Ottawa Redblacks selling more tickets for remaining home games

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Encouraging news for the Ottawa Redblacks: In the weeks to come, the team is expecting its two biggest home crowds of the Canadian Football League season.

Remember back to the early days of the Redblacks when there was a long string of sellouts — more than 25,000 fans packed TD Place each game?

Four straight seasons of losing records, plus COVID-19, turned that upside down. And, even with a 7-3-1 record, second best in the CFL, the Redblacks have, so far, had trouble getting 20,000 fans into the stadium. Fans can’t say they’re staying away because the team stinks.

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Up next is a Saturday home date versus the Toronto Argonauts in a Family Day afternoon game (1 p.m.).

“We see positive signs, and we are looking at our next two games very likely being our two best of the season from an attendance perspective,” Redblacks president Adrian Sciarra said. “As we’ve said around here, it doesn’t just turn on a dime. The analogy we use is, ‘You’re turning around a cruise ship, not a speedboat.’ We hope to do better and we think we’re on the right track.”

If only the Redblacks could control the weather on game days. If only. A couple of times this season, attendance has been affected by bad weather. The current forecast is calling for rain Saturday. But, as we know, weather patterns can quickly change.

And, if only drawing more fans was as simple as winning more football games. If only.

“One win or one great game doesn’t necessarily turn people from not attending to attending,” Sciarra said. “There’s been a bit more of a wait-and-see, which we can appreciate after the last couple of years.”

In past years, the Redblacks have struggled to win at home. Many season-ticket holders have cancelled, some of them buying tickets for single games rather than the entire package.

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This year, the Redblacks are undefeated at TD Place; they’re 5-0-1. According to fans that fill out surveys, the team is doing a lot of things right.

“Of course we want to win every game, but the games at home, from a fan perspective, really matter,” Sciarra said. “Results of the survey we do after every game have been outstanding, The feedback from fans and rankings we get go back to (what we heard in) the early days of Redblacks.

“That’s really encouraging. It means people are leaving happy — happy with the game, happy with the experience — and more likely to come back and/or tell a friend to come. We see lots of signs pointing to improvement. We’re going to see some of that in these next couple of games.”

Getting more season-ticket holders and not counting as much on a walkup crowd is a work in progress.

“Quite frankly, some season-seat members aren’t returning,” Sciarra said. “What we are seeing is a lot of new fans attending. That’s something we’re diving into. We’re talking to former season-seat members. We’re reaching out to really understand what it will take to have them return. We’ll focus twofold: both on what we call ‘winbacks’ of former season-seat members, but also acquisition of new ones.

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“Between seasons, we get feedback (on why season-ticket holders are leaving) — whether it’s team performance, people have moved away or whatever it is. In season it’s a little different — when somebody’s made a decision, to have them change midstream is a bit different. To make the decision to come all the way back is tougher in the middle of the season and we’re hopeful we see more of that in the off-season going into next year.”

Is winning the most important factor for attendance?

“It’s not as simple as that,” Sciarra said. “I’ve always said it’s the entire experience. Winning and the on-field performance matter most. But everything matters: from getting to and from the stadium to all the different aspects of the in-game presentation. That’s pre-game parties and half-time, different themes we have happening to food and beverage. There are all sorts of things that play into a fan’s overall experience and they all matter.”

After facing Toronto on Saturday, the Redblacks have home dates with Montreal (Sept. 21, 3 p.m. start) and Hamilton (Oct. 25).

“I’m excited about all three of our remaining home games,” Sciarra said. “It’s becoming a rivalry game with Montreal, and we see Alouettes fans coming in. Our final game of the year, as always, is our fan appreciation — we’ve got special things planned to to thank our fans. That game could be really interesting depending on how things shake out in the coming weeks and what impact it has on the standings.”

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As for the early games, Sciarra said: “Afternoon games once or twice a year are excellent. We use it to to target families and youth. (This Saturday) is our family game, it’s Big Joe’s 10th birthday. There are lots of activities for the kids.”

THE END AROUND: Great news for the Redblacks with receiver Jaelon Acklin (head) on the field for practice on Thursday. He was limited and won’t play this week. “You saw him out there with his helmet, cleared to get on the practice field. That’s a fantastic step,” head coach Bob Dyce said. “The team was excited to have him out there. We, as coaches, are excited he’s out there. And most importantly, he’s excited to be out there” … It looks like both Jamal Morrow, signed earlier this week, and Khalan Laborn, who was activated from the practice roster, will get looks at running back Saturday. Ryquell Armstead, who had been the starter, was released Tuesday. “As the week has progressed, they’ve looked better and better,” Dyce said. “You’re going to see a dose of both of them.”

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