Page 44 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 127

44 Issue #127 August 2023 www.sportsenergynews.com

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Energy Newss
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Energy N e w s presents Sports Panel
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Stories And More About The People In Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry
The CFL is back in full swing for the 2023 season. During the past ten seasons average
attendance has dropped from 28,000 to 21,000 fans per game. The biggest attendance
issue is in Toronto where the Grey Cup champion Argos are averaging a paltry 14,000
fans a game.

Will the CFL survive another ten years in the highly competitive sports market?

Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach - Over the last few years, a variety of pro/semi pro (men & women,) sporting leagues have sprung
up across Canada and North America; all vying for a piece of the lucrative sports market. Leagues are growing in numbers and gaining
popularity because of a wider exposure to a worldwide audience via venues such as the Olympic games, world cup competitions, social
media exposure, etc., which are all slicing the sports market pie into smaller pieces. Sports fans have access to a smorgasbord of sporting
events to fill their idle time and leagues have their work cut out for them to get creative in attracting fans to their venues. The latest sports
venue vying to break into Canadas sports market is “Cricket.”
GT20 Canada Cricket is currently making a big push to break into Canada’s sports market and is hosting an annual international cricket
tournament, over the next few weeks, in Brampton, Ontario. The sport of Cricket itself is the second largest sport in the world (behind
soccer,) with 1.0 billion fans and over 300 million participants. GT20 is a new and entertaining form of cricket and is exposing a
new generation of fans to the sport. I can see myself becoming a cricket convert once I figure out the rules and scoring system. In the
meantime, the CFL executives have their work cut out for them.

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - The CFL has averaged more than 20,000 fans per game each and every season for the past fifty
years. It hasn’t been easy though, as several teams have faced financial issues over those years. It’s taken a couple of years to pull out
of the covid pandemic, but attendance was up slightly in 2022. Seven of the nine teams are drawing decent crowds with the two weak
links being the largest markets, Toronto, and Montreal. Averaging only 12,000 and 17,000 fans per game respectively, they are pulling
the league average down.
Both ownership groups are working at addressing these issues, with Montreal increasing corporate sponsorship, and in Toronto, MLSE
has various promotions currently underway. There always seems to be a bit of drama around the league, but most likely it will survive in
some form for many years to come, The CFL draws the third largest average game attendance of all North American pro sports leagues,
fewer than the NFL and MLB, but more than the NHL, NBA, Major League soccer and the National Lacrosse League.

Peter Collins - Sports Enthusiast - The CFL is back in back in full swing for the 2023 season. During the past ten seasons attendance
has dropped from 28,000 to 21,000 fans per game. The biggest attendance issue is in Toronto where the Grey Cup champion Argos are
averaging a paltry 14,000 fans a game. Will the CFL survive another ten years in the highly competitive sports market?
After the first five weeks of the CFL season the Argos are the only undefeated team. They have a young potentially future star at quarterback
in Chad Kelly, and a loaded team ready to defend their Grey Cup title. The Argos are also continuing last year’s trend of attracting about
14,000 fans per game. A disturbing tendency for sure, considering that they have such a good team. The CFL has an identity problem
that is quite unique in sports. This is a league that has extraordinarily little continuity from year to year in having the same players on
teams. Most CFL teams shuffle players on and off their rosters like a Caesar’s Palace croupier, never satisfied with the hand they’re dealt.
In professional football the Quarterback is the marquee position, but in the CFL these guys move around like “Dog” the bounty hunter
is chasing them. Three of the CFL’s starting Quarterbacks; Zach Collaros, Trevor Harris, and Cody Fajardo have played on four of the
nine CFL teams. Where have you gone Russ Jackson and Ron Lancaster? These two guys plied their trade in the CFL as Quarterbacks for
twelve and sixteen years, for the Rough Riders and Roughriders, respectively. Rough Riders and Roughriders, that’s another story, and
maybe what we need to keep the CFL in business another ten years, only in Canada!