Smooth ride or free ticket, Bombers vow

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This article was published 05/07/2017 (3293 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just this once, a traffic jam may be cause for celebration.

If Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans find traffic backed up leaving the CFL team’s home-opener Friday night against the Calgary Stampeders, their tickets to the next game will be free.

That’s thanks to a promise team president and chief executive officer Wade Miller made Wednesday, following major changes to Investors Group Field’s parking and transportation plan.

“We’re confident these improvements will get fans out of stadium lots in a much faster and smoother manner,” said Miller. “If fans parked on campus don’t find their drive home quicker than before, we’ll give them two free tickets to the July 13 game.”

Three main improvements Miller is banking on include a new stadium station bus terminal, a plan for bus-free streets and a free bar/restaurant network shuttle.

The new terminal will accommodate the 200-plus buses which previously backed up streets surrounding the stadium on the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus.

Beginning Friday, all Winnipeg Transit and park-and-ride users will enter and leave through the new terminal outside stadium Gates 3 and 4. This should clear up roads for those who choose to drive to the U of M, which features some 5,000 parking spots on game days, according to the team’s website.

The traffic lights at the intersection of Pembina Highway and Chancellor Matheson Road will also be altered to stay green almost four times longer than on previous CFL game days in an effort to ensure an easy exit for drivers.

There will also be shuttles to five bars/restaurants (Earls in St. Vital, Boston Pizza and the Canadian Brewhouse on Kenaston Boulevard, The Pint downtown and Confusion Corner Bar & Grill), which will depart from Gate 2 roughly 20 minutes after the game ends or when full.

“We believe removal of buses from the streets around the stadium is a real game-changer that will help get fans off campus much more quickly than before,” Miller said. “With these improvements, we invite fans to give parking on campus a try.”

The U of M soccer facility lot, no longer available for cash parking, will be reserved for fans with pre-purchased green seasonal parking passes.

Park-and-ride will continue this season, offering non-stop service to and from the stadium beginning two hours — and finishing 15 minutes — before kickoff. Cost per game for a round trip is $5. Season park-and-ride passes can be purchased at the Bombers ticket centre for $40.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca