Roughriders Mailbag: Attendance issues? Passing yards problem?

National Post

6 hours ago

Welcome to another edition of the Roughriders Mailbag where we answer questions readers have about the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
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After last week's season-opening win against the Ottawa Redblacks, the Roughriders are now set for two straight road games as they visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday before visiting the Toronto Argonauts on June 20.
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Before then, let's dive in on some issues sent in by readers as Week 2 of the CFL season approaches.
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While injuries were a major concern of fans after Thursday's season opener, attendance was another issue brought up several times.
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The Roughriders announced 25,973 tickets were distributed for the club's CFL season opener, but obviously there were fewer inside Mosaic Stadium. Now if only the team would provide us with actual scanned attendance…
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It's no secret that fewer fans are attending games in person. Roughriders president Craig Reynolds told the Leader-Post this off-season that increasing season ticket sales was the club's primary focus. The team has developed some new perks for season ticket holders this year. But is that enough? We haven't got an update on season tickets sales this year after three straight years of decline. Last year, there were 15,500 season tickets sold.
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While playing on a Thursday obviously isn't great for the out-of-town fans, there's a larger issue at hand when it comes to increasing attendance.
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Last year, Reynolds said the team sold the most single-game tickets they've ever sold. That's obviously a new trend where fans are choosing individual games to attend and not committing to season tickets. This year, the two hottest games — the season opener and the Labour Day Classic — were offered as a package deal. Usually package deals aren't used on your hot-ticket items.
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Does that have to do with affordability? Comfort of watching from home? Tickets, food and drinks aren't necessarily cheap. Winning helps, but it isn't everything anymore. Every single non-ticket buyer has their reason(s) for not going.