EDMONTON - EDMONTON - Doug Goss doesn't think it's all about Edmonton. He thinks it's all about Canada.
Selling 17,500 Grey Cup tickets in a four-hour span on the first day the sale was open to the general public and following that up by selling 4,241 more on Day 2 to push the total to 52,747 a dozen days before the first pre-season game has brought a feel good national focus on the City of Champions. The second day sale is more what they expected for the first day sale.
“It's remarkable for sure. I honestly believe a lot of this is about a real
Canadian pride that's taking hold,” said Goss, the man who chaired the Heritage Classic and co-chairs the Grey Cup committee.
“I think people care and really want to celebrate things that are Canadian right now,” added the man who heads the project which will be announced Thursday — an attempt to fill Commonwealth Stadium June 28 to parade Canada's two gold medal-winning hockey teams through the place like they did with the last Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup team 20 years ago.
“I think a lot of pride was developed from the Vancouver Olympics. And I think a lot of people have long identified the Grey Cup, which is 98 years old, as a great place to celebrate Canadiana.
“I've been on the CFL board three years now and I think Mark Cohon's plan of making the CFL a national brand with 'This Is Our Game' marketing has played a big part, too.”
If the the story Tuesday was 'Wow!', Wednesday the story was 'How?'
How, with 4,241 more tickets sold on Day 2 of general sales, do you sell
17,747 tickets in the first day and a half they're on sale to the general public after the first 35,000 were originally sold to season ticket holders?
It can't be all about Canada.
“Well, we do put on a pretty good show here. We do it right” Goss grinned.
Indeed. That might be the biggest factor of all.
“Anyone who has come to a previous Grey Cup in Edmonton has had a pretty good time here,” said Eskimos' CEO Rick LeLacheur. “I think past performance is a big part of it.”
Maybe the real story here is that what's happening this week is going to mean that Edmonton's Grey Cup committee is going to be able to put on an even bigger and better show than the “best-ever” one they already had planned.
“It gives us a lot of flexibility to do a lot of creative stuff and add a lot of little bells and whistles with the events surrounding the game itself. We can use the money we had targeted for marketing to focus on all the other things,” said Goss.
“We're six months out and while we've very much been planning a best-ever absolutely first class event, we're going to be able to take it to another level now.”
What happened may also inspire the Eskimos to spend more money in their own marketing and sales areas to help the team out of the inevitable “tough ticket” situations in the regular season. That could make a big difference in getting from 40,000 to 50,000, as evidenced by Labour Day Replay games against Calgary and the games against Saskatchewan (of which there are two this season.)
“I think the season ticket holder buying more than usual number this year created a tough ticket situation on Day 1 of general sales,” said CEO Rick LeLacheur of selling 35,000 to Eskimos season ticket holders before opening up sales to non-season ticket holders here and fans from coast to coast and in several U.S. states.
LeLacheur thinks there's another thing at play.
“One thing I know is that there seems to be a lot of excitement around the things happening around the stadium,” he said of the $112 million plus project.
“I think the fact we're able to price the tickets 30% lower than most Grey
Cups because of the size of our stadium and not needing to put up temporary seats helps, too.”
Everything combined, it's created the perfect Grey Cup ticket sales storm.
terry.jones@sunmedia.ca
