Rush for season tickets expected

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This article was published 01/04/2010 (5649 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Blue Bombers will be moving into a new stadium for the start of the 2012 season and the club is expected to reap benefits in a number of areas.

Creswin chairman and stadium visionary David Asper concluded his portion of Wednesday’s media conference to announce the construction of a new stadium by telling people to get their season tickets now.

The club is expecting a rush on ticket sales as people attempt to ensure their place in the new facility.

"What we need to plan for now is, people stepping to the plate and buying season tickets now. We’re going to want to prepare and give them the opportunity so they have a comparable seat in the new venue," said Bombers CEO Jim Bell.

Bell said the club will go through lots of changes in the next 24 months.

"There is all kinds of business and strategic planning that has to be done following this announcement and we’re well on our way to doing that," said Bell. "This is a tremendously exciting day for the team, the fans and us as a business operation. With the advent of suites and boxes and