Average attendance for Argos games was 14,000 last season at BMO Field, which seats roughly 26,000GETTY IMAGES
Fans of the CFL Toronto Argonauts can "expect lower ticket prices this season, along with tailgating inside the stadium and branding focused on the team’s roots as a rowing club," according to Tara Deschamps of the CP. The changes are part of MLSE's "ambitious efforts to revamp the Argos after years of attendance woes, and build a fan base as large and rabid as MLSE’s other teams." The Argos on their way to winning the '17 Grey Cup "averaged 14,000 fans last season at BMO Field, a stadium that seats roughly 26,000." MLSE said that it will "target millennials new to the CFL experience as well as longtime Argos supporters." To get fans to games, the average ticket price will be "rolled back" by 23%, meaning about 2,600 tickets "will be sold" for as low as C$15 per game for season’s seat holders and $19 per game for single-seat buyers. The Argos will "'condense' seating, by selling tickets in the lower bowl first and keeping the upper deck on the east side empty, unless demand increases to fill those seats." The team will also "nix tailgating parties in the parking lots outside BMO Field and move them into the stadium." Argos President Bill Manning said that MLSE is "toying with specials and an area at the north end of the stadium that could be built out" for tailgating. Meanwhile, fans will be able to "purchase new Argos merchandise emblazoned with cannons, shields and typography inspired by old cuts of wood." The nautical themes are "rooted in the team’s past as part of the Argonaut Rowing Club" (CP, 4/10).
FROM COAST TO COAST: THE ATHLETIC's Sean Fitz-Gerald noted of all the new merchandise the Argos plan to roll out, one piece is "certain to raise eyebrows the highest." It is a T-shirt "featuring a map of Canada, with the word 'Toronto' written across most of the country." Manning said, "We're going to be the big, bad dog. We're going to be the big, bad Toronto. And we're going to to relish that." He added, "It's a persona that will actually bring the locker room even more together: 'We are Toronto, and everyone else hates us.' I think we'll have some fun with it." CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said, "The CFL is no longer interested in being the humble, church mouse league" (THEATHLETIC.com, 4/9).
