Between '99 and '10, the Alouettes played 105 consecutive sellout games GETTY IMAGES
The CFL Montreal Alouettes’ season-ticket base for the '18 season "will be about 8,500, down from 10,000" in '17, when the team "averaged 19,521 spectators at Molson Stadium," the league's smallest venue (capacity: 23,500), according to Herb Zurkowsky of the MONTREAL GAZETTE. The Alouettes "played to 105 consecutive sellouts" from '99-'10. Despite the decline, Alouettes GM Kavis Reed and President & CEO Patrick Boivin last week "could do no wrong" as they "answered questions from about 150 season-ticket holders for an hour." Boivin said, "We’re tracking on par with where we thought we would be. Generally speaking, people enjoy what we do at the stadium, the overall ambience and experience. ... But we still need to win some games." One fan said that the atmosphere "isn’t the same and complained of embarrassing halftime shows." Another wondered why "more Quebec-born players weren’t drafted last Thursday." But the "general mood was positive; most expressed a wish to see a competitive and exciting team -- one that will make some progress and provide them with a feeling of optimism" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 5/8).
