BC Place has been doing this for the Lions games too in recent years. I remember when they would draw a great crowd but now it seems like attendance is low even with ticket offers and added entertainment. We went to a game earlier this year and thought the value was pretty good - kids tickets were only about $10. Nowadays the only thing that fills the stadium are the big concerts like U2 or Coldplay.
im thinking if Wwe host WrestleMania in that stadium if it big to fit that kind of event for wrestling... only half of people say it fake others say who cares it sport show if u like football & hockey then wrestling in top 10
It is sad that the upper bowl seats are closed, I enjoyed watching the game from these seats. Taking in a CFL game at Commonwealth Stadium is simply an experience. Unfortunately due to health issues, I have not been able to take in a game in person for several years, but I still watch almost all the games each weekend. I still have an Eskimo windbreaker jacket that has autographs from some of the more popular players from years ago. I remember when at one point in time, I think it was shortly after the Commonwealth Games, the discussion on covering the stadium with a retracting roof was mulled over. I think they decided that it was a too expensive of an undertaking. I took in an AC/DC concert there, that was pretty awesome.
It's because the CFL sucks at marketing the teams and players. My interest in CFL football is about the same as it was 20 years ago, but back then I knew the names of a bunch of players despite never watching games. Now I probably couldn't name a single player from the last decade.
1:06 mark: I like the comparison of the two photos, showing the original 1978 stadium (bottom right photo) and then with the subsequent renovation with more seating (top left photo) presumably added for the 1983 Universiade.
Despite it being a simple design, Commonwealth is still one of the best used venues in the nation. I just wish it would branch out and host more outdoor music festivals/concerts throughout the year, never mind soccer which again tried and failed in this city which is a shame since we know there is a market for it as a game overall... And yes with family who owned season tickets in the Upper East bowl for the Elks I also will miss these seat too... My other choice is the SE endzone seats that blend into the wall. They usually aren't too busy for all the fellow introverted Edmontonians out there...
What a joke of an organization. Ten years ago, the taxpayers of Edmonton paid over $4 MILLION in taxes to replace the seats in this building including the upper bowl. Plus everyone who has bought a ticket since 2012 has payed an extra 5% tax on their ticket to pay for these seats. Telling Edmontonian's that they are closing the upper bowl to provide a better experience is like me saying that my Stanley Cup wins plus Gretzky's total 4. It's correct, but not exactly honest. Between the performance on the field, the name change, the firing of hundreds of people during COVID, and the concussion issue, this team will fold in under 10 years.
There was a radio report a while back regarding the low attendance in recent years for the Ontario CFL teams, and lost revenue, and this was attributed to a change in demographics of the area. Basketball, soccer and cricket are where its at. Maybe there is a similar scenario in YEG ? Of course NHL remains very popular in the Ottawa / Montreal / Toronto triangle, but the prior three are building in popularity. There was even a period of time when some of the Buffalo Bills NFL games were being played in Toronto for a few years (around 2010), and this seemed to be very popular, with the CFL crying foul. I must admit I do not really follow the CFL, and the last I knew, Edmonton's team was the Eskimos. When I heard Edmonton Elk being mentioned, I thought it was a soccer team.
@@PlasmaTwa2 NFL tickets are expensive. Average is $151U.S. ($207 Canadian), with some teams being over $400U.S./game. Maybe Toronto's were that high. Try taking a family to a game at those prices.
Had season seats one year for my family. Upper bowl, north west section. We loved our seats in the first few rows of the upper bowl. Yes ticket prices aren't bad, but combined with a drive in from outside the city and a meal, it becomes a pricey commodity for a family to enjoy. You didn't mention that upper bowl is a great place for outdoor concerts. 😎. (If it doesn't rain haha) Saw U2 from the upper bowl south east and it was a great experience.
I totally agree with upper deck views being better. I always prefer them for sight lines and think a steeper bowl (which is usually only upper decks in new arenas and stadiums these days) is always better than a shallow bowl that reaches farther away. I guess the Elks are doing what Oakland and Cleveland did and are saving money by not having to pay staff to work the upper decks or certain areas ? I wish the cfl in general used higher tv camera angles too. The low tv shot is not good. Is college always looks better and more “big time” and shows more of the field from higher up.
