CFL: Where is this league headed?

In another thread it was implied the CFL was taking whatever meager scraps the NFL deemed leave us.

Electrician wrote:Getting back to the stadium, from what I've been reading from various blogs and comments, the NFL is attracting more and more Canadians and the CFL is sort of sitting back and gobbling at what they can get from their 10-ish home games' ticket sales.

Is this true? What does that mean to the CFL? Will the CFL die as a result of the presence of the NFL? Should ticket sales alone be a barometer of the health of the CFL?

After I suggested "e" needed to do some more research, JTF posted these stats:

JTF wrote:Is this not correct then?
1. Edmonton- 31,762- Down 743 from this point last year
2. Calgary- 31,711- Down 3,092 from this point last year
3. Saskatchewan- 30,048- Down 602 from this point last year
4. BC- 27,339- Up 301 from this point last year
5. Winnipeg- 26,784- Down 2,215 from this point last year
6. Montreal- 25,075- Up 4,875 from this point last year
7. Hamilton- 23,328- Up 792 from this point last year
8. Toronto- 19,975- Down 6,963 from this point last year

Based on that table would one believe the CFL is in trouble? Is one season (I assumed this was for the entire 2010 season. Actual.) a good barometer?

It was reported the CFL enjoyed remarkable TV ratings throughout the season for the games they broadcast. Is this a good barometer?

I also heard that the youth demographic for the CFL was growing in leaps and bounds. Is this a good barometer?

There is growing talk about CFL expansion in Canada. Ottawa will return in the near future. The Maritimes and Quebec City are on the radar. Is this a good barometer?

Both Montreal and Vancouver have made major renovations to their stadiums. Saskatchewan, Hamilton and Winnipeg have some sort of stadium plan in place. Is this a good barometer?

Compelling indicators?

Average television audience for a Canadian Football League game is 807,000, better than TSN draws for a National Hockey League game. So far, more than 11 million people have watched the four CFL playoff games on cable. Last Sunday, a record TV audience of 2.54 million people viewed the West final between Saskatchewan and Calgary, and 1.7 million watched Montreal beat Toronto, including 600,000 in French on RDS. The key 18-34 age group now represents 20% of overall viewership, an increase of 13% over last year. TSN's five-year contract for about $16-million annually? A bargain. Record viewership is anticipated for Sunday's Grey Cup rematch between the Roughriders and Alouettes. During Mark Cohon's term as commissioner, growth in sales of licensed merchandise is up 150% since 2007. Growth in the average size of a sponorship deal is up 35%. NFL-attuned Southern Ontario remains a tough hurdle for the league, but there isn't a single CFL franchise talking bankruptcy these days.

The record game cements the 2010 season as the most impressive regular season ever for the CFL in terms of television audiences. Audiences on TSN are up 35% compared to last season’s average audience*. Highlighting the schedule were 14 games that recorded audiences of more than one million viewers. The most-watched CFL games of the 2010 season include:

· Edmonton @ Saskatchewan on Nov. 6 – 1.35 million
· Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan on Sept. 5 (Labour Day Classic) – 1.34 million
· Calgary @ Saskatchewan on Sept. 17 – 1.22 million
· BC @ Winnipeg on Oct. 11 (Thanksgiving Day Game) – 1.19 million
· Saskatchewan @ BC on July 10 – 1.15 million
· Edmonton @ Calgary on Sept. 6 (Labour Day Classic) – 1.13 million

In 2009 the 97th Grey Cup competition between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Allouettes drew the largest TV audience in Grey Cup history with 6.4 million viewers. The November 29th, 2010 98th Grey Cup is second in Grey Cup history with 6.25 million viewers.

I tried to find NFL TV stats in Canada. This is all I've come up with so far (from January 2010):

Sunday’s NFC championship game between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings attracted an average audience of more than 2.6 million on CTV, making it the highest audience ever recorded for an NFL playoff game in Canada (excluding Super Bowls).

The audience peaked at more than 3.6 million viewers at 10:19 p.m. ET as the Saints’ Garrett Hartley (above) kicked a game-ending 40-yard field goal in overtime that moved the Saints into the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history against the Indianapolis Colts.

The AFC championship game between the Colts and New York Jets attracted an average audience of 2.3 million.

Interesting stats. Shows that both leagues are heavily watched. That bodes well for football in general me thinks. Which, BTW, I believe is on an incredible climb in Canada with huge increases in High School and University teams.

Out of curiosity, what would the CFL stats look like without NFL TV competition?

Posting about the demise of the CFL is up, with GOM's 5 posts. The CFL is doing just great. Income s up, which is the only thing that is important! That means the bosses are doing a good job in managing their income!

Long term indications are extrememly good , when you add in 10* warmer for global warming, that will allow many more fans to get out to enjoy a day out in a stadium with the danger of freezing to death greatly reduced.

Heh...viewership is probably based more on what is on TV at the time than on dedicated football fans I'd say.

I'd bet that few people watch a game which doesn't have their home team playing.

In my uneducated view, I'd say that the CFL is same old- same old.

I don't think CTV's ratings for the NFL are a good indicator. I am speculating but I am sure there are hundreds of thousands of Canadians that will watch on Fox, NBC, CBS etc as not all those games are simulcast in Canada.

