After back-to-back disappointing seasons for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the impact is starting to hit their pocketbook.
After the 2023 season, the Roughriders ended up with a $1.1-million operating net loss the team announced at its Annual General Meeting.
“The club recognizes the financial results achieved in 2023/24 are not to the level we all expect,” Saskatchewan Roughriders CFO Kent Paul said.
Paul said the loss came down to two main factors. The first, on-field performance as the team finished 6-12 and missed the playoffs. The other comes down to economic factors.
“The economy with high inflation and increasing interest rates over the last couple of years has affected everyone in Rider Nation and challenged their disposable income and ability to attend Rider games,” Paul said.
Outlined in the 2023/24 report, the Roughriders say the team is leading the CFL in TV ratings. Up 18 per cent from the previous season, there was an average of 625,000 viewers per Rider game.
“We also had the three highest-viewed games of the year, including the nearly one million people who tuned in to the Labour Day Classic,” the team said.
But what is the team doing this year to try and encourage more of Rider Nation to come to Mosaic Stadium?
Youth tickets are now available throughout most of the stadium for 50 per cent off the price of an adult ticket, and $5 beer is back for a happy hour between 90 and 30 minutes before kickoff.
Craig Reynolds, the Saskatchewan Roughriders president and CEO said the goal is to get younger fans into seats and buying season tickets.
“When we introduced family packs, the first year we sold 2,000 of them and then last year we sold 7,000 of them,” Reynolds said.
“So despite the fact that the crowds weren’t necessarily where we wanted them to be last year, we felt really good that we were able to get a lot more young families in and I think that will pay off down the road.”
But ultimately what the Riders leadership feel is the formula to get the fans excited and filling up Mosaic Stadium again is a winning football team.
And after two straight wins to start the season, the team is headed in the right direction with Sundays home opener on the horizon.
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