My wife adopted the Elks after this American couple watched a CFL game and to say it’s been rough sledding is more than fair. (In fairness, I got the RedBlacks out of the deal, and um, not much to write home about there either) As sad as it is to see this down/right sizing in CFL attendance between BC, Toronto and now Edmonton, it’s the right move. It costs money to keep unused seats open, and the successes in the first two cities have shown it can be successful.
i think the elks are trying so very hard to get rid of fans, sure sit in the lower bowl, but cost more with a view not as good as the upper bowl, no thank you
I foresee them tarping the corners so sections B to L and O to Y are the only sections open, you could probably move the knothole seats a section or two over as well. Less security, fewer vendors, less clean up, show better on TV. Might save the cost of the helicopter shots too. I don't think they'd rather sell corners than opening the middle five sections up top. The issue with that would be that TV picks up the east stand but the west stand is preferable in the shade. A part of me really wants them to do $20 general admission upper for Riders, Stamps and playoff games and make an effort to schedule those on Saturdays to draw a big crowd. The cost of the game itself is sunk, so if they sell $100,000 of GA tickets and $100,000 of beer they're laughing.
As a rider fan, it also hurt me when they announced they were closing the upper deck at commonwealth. Such a huge stadium only half full will do that. If you’ve been a fan of the team since you were kid, then you know damn well it hurts deep down calling them the “elks” haha
I sat in the first row of the upper deck during the 2010 Grey Cup. That was an awesome viewpoint. I'm sure if they get the Grey Cup again, they will use the whole stadium, but for the regular season, they don't get enough fans. Probably a lot of work to clean up after each game, so they won't have to clean up the upper bowl.
mfw this is where I found out the news about the closing of the upper bowl... 😭😭😭 bro I haven't had monies for this for so long and covid didnt help either... wtf...
@@mcdangles971 that, and people are upset about the name change. the team's playing better and apparently there's plans to at least rename it back to esks, so maybe sales will go back up. who knows
Bc Lions have a similar stadium size and they had attendance problems. They’ve curtained up the upper level and open sections when the crowd gets bigger. This creates bigger demand. Now you can get a $5 ticket to an elks game or even get in free with all the open space so it causes less interest and scarcity. The new elks president used to be the lions president so he’s doing the same thing. He helped create a demand in bc and this will do the same here. The whl oil kings currently do this on rogers place.
Hopefully, though reducing the ticket prices to $9 a game (in 90s prices) failed to help the Las Vegas Posse. In fairness, they had a laundry list of other problems compared to the modern Elks.
This is really a sign that, even in the healthy CFL cities, the sport is really on a downward trend. They can't seem to land that 10th team somewhere in Canada. Attendance in most of the cities has been trending down since 2000, especially in Toronto, where Canada's biggest city largely ignores the sport and they often can't even sell out the small soccer stadium they play in. I think the rise of the NFL's popularity in Canada is killing the local version of the sport.
For years I had season tickets in the upper bowl, surrounded by the same people....we even had unique chants and cheers. Now that experience is lost. Plus whats the plan...take people who had centre cents in the upper bowl and either force them to pay triple for a similar location in the lower bowl or force them to move off to the side? Nice way to reward your loyal fans.
I think they should try tarping off every seat that sits behind the goal lines so that you end up with something like Tim Horton's Field in Hamilton... pack everyone into the middle of the lower and upper sections. The BC Lions should do the same thing. But let's face it... it's sad to see CFL crowds dwindling (except for Winnipeg)... having HDTV access to so many more NFL games is likely the biggest problem, along with limiting the CFL to TSN only. :(
not worry about this elks anymore new owers will might named Esks or Eskies. possible return Eskimos and upper seats will reopens due lots fans will return
This seems like an effort to drive folks into the higher priced seats. I mean it must suck to go sit in the upper bowl when it is practically empty, I remember being at games in seats in high 60s or more where the place was packed and absolutely rocking in my youth
Maybe this would be a good decision if they adjusted prices....but no, want a season ticket...you now have to pay the traditionally more expensive lower bowl prices.
I believe ignoring the youngsters for decades is the cause. Every child who is now a NFL or basketball fan. They won't be coming in except for concerts.
