CFL attendance numbers this season "have been suffering, while at the same time, TV ratings are on the rise," according to Gerry Moddejonge of the EDMONTON SUN. CFL Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge said of attendance, "There are always going to be peaks and valleys and slight dips, but I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned about because the league is healthy." Moddejonge notes for Thursday's Eskimos-Lions game at BC Place Stadium, there were "plenty of empty seats," and those were "just in the sections you could see, never mind the entire upper bowl that was draped off." Orridge: "We’ve got to analyze at some point whether it’s a data point or a trend. It’s really always a balance, we’re still a gate-driven league but the fact that we’ve got such great television coverage is something that we’re aware of, that people often times decide based on weather conditions or anything else, they may actually just stay home and watch the game on TV." Moddejonge writes selling out the CFL’s new 24,000-seat stadiums in places such as Hamilton and Ottawa "isn’t as difficult as trying to fill the monstrous venues built in what is quickly becoming a bygone era of sports" (EDMONTON SUN, 8/11).
LOOKING FOR A TURNAROUND: In Vancouver, Lowell Ullrich notes BC Lions President & CEO Dennis Skulsky yesterday appeared on TSN Radio 1040 Vancouver, and his audience for the most part was "willing to cut the team some slack for a 3-3 start and a massive drop in attendance." Skulsky "expressed satisfaction about the move to limit ticket sales this year to the lower bowl at BC Place Stadium." TSN Radio Vancouver's Matt Sekeres "didn’t waste much time getting to the biggest issue regarding attendance numbers bordering on 2002 levels, and Skulsky didn’t try to dodge the downturn." He said of a possible turnaround, "This is not gonna happen overnight. Winning games and a better fan experience will bring people back.” Skulsky admitted that Thursday home games "are less desirable, promised to look into whether season ticket down payment plans before Christmas were prohibitive, and vowed to keep advertising off the turf at BC Place" (THEPROVINCE.com, 8/10).
