Winnipeg is a strong football market, the CFL’s commissioner says, but the host of this year’s Grey Cup is an outlier when it comes to other cities in the league.
Stewart Johnston told Global Winnipeg that while television ratings, game-day revenue and attendance are all up across the board for the league, it’s not all rosy for Canadian football.
“There’s lots of momentum, but at the same time we need to continue to think about ways to drive revenue.
“Seven of nine teams did not make money last year,” Johnston said. “That’s not a sustainable business model.
“So we’ve got to focus on the business of the game. To do that, I want to think about entertainment — whether that’s game product and presentation itself, or social media, digital content, the platforms that we’re using.
The two profitable teams, Johnston said, are the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Prairie rivals the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Johnston, who was appointed to the league’s top job in April, said a major part of getting more people in the seats is fostering early love for the game among potential new fan and to grow the fandom around the sport.
“I look at what happens here in Manitoba, and it really is a shining example of development of young kids — in flag football and then into contact football.
“I think once you touch a football, once you play it, catch it, throw it, run with it, understand tactics … you will fall in love, because it’s that great a sport.”