I'm with you in preference, but I stopped watching football in the early 90's when I started learning about the inevitability of concussions in the sport. No CFL or NFL (or boxing etc). I'll go see Metallica or Beyonce or Garth Brooks, or maybe even a soccer game though.
When I was going to games twenty years ago it was so full every game. I once went to a regular season game there that had over 60,000 fans. However, the team went woke and is paying for it since at least 2018.
I think Edmonton fans are too spoiled about having a team finishing second or third in the west for so many years and now are being whiny fans cause they've had a couple bad seasons. Try living in Saskatchewan where we are lucky to win the grey cup once a decade or so. Maybe Edsmonton fans should appreciate their team and go to games more often. Dear god your season tickets are cheap enough. Our season tickets are like double or triple that at the riders new stadium.
Or how about you tear that stadium down and build a brand new stadium with half the capacity and have a stack seating design, so the fans are way closer to the action
It's a terrible team, and a boring league. That's just my opinion, I know there are others that would disagree. I feel the real reason they're doing this is to make the complex look sold out on camera. I've been in the nosebleeds back when you could buy tickets from Safeway for like $10, maybe you still can, I dunno. But the view from up there was pretty spectacular.
CFL is a dying league should be played in a 5000 seat stadium. The demographics is 50 and olde. The NFL is what you should look into amazing experience talent level the best give it a try
the team shouldn't exist anymore and the stadium should be GIVEN away to an nfl team. imagine how awesome Edmonton and that area would be if an nfl team was given that stadium.
CFL? Kinda not a fan at all, born 1990, when was cfl news on the news? They don’t cover the grey cup winners…. CFL is not our game, sorry bud, loyal to the Oil
The government is sucking every last dollar away from the middle class with a tax on damn near everything these days. I remember being 17, working at IGA but still being able to travel to Edmonton, watch the Riders and Esks go for a meal and come home. The game tickets aren’t too bad, but it’s the gas the meal and forget about the couple of beers. Too much for common people these days.
@@waynethera2712 this is where we ALL STOP PAYING TAXES! this gov't owes the citizens billions in back pay. it's not illegal if we all refuse to support stupidity. we're only stupid for doing nothing about it.
As a rider fan, it also hurt me when they announced they were closing the upper deck at commonwealth. Such a huge stadium only half full will do that. If you’ve been a fan of the team since you were kid, then you know damn well it hurts deep down calling them the “elks” haha
I bet they'll cover the upper bowl seats with giant fabric covers with advertisements on them during games.
IMO the best seats in Commonwealth are at the top of the lower bowl, where you're sheltered from the rain!
BC Place has been doing this for the Lions games too in recent years. I remember when they would draw a great crowd but now it seems like attendance is low even with ticket offers and added entertainment. We went to a game earlier this year and thought the value was pretty good - kids tickets were only about $10. Nowadays the only thing that fills the stadium are the big concerts like U2 or Coldplay.
B.C. had a good crowd for the first game of the season this year.
im thinking if Wwe host WrestleMania in that stadium if it big to fit that kind of event for wrestling... only half of people say it fake others say who cares it sport show if u like football & hockey then wrestling in top 10
@@my3dviewsbecause of the aforementioned concert before the game lol.
It is sad that the upper bowl seats are closed, I enjoyed watching the game from these seats. Taking in a CFL game at Commonwealth Stadium is simply an experience. Unfortunately due to health issues, I have not been able to take in a game in person for several years, but I still watch almost all the games each weekend. I still have an Eskimo windbreaker jacket that has autographs from some of the more popular players from years ago.
I remember when at one point in time, I think it was shortly after the Commonwealth Games, the discussion on covering the stadium with a retracting roof was mulled over. I think they decided that it was a too expensive of an undertaking. I took in an AC/DC concert there, that was pretty awesome.
they will cancel you for stating the proper name of the team
It's because the CFL sucks at marketing the teams and players. My interest in CFL football is about the same as it was 20 years ago, but back then I knew the names of a bunch of players despite never watching games. Now I probably couldn't name a single player from the last decade.
1:06 mark: I like the comparison of the two photos, showing the original 1978 stadium (bottom right photo) and then with the subsequent renovation with more seating (top left photo) presumably added for the 1983 Universiade.
