Published on March 18, 2010 9:12 PM by dbo.

I failed to link to the announcement on ticket sales for the Sept. 26 Touchdown Atlantic game between the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts. A special pre-sale occurs March 24 for individuals and families with general ticket sales available March 25. Monctonians should take advantage of the pre-sale if they want to guarantee themselves a seat. The CFL has done a good job keeping ticket prices reasonable for a one game excursion to a small stadium. The game is to be preceded by a week of activities, bringing a small festival atmosphere to the event.

The CFL has priced tickets in five tiers. Half of the tickets are priced under $50, which are the Crimson and Bronze end-zone sections. Silver, Gold and Platinum sideline seats range from $59 to $79. These ticket prices are comparable to Montreal’s pricing in the comparably sized Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.

Update 2011: The touchdownatlantic.ca site is no more, so here is the Stade Moncton Stadium seating plan from 2010. The 2011 configuration can be found on the Touchdown Atlantic page. The links below for 2010 are broken.

Update: A more detailed seating plan can be found on the Touchdown Atlantic site, including this high-resolution stadium map with section numbers and stadium directions (see Google Maps location below).

The Moncton organizers of this event, the CFL and the teams involved all are expecting (or guaranteeing) a sellout of 20,500 for this game. While the CFL wishes to show the game’s support in the region for potential investors and provide exposure to Maritime fans, they also must respect the bottom line. The CFL is not in a position to hold loss leader games.

The agreement to place this game in Moncton has not been revealed. I expect the Moncton Organizing Committee had to purchase the game from the Argos/CFL, guaranteeing them a minimum amount for the game. Then, with ticket sales, festival events and city and provincial support if needed, Touchdown Atlantic will attempt to recoup those costs and make a profit if possible. I can’t guess if that is accurate of the agreement, but I can examine the revenue expected from the game.

Using the information provided by the CFL (ticket prices, half of the seats are under $50) and the seating chart, I first eyeballed what I thought were the capacity of each section and calculated the revenue for each tier. I then went further, actually calculating the area size of each seating tier on the seating plan in order to calculate the seat percentage against the expected capacity (20,500). These results were very close to my original estimates. Therefore, I estimate that ticket revenue for this game will be between $1.1 and $1.2 million.

Of course, these numbers are calculated guesses only. They are dependent on the the seating estimates, which are taken from the seating plan which may not be to scale or may have differences in seating densities. However, without counting the seats I believe they are the best estimate and a very accurate representation of the stadium. The expected small adjustments in the actual seats in each tier would have limited affect on the actual gross revenue total, so I am confident to state the ticket revenue from the game will be between $1.1 and $1.2 million, assuming a sellout.

Update: It appears the game was purchased from the Argos/CFL for $1.5 million if Premier Shawn Graham’s quote can be interpreted that way, so I am more confident in my estimates for ticket revenue.

These are gross revenue numbers, before any expenses. I won’t go so far as trying to calculate costs like the stadium rent, event security, ticket printing, administrative and travel costs or other revenue streams like concessions, souvenirs and other events. It is clear that if the Maritimes embraces this event it will be successful for all involved.

A successful 2010 Touchdown Atlantic may lead to a multi-year or longer term commitment to hold these games in Atlantic Canada. Continued success will prove the marketplace. Showing the market has the potential for $10 million in ticket sales a year will make a Maritime franchise plausible with investors, allowing focus to switch to stadium solutions. 2010 could very well be known as the year the CFL started the drive that scored the winning touchdown in Atlantic Canada.

Update: Location of Stade Moncton Stadium

View interactive map

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Scoring a Touchdown in Atlantic Canada was published on March 18, 2010 9:12 PM by dbo.

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This article is categorized under Game and tagged with moncton and touchdown-atlantic.

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