Ottawa Citizen

REDBLACKS HOPING FOR `BIG BOUNCE BACK'

CFL team sees pent-up demand for tickets in return to the field

- TIM BAINES tbaines@postmedia.com

While the thought of putting 15,000 people in Ottawa's TD Place stadium for a football game in 2021 may have seemed far-fetched not long ago, it's now very much a reality.

And by the time the Ottawa Redblacks' first home game happens on Aug. 28 vs. the B.C. Lions, it's possible — maybe likely — the number could be significan­tly more than the 15,000fan limit recently announced by the provincial government. With declining numbers of COVID -19 cases, the Redblacks and the other Ontario teams — Toronto and Hamilton — could be looking at clearance for something much closer to a full house.

It sure didn't seem all of this was possible a couple of months ago when even playing a CFL season might have been in doubt, with at least a couple of ownership groups reluctant to play games without fans.

“We had projection­s and scenarios set at different levels, and even 15,000 we would have thought was optimistic,” said Adrian Sciarra, Ottawa Sports and Entertainm­ent Group's senior vice-president of sports business operations. “Fifteen thousand is good news and if it's more, which we hope it is, that's even better, much better than what we had been thinking.”

Season-ticket renewal rates for the Redblacks are at about 96-97 per cent of the pre-pandemic number. The team has about 11,000 season-ticket holders, with another 1,500 or so on a waiting list to see if they can get into games this year. The team is just starting to sell flex packs and that will significan­tly increase the number of seats that have been sold. Some former season-ticket holders are unsure if they want to attend games in 2021 and have chosen to defer their packages, but it's not a big number.

“It's only going to get better as we go through the summer here and we keep reporting low case counts and zero deaths,” said OSEG president and CEO Mark Goudie. “We're in a good place right now. By the time we get playing at the end of August, I think we'll be at more

than 15,000 fans. I think it will be close to full capacity. I don't know that we expected that, but we hoped for it. That's what we need to start preparing for come Aug. 28. Redblacks is going to feel more like Redblacks than we anticipate­d it would.”

Before releasing individual game tickets, the team is waiting until closer to August to see how many season seats are sold, plus how many fans they'll be allowed to host in the stadium

“Season tickets (or flex packs) are the way to guarantee you can come to a game,” Sciarra said. “Individual tickets, we hope we can put on a sale, but it's still a TBD, depending on what the capacity level is.”

There's a very good chance fans will be asked to wear masks within the stadium.

“The government talked about that, I fully endorse it,” Goudie said. “This (pandemic) is going to be with us for some time. When we open up, there will be masks. It's not just us, I think that will be society for some time. If that's the worst of our inconvenie­nces, I think we're in a pretty good place.”

The CFL cancelled its 2020 season after considerin­g putting its nine teams in a bubble in Winnipeg and playing there.

“Our big worry was if we weren't able to do it this year,” Goudie said. “People understand the challenges. Football's hard. Big rosters, lots of travel, short season — it's a hard thing to take on the road and figure out

a bubble and things like that, so I think people understand the first year. But I was scared of what would happen if we didn't get back to playing football this year. After our schedule was released, within 24 hours there were a thousand people reaching out to us — people who weren't season-ticket holders, looking for tickets. That tells me there's a pent-up demand for what we have going on here.”

Because of that lost season, there's a lot of catching up to do.

“What we need to do is what we did in 2014, we tried to build a community, have a sense of community around RNation and Redblacks fans,” Goudie said. “It's not just about football, it's about everything that comes with it. If we do our job well, the magic dust in it is you don't need to be a football fan to enjoy a night out at a Redblacks game. You can enjoy the people around you, you can enjoy the vibrancy of the crowd, which is awesome. The more people you add to the mix, the more exciting it becomes and starts building on itself. Long term with the Redblacks, we need to continue to create a community of people who are fully bought in, in terms of what it means to have a football experience here at TD Place, with the Redblacks being the showpiece of that.”

“We're optimistic there's going to be a big bounce back,” Sciarra said. “It's hard in football — a six-month season where you're out of market for so long, then

you add a season where you don't play. We need this, with guys back on the field and real things happening.”

FLANDERS STEPS UP

Timothy Flanders has the early jump on the job as the Redblacks' starting running back. Playing in the enormous shadow of star running back Andrew Harris in Winnipeg, he rushed for 281 yards in 2016 and 254 in 2017. And now, with Redblacks head coach Paul LaPolice (the former Blue Bombers offensive co-ordinator) again calling the plays, opportunit­y knocks. Said Flanders in a post-practice Zoom call Monday: “It was one of the reasons I signed with Ottawa, getting that chance. At the same time, if I start, I start, if I don't, I don't. I'm somewhat more knowledgea­ble of the offence than some others so I'm trying to pass that long. And since I have more knowledge, I'm trying to take it to the next level.” Said LaPolice: “We have some good backs in camp, but the best thing about Tim is he's such a good teammate. We have a bunch of guys learning a new system, he's getting guys lined up, he's getting guys organized and he's great with his protection­s. He's a pretty dynamic back.” While waiting for his latest football opportunit­y, Flanders was teaching at a high school as a long-term substitute. With a college degree in bachelor of business administra­tion, management informatio­n systems, he's working toward

another in cybersecur­ity.

THE END AROUND

It was a good day for receiver R.J. Harris and for several Redblacks defenders, including Marcus Roberson with an intercepti­on late in practice, who came away with turnovers. Asked about the defensive effort Monday, LaPolice said: “There was a lot of flying around, some physicalit­y. The defence got a bunch of take-aways, which is what we've been preaching. A priority we set is we want to be great at taking the ball away. Unfortunat­ely, somebody has to pay the price when you're doing it in practice. It's great our defence made those plays. As the head coach, I'm happy. As the offensive co-ordinator, I'm a little cranky, we have work to do.” … Redblacks offensive line coach Bob Wylie, a longtime NFLer who became really famous for his appearance on HBO's Hard Knocks, is entertaini­ng with his on-field commentary, even for listeners several yards away in the northside stands. … Asked about strong veteran leadership presence, LaPolice mentioned the two Averys — Ellis and Williams. … Offensive lineman Ketel Asse, who the Redblacks got in the eighth round of the 2020 CFL Draft, has been moved inside to guard, a position he hasn't played in several years. Said Asse: “I'm learning every day. In the CFL, the guys are bigger and faster, you have to adjust.”

 ?? TONY CALDWELL ?? Running back Timothy Flanders, right, takes a handoff on day two of the Ottawa Redblacks' training camp at TD Place on Monday. “It was one of the reasons I signed with Ottawa, getting that chance,” Flanders said.
TONY CALDWELL Running back Timothy Flanders, right, takes a handoff on day two of the Ottawa Redblacks' training camp at TD Place on Monday. “It was one of the reasons I signed with Ottawa, getting that chance,” Flanders said.
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