Despite it being a simple design, Commonwealth is still one of the best used venues in the nation. I just wish it would branch out and host more outdoor music festivals/concerts throughout the year, never mind soccer which again tried and failed in this city which is a shame since we know there is a market for it as a game overall... And yes with family who owned season tickets in the Upper East bowl for the Elks I also will miss these seat too... My other choice is the SE endzone seats that blend into the wall. They usually aren't too busy for all the fellow introverted Edmontonians out there...
What a joke of an organization. Ten years ago, the taxpayers of Edmonton paid over $4 MILLION in taxes to replace the seats in this building including the upper bowl. Plus everyone who has bought a ticket since 2012 has payed an extra 5% tax on their ticket to pay for these seats.
Telling Edmontonian's that they are closing the upper bowl to provide a better experience is like me saying that my Stanley Cup wins plus Gretzky's total 4. It's correct, but not exactly honest.
Between the performance on the field, the name change, the firing of hundreds of people during COVID, and the concussion issue, this team will fold in under 10 years.
There was a radio report a while back regarding the low attendance in recent years for the Ontario CFL teams, and lost revenue, and this was attributed to a change in demographics of the area. Basketball, soccer and cricket are where its at. Maybe there is a similar scenario in YEG ? Of course NHL remains very popular in the Ottawa / Montreal / Toronto triangle, but the prior three are building in popularity. There was even a period of time when some of the Buffalo Bills NFL games were being played in Toronto for a few years (around 2010), and this seemed to be very popular, with the CFL crying foul.
I must admit I do not really follow the CFL, and the last I knew, Edmonton's team was the Eskimos. When I heard Edmonton Elk being mentioned, I thought it was a soccer team.
The Toronto NFL games were actually considered a failure. Prices were too high, so attendance was papered, and players hated it.
@@PlasmaTwa2 NFL tickets are expensive. Average is $151U.S. ($207 Canadian), with some teams being over $400U.S./game. Maybe Toronto's were that high. Try taking a family to a game at those prices.
i can understand the confusion the idiots tried to fix something that wasnt broken
Had season seats one year for my family. Upper bowl, north west section. We loved our seats in the first few rows of the upper bowl.
Yes ticket prices aren't bad, but combined with a drive in from outside the city and a meal, it becomes a pricey commodity for a family to enjoy.
You didn't mention that upper bowl is a great place for outdoor concerts. 😎. (If it doesn't rain haha)
Saw U2 from the upper bowl south east and it was a great experience.
I totally agree with upper deck views being better. I always prefer them for sight lines and think a steeper bowl (which is usually only upper decks in new arenas and stadiums these days) is always better than a shallow bowl that reaches farther away. I guess the Elks are doing what Oakland and Cleveland did and are saving money by not having to pay staff to work the upper decks or certain areas ? I wish the cfl in general used higher tv camera angles too. The low tv shot is not good. Is college always looks better and more “big time” and shows more of the field from higher up.
My wife adopted the Elks after this American couple watched a CFL game and to say it’s been rough sledding is more than fair. (In fairness, I got the RedBlacks out of the deal, and um, not much to write home about there either)
As sad as it is to see this down/right sizing in CFL attendance between BC, Toronto and now Edmonton, it’s the right move. It costs money to keep unused seats open, and the successes in the first two cities have shown it can be successful.
i think the elks are trying so very hard to get rid of fans, sure sit in the lower bowl, but cost more with a view not as good as the upper bowl, no thank you
I foresee them tarping the corners so sections B to L and O to Y are the only sections open, you could probably move the knothole seats a section or two over as well. Less security, fewer vendors, less clean up, show better on TV. Might save the cost of the helicopter shots too. I don't think they'd rather sell corners than opening the middle five sections up top. The issue with that would be that TV picks up the east stand but the west stand is preferable in the shade.
A part of me really wants them to do $20 general admission upper for Riders, Stamps and playoff games and make an effort to schedule those on Saturdays to draw a big crowd. The cost of the game itself is sunk, so if they sell $100,000 of GA tickets and $100,000 of beer they're laughing.
Very well done video. As much as the nostalgia hits you you still gave a decently unbiased explanation of the pros and cons of the situation.
As a rider fan, it also hurt me when they announced they were closing the upper deck at commonwealth. Such a huge stadium only half full will do that. If you’ve been a fan of the team since you were kid, then you know damn well it hurts deep down calling them the “elks” haha
Great video!
