Argonauts try to generate fan interest with playoff match
HAMILTON — By earning the right to host the Canadian Football League’s Eastern final at BMO Field, the Toronto Argonauts have been presented with an incredible opportunity. They can also advance to the Grey Cup.
The Argos’ struggle for relevancy in the packed Toronto entertainment market are well documented but team president Michael Copeland is hoping a home playoff date — not to mention two weeks to sell it — could be an important step in the club’s long march back to prominence.
“I think this has the opportunity to boost what we’re trying to do here than anything else we’ve done before,” Copeland said.
Toronto will host its first post-season game since moving from cavernous and perpetually empty Rogers Centre two seasons ago on Nov. 19, giving the team just under two weeks to fill 26,000 seats. The team has adopted an aggressive marketing strategy that adds a large dose of traditional media to its already extensive digital footprint, including billboards, print, radio and television ads.
They are also leveraging the extensive media properties under the control of part-owner Bell Media: running back James Wilder was on the TV show The Social on Monday morning.
“We’re not assuming that everybody has had the greatest relationship with the Argos, we’re trying to cast a way net to bring those people in,” Copeland said.
As they’ve been all season, the Argos have also been aggressive in their pricing with tickets for the East final ranging from $19 to around $150. With a season ticket base of just 4,000 or so, that means having a lot of ground to make up, one ticket at a time.
“It’s absolutely a focus of ours that this is an affordable game, and we understand who our fan base are,” Copeland. They’ve also learned their lesson: the team was heavily criticized when it announced skyhigh ticket prices for last season’s Grey Cup, which was also held at BMO Field. Sales were sluggish and the team was forced to slash prices and give away scores of tickets to sponsors and partners in order to fill the stadium.
“If we’re going take anything away from Grey Cup, it’s that there’s still work to be done in this market,” Copeland said.
That’s a change, as well. The move to BMO Field was touted as a magic elixir for a languishing franchise. Copeland now realizes the return to relevancy will be a long, slow process.