I believe the CFL is in better shape than it has been in a long while, it would be nice to get more fans in Toronto, but they can't draw for the NFL either

Here is some very interesting reading for the folks that don't believe that a new stadium just MIGHT be affordable. Food for thought anywho.

http://onemancommittee.blogspot.com/2010/12/footing-bill-for-new-stadium.html

2009 Gate Receipts
Saskatchewan $10,237,989
Edmonton $7,664,148
Winnipeg $5,109,451

Think that's impressive? Consider this:

2009 Revenues
Saskatchewan $30,897,259
Edmonton $15,239,075
Winnipeg $14,478,320

Prior to discovering this I had no idea Saskatchewan had almost double the gate receipts and overall revenues than those of the Blue Bombers.

Now before I get attacked for even raising this it's merely food for thought. I frankly can't imagine Winnipeggers and Manitobans attaining the level of passion for their football team that our western neighbours have.

It's a nice thought though.

Do you think that an additional $15 million in revenue per year would mean anything positive? lol
I bet you every farmer and every potash miner are wearing Sask Roughrider sweat shirts!
Grumpy- what are the defects that make the stadium unpleasant?

Crumbling stairs. Nasty, nasty, nasty toilets. Total crappola for concessions. Uncomfortable seats that simply leave no room for comfort and people passing. Rude security staff. Plumbing that does not work well on the upper levels in larger crowds.

Attend a Moose game or a Goldeyes game. The aesthetics are like night and day.

Then it is time for a new stadium. Rude security cannot be fixed with a new stadium , unless they get the students working the games! Younger, prettier? and teachable!

grumpy old man wrote:Crumbling stairs. Nasty, nasty, nasty toilets.

Heck, that's exactly why they tore down Winnipeg Arena.
If only they could have come to terms on how much money the new toilets would have cost...
Sad though... those gutter toilets were awesome.

I don't feel safe when I climb the stairs or go down the stairs at the stadium, I usually sit in sections x or y and watch people struggle with the stairs, they are crumbling, there are far too few exits, bathrooms are deplorable, the ashphalt underneath the grandstands is shifting and makes walking dangerous, the concessions are pitiful. The leg room and seats are not comfortable. The scoreboard is difficult to see, impossible if you sit in the north end zone. The east side upper deck leaks onto the lower deck (I am hoping that it's just water) There is a massive pigeon problem, there are holes in the roof. The parking lot is a sea of potholes. The game day experience is horrible when compared to MTS Center or the Goldeyes or the concert hall etc.
I don't know how you can "fix" this stadium for $14 million as suggested. I would assume that once work starts you would then have to bring things up to today's codes

Besides it shows a commitment to our city and the things that make it great, to have a new stadium . Yes it cost money but do we really want Regina to beat us to the punch , hell they are banjo pickers

We must live within our means Pav.

Imo, and likely that of most people in this province, the stadium money would be better spent elsewhere.

Commitment to debt is more like it btw.

Yes and some said that when the present stadium was built .

JTF wrote:We must live within our means Pav.

Imo, and likely that of most people in this province, the stadium money would be better spent elsewhere.

Commitment to debt is more like it btw.

Living within our means isn't fun.

Going deeper into debt, ie. "investment for the future," is the reality of what happens when government tries to socialize anything.

Pavolo wrote:Yes and some said that when the present stadium was built .

Wrong. It was well accepted by the public as it was agreed that the Bombers had outgrown the old Osborne Stadium, built to accomodate 7K fans.

Canada Inns Stadium was originally built to accomodate around 15K.

And don't forget, the '50s were a very different time...we had loads of money and times were good. That ain't the way it is today I'm afraid.

Pavolo wrote:Besides it shows a commitment to our city and the things that make it great, to have a new stadium . Yes it cost money but do we really want Regina to beat us to the punch , hell they are banjo pickers

Yes, we must keep up with the Jones Saskatchewan.

Yes we must to attract people to this city as well as have a good public Transit system , this is a investment in our city . Every major stadium project in the last 20yrs has had goverment involvement . If we wait for private investors we have to give them one hell of a reason to do it IE tax cuts or savings . And private investors mean that they can sell out if they decided to . Which means we the tax payer are left holding the bag anyway .

Triniman and jtf talk of future investments like what the sink hole called education and health care which both are so inefficient with the money they now have . The only ones who seem to be able to suck up that money are the nurses and the teachers who are waiting for their fat raises again this year . The talk is both want 3to 4 percent again this year what a fricking crock for a job your are off for 4 months of the year . Then of course the civil service which is rather handsomely paid too never mind the time off for all the wrong reasons IE time off cause the holiday fell on a day off so we get another day to make up for that . Government is one big spending machine no matter what you or I want . Or is it okay to spend it on something you use , and want only . remember that it was goverment that put this project together under suitable funding programs , while David was invoved .

Funny no private sector cept Leo stepped up to take on this project with tax concessions . David was BS to begin with , so who is left in that big pool of investors in Manitoba . The key to this deal is the revanue streams are the Bombers to use and yes tickets go up . But then you people will whine about that .

Besides rapid Transit has been talked and study for 45 yrs and still no agrement to as how it will be done any idea how much we have spent on studies of that subject .

Let's keep on topic: CFL: Where is this league headed?

I am standing here on the 21 st flr. of a new condo build ( one of several dozen builds in the Metro area, this one on the Gardiner by the CNE ) ) and all I can say to peggers......you have no idea of the scale and magnitude of projects that are rolling out here.

Seriously, you have no comprehension of what Winnipeg needs if you are touting rapid transit as an investment in its future.