I sat in the first row of the upper deck during the 2010 Grey Cup. That was an awesome viewpoint. I'm sure if they get the Grey Cup again, they will use the whole stadium, but for the regular season, they don't get enough fans. Probably a lot of work to clean up after each game, so they won't have to clean up the upper bowl.
CFL is awesome upper bowl was also my favourite place to sit
mfw this is where I found out the news about the closing of the upper bowl... 😭😭😭
bro I haven't had monies for this for so long and covid didnt help either... wtf...
I think it means the Elks are not selling tickets.
Who knew ticket sales would suffer when they charge so much to watch a team that never wins lol
@@mcdangles971 that, and people are upset about the name change. the team's playing better and apparently there's plans to at least rename it back to esks, so maybe sales will go back up. who knows
they would have better crowds
if they changed the name back to Eskimos
dump the dough heads that came up with the STUPID idea in the first place
Look at how fast that train was going!!
I LOVED SITTING UP THERE BY MYSELF.
NO CROWDED SEATING.
SNEAKING BEERS UNDER MY FLAG CAPE.
Picked the "Corona Station" for funs and laughs, huh? lolz
It sand to see the city going down the drain.
Has nothing to do with that CFL is a dying sport
GO ESKS GO
Bc Lions have a similar stadium size and they had attendance problems. They’ve curtained up the upper level and open sections when the crowd gets bigger. This creates bigger demand. Now you can get a $5 ticket to an elks game or even get in free with all the open space so it causes less interest and scarcity. The new elks president used to be the lions president so he’s doing the same thing. He helped create a demand in bc and this will do the same here.
The whl oil kings currently do this on rogers place.
Hopefully, though reducing the ticket prices to $9 a game (in 90s prices) failed to help the Las Vegas Posse. In fairness, they had a laundry list of other problems compared to the modern Elks.
My hometown team is dead to me after the name change. RIP Edmonton Eskimos
@@truepatriotlove5724 with loyal fans like you... 🙄
This is really a sign that, even in the healthy CFL cities, the sport is really on a downward trend. They can't seem to land that 10th team somewhere in Canada. Attendance in most of the cities has been trending down since 2000, especially in Toronto, where Canada's biggest city largely ignores the sport and they often can't even sell out the small soccer stadium they play in. I think the rise of the NFL's popularity in Canada is killing the local version of the sport.
For years I had season tickets in the upper bowl, surrounded by the same people....we even had unique chants and cheers. Now that experience is lost. Plus whats the plan...take people who had centre cents in the upper bowl and either force them to pay triple for a similar location in the lower bowl or force them to move off to the side? Nice way to reward your loyal fans.
I think they should try tarping off every seat that sits behind the goal lines so that you end up with something like Tim Horton's Field in Hamilton... pack everyone into the middle of the lower and upper sections. The BC Lions should do the same thing. But let's face it... it's sad to see CFL crowds dwindling (except for Winnipeg)... having HDTV access to so many more NFL games is likely the biggest problem, along with limiting the CFL to TSN only. :(
Vancouver kinda did this in BC place
Found an old Eskimos hat at a thrift store for 3.99 picked it up right away, can't tell which era its from, looks like mid 00s
not worry about this elks anymore new owers will might named Esks or Eskies. possible return Eskimos and upper seats will reopens due lots fans will return
Let’s change back the name to Edmonton Eskimos, go woke go broke. I was huge fan, but no more. I was heartbroken when they finally a game at home.
This seems like an effort to drive folks into the higher priced seats. I mean it must suck to go sit in the upper bowl when it is practically empty, I remember being at games in seats in high 60s or more where the place was packed and absolutely rocking in my youth
I miss the red seats.
Maybe this would be a good decision if they adjusted prices....but no, want a season ticket...you now have to pay the traditionally more expensive lower bowl prices.
The CFL is only popular in smaller market cities like: Winnipeg, Regina, that’s it. It’s a dying league, needs more teams.
I believe ignoring the youngsters for decades is the cause. Every child who is now a NFL or basketball fan. They won't be coming in except for concerts.
I'm with you in preference, but I stopped watching football in the early 90's when I started learning about the inevitability of concussions in the sport. No CFL or NFL (or boxing etc).
