a couple of things i need to get off my chest
#1: People bashing the argo's attendance...i was at the playoff game against the eskimos and i was wondering why the upper level was closed off??, i was thinking the argo's were too cheap to leave it open and pay for concessions or something, also because of this, the lowest ticket price was something like $60-70ish..im not sure who the idiot that was responsible for this but why not open up the upper bowl and sell some economical tickets for $25.00? i bet there is 1000's of more people that would have went, the montreal eastern finals were selling tickets for $25.00 in the upper level..i blame poor decision making upstairs for the low attendance
This is a big problem with almost every Toronto team with the exception of the Blue Jays.
If you listened to Tom Anselmi over the last few years, while MLSE was jacking up ticket prices for the pathetic TFC (and before this years capitulation and slashing prices), they talked alot about how ticket prices aren't set by the quality of the product, but rather the market in general. i.e., don't compare prices to other teams in that particular league, compare them to other teams in Toronto. Basically, it is the belief (or more accurately, hope) of Toronto sports execs that, regardless of the league, their tickets should be priced in relation to the Maple Leafs, not the Eskimos or DC United.
This absolutely kills franchises that are trying to establish themselves. People won't spend $100 for a pair of tickets to a sporting event they are only marginally interested in. It is like Toronto execs don't subscribe to the theory of "bums in seats". They would rather charge twice as much for a half full building as opposed to charging half as much for a full one.
It is like they are terrified that Toronto sports fans will eventually realize they're being ripped off if prices dip too low.
This is a big reason why I take such glee in the massive failure that is/was the Bills in Toronto Series. Those prices were worse than a joke, they were a slap in the face. I don't care what the prices are, or if someone offered me a pair of free tickets, I would refuse to go simply on principle.