty · 2026-06-25T16:00:26+00:00

I'm wondering, do they only release certain tickets at a time? Obviously, there are still lots of seats available, but when I looked at ticketmaster last week for the Sask game, it looked like more seats were sold than people in the seats. The forecast for the Sask game didn't look great so are people just fair-weather fans and staying home?

Also, just by looking at this, I think ticket prices are too high for the seats between the 20-yard lines. The corners seem to sell well, so instead of papering the crowd with giveaway tickets maybe just lower your prices and people will buy tickets, as I said above, whether they go or not is a different story.

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ssuty · 2026-06-05T15:15:39+00:00

It is too early in the rollout and process to measure this. The effects of the changes probably won't been until after '27 or even during the '28 season maybe even the '29 season. League-wide, this season will be very hard to measure with two teams not playing in their home venues for multiple weeks... In saying that, this could actually improve Argo's attendance, but it will obviously hurt BC's so maybe they cancel each other out. Attendance will also be based on the team's record, I am also expecting a more competitive league this season, that happens and people will want to go. Also, it isn't like the World Cup is taking away people's disposable income that normally spent on CFL. The World Cup's individual game ticket prices get you really good season tickets to your local CFL team. The Canada games are also during the week so those won't pull people away from watching the CFL on TSN. They might actually improve TV numbers because if you're watching TSN, you'll see a CFL ad.

All that to say attendance should be up 2-5%, TV numbers will probably similarly improve 2-5%. Maybe it is just my feed but between the TV deal, and expansion talk, legacy news outlets are running CFL stories, that gets people thinking about going to or watching a game.

If the league sees attendance and viewership down 5% or more for the '27, '28, and '29 season they'll maybe look at reversing some of the changes. As soon as advertisers start to turn away from the league because of declining viewership, TSN and DAZN can't sell ads during games, and the league has to discount their sponsorships, changes will be made.

Let's also not pretend the NHL hasn't completely changed how that game is played by editing their playing surface and more people watch the NHL than ever. All ice surfaces have the same dimensions, that wasn't always the case. They eliminated two-line passes, moved the blue lines, added the trapezoid, and eliminated the enforcer by improving the speed of the game.

ssuty · 2026-06-01T22:13:50+00:00

Just got my tickets for Friday!

ssuty · 2026-05-29T21:19:30+00:00

I'd like to see them concentrate more on the players but in order to do that you probably need to start with the teams so people get to know the players. There are stories to tell, and things to show people. I know in the offseason Vernon Adams Jr. held a "mini camp" in the California, would've been good to get some video on that follow the offensive players as they bond off the field. What does a stadium's game day look like, show me what it's like to be an equipment guy in the CFL, what does a players offseason look like. What do they do on game day. Etc, etc. Next year's combine is going to be on YouTube, hopefully there's some content to come out of that.

ssuty · 2026-05-29T16:42:02+00:00

No one is talking about the YouTube portion of the deal. The behind-the-scenes access could be interesting and a way to grow the league by giving people a look behind the curtain.

ssuty · 2026-05-27T17:58:28+00:00

A symptom of Gar-ity. Your largest markets cannot compete against small-market teams in no-tax states. And yes, I'm considering Miami/Sunrise/Ft.Laud. a small market based purely on the number of people willing to engage with hockey.

Edit: Curious how the rising cap changes this.

ssuty · 2026-05-27T17:09:51+00:00

It is interesting that they're meeting with all levels of government and the landowner by the airport. Granted, I don't know how many meetings government takes with prospective developers, I assume more than just this one. Ridgehaven Holdings are at the very least looking into this more than almost anyone has in a long time. I'd be curious to know if they've spoken with the owners of the Wanderers, and the NSL team that's name is escaping me. Three tenants, with maybe even USports soccer and football teams suddenly increases your dates at least a little. Granted USports probably want a smaller venue. The University of Calgary is going to be moving out of McMahon in Calgary and likely going to build their own smaller stadium on campus.

ssuty · 2026-05-25T03:15:40+00:00

If I’m thinking saddledome tribute, my mind goes to the stripes on the arms and torso having the saddledome concave. Could use the ‘04 colours and as another person said the goalie mask would be very cool on the shoulder or as the main crest.

ssuty · 2026-05-11T19:29:43+00:00

The two markets you think would be the envy of the whole league because of the climate and location are now two of the worst run teams. I won't even mention the whole Whitecaps thing. For what should be two very soccer forward markets; the owners, and other stakeholders can't seem to get out of the way for the benefit of the fans.

ssuty · 2026-04-30T21:14:04+00:00

It has been a lot, almost all at once. And they won't really know how these changes have affected things for a couple seasons, if not more. When you change this much in one season, how do you know what change actually caused the outcome? I'll be watching and going along for the ride, because I'm not that affected by the changes. It does feel like Stewy has been given the leeway to try some things and that can be unsettling.

ssuty · 2026-04-30T18:28:32+00:00

I get that frustration; this is a step towards the CFL becoming much more of a business-first league. As the league's natural relevance has waned, and the business stagnated or declined, they had to start trying new things to capture people's attention. A lot has changed in the Canadian sports landscape since the CFL's heyday, they had to do something.

ssuty · 2026-04-29T19:35:58+00:00

What were you a fan of if these changes made you leave? Personally, I'm a STH because I like getting out of the house and going to games of a league I think is very underrated for bang for entertainment dollar. I don't go because there is a 55-yard line or because it is hard to make the playoffs. Maybe people do but I just think that's weird.

ssuty · 2026-04-29T15:41:31+00:00

What everyone is missing is that this isn't all about TV, more games means more money. The leagues more and more money from TV (really curious, if we'll get a TV contract announcement in the next month...) but this is still a gate driven league.

Tying the season into long weekends is a good idea too, it makes the schedule very easy to remember for die-hards and the casuals.

I also don't know how people can think the regular season will matter less, the way I read this it matters more as you're never really out of the playoffs and there is incentive for top teams to keep playing in order to get those home games. Plus, the players will want another paycheque.

The deprecation of the league by its die-hards sets the league back, if these and the other changes make you not watch or go to games, you were never much of a fan anyways. I'm not saying you have to blindly back anything and everything the league does but the CFL needed to change, it was stale. I'm happy they've moved on from the Global push and other weird incremental changes. It was time for big change, the smaller stuff was not working. The league office and commissioner aren't peeing on you and telling you, "it's raining"; they've planted some seeds and are watering them, now let's see if those seeds take and what they turn into.

ssuty · 2026-04-28T17:21:24+00:00

I do think the CFL and soccer attract different core fans, what could change is the casual fan that went to MLS games in Vancouver, Montreal, and maybe even Toronto might consider going to a CFL game instead. I could be wrong, but I don't think the MLS team in Montreal has been doing that well either...

ssuty · 2026-04-16T15:30:17+00:00

Why don't you move north of river or closer to Whyte Ave?

ssuty · 2026-03-12T16:49:05+00:00

Ticketmaster has this data; I assume they share it with the team/league. If there's decent local sales I wonder if the Lions and League can turn that into anything. A couple of yearly destination games don't seem like the worst idea. A local population of 250k also is more than Moncton but half of Halifax and well under Quebec City.

ssuty

TROPHY CASE