I'll go see Metallica or Beyonce or Garth Brooks, or maybe even a soccer game though.
Edmontons motto is if you can't screw it up watch us
When I was going to games twenty years ago it was so full every game. I once went to a regular season game there that had over 60,000 fans. However, the team went woke and is paying for it since at least 2018.
I think Edmonton fans are too spoiled about having a team finishing second or third in the west for so many years and now are being whiny fans cause they've had a couple bad seasons. Try living in Saskatchewan where we are lucky to win the grey cup once a decade or so. Maybe Edsmonton fans should appreciate their team and go to games more often. Dear god your season tickets are cheap enough. Our season tickets are like double or triple that at the riders new stadium.
Edmonton fans can be some of the most fickle fans I've ever seen. Hockey and football.
@@loganholmberg2295 never with this name
Don't worry there will still be enough empty sections for everyone.
Math is a YUGE sportsball fan!
Or how about you tear that stadium down and build a brand new stadium with half the capacity and have a stack seating design, so the fans are way closer to the action
I really don’t care one way or the other I’m not a big Esks fan
@@jimklose648 thanks for commenting!
Playoffs? Not for a few years for this team.
i'd like to go back to the lrt in 1978 when the crack heads werent littered around each station
They are heavily overpriced but oilers tickets can definitely be had for less than 100 bucks.
He should change his name on TH-cam he doesn't just talk about West Edmonton Mall
😂😆😆😆😆😆😆 Well when your fans bailed.
When a team loses their identity, they also lose their fans.
It's a terrible team, and a boring league. That's just my opinion, I know there are others that would disagree. I feel the real reason they're doing this is to make the complex look sold out on camera. I've been in the nosebleeds back when you could buy tickets from Safeway for like $10, maybe you still can, I dunno. But the view from up there was pretty spectacular.
Not going down the drain ??? I think it has a lot to do with branding. elks? eskimos yeah.
CFL is a dying league should be played in a 5000 seat stadium. The demographics is 50 and olde. The NFL is what you should look into amazing experience talent level the best give it a try
The City is probably getting rid of it, so they can replace it with the only Effin thing they do these days, a God Damn Effin Bike Lane
Still think the cfl needs to get into the nfl and become one league
The players are too small. Look at the results of CFL-NFL exhibition games. Most of our cities could never support or afford a NFL franchise.
@@daviddawkins2829 was talking bout the existing franchises becoming one like the nhl or nba
So a non sports fan is making a video about a sports team 😂😂😂
@@DavidYesUCan Seems like! :)
the team shouldn't exist anymore and the stadium should be GIVEN away to an nfl team. imagine how awesome Edmonton and that area would be if an nfl team was given that stadium.
It’s a bit old
CFL? Kinda not a fan at all, born 1990, when was cfl news on the news? They don’t cover the grey cup winners…. CFL is not our game, sorry bud, loyal to the Oil
sports in general are dying.
only the die hard hanger-on-ers won't admit it and let go.
The government is sucking every last dollar away from the middle class with a tax on damn near everything these days. I remember being 17, working at IGA but still being able to travel to Edmonton, watch the Riders and Esks go for a meal and come home. The game tickets aren’t too bad, but it’s the gas the meal and forget about the couple of beers. Too much for common people these days.
@@waynethera2712 this is where we ALL STOP PAYING TAXES! this gov't owes the citizens billions in back pay. it's not illegal if we all refuse to support stupidity. we're only stupid for doing nothing about it.
They need to figure out parking. I don't care if they made games free im NOT putting my wife and kids on the LRT
Too bad the Eskimos went woke and changed their name. Go Woke Go Broke!!!!
If a name change is all it takes to make die hard fans get upset, then they weren't really fans to begin with.
@@BestEdmontonMallyeah I wasn’t really a fan to begin with, but I went to their games and bought their merch. Not anymore bud.
Who cares
People who take the time to comment, usually! :)
Kind of funny that the Heritage Classic 🥅 🏒 can fill the stadium better than football 🏈.
As a rider fan, it also hurt me when they announced they were closing the upper deck at commonwealth. Such a huge stadium only half full will do that. If you’ve been a fan of the team since you were kid, then you know damn well it hurts deep down calling them the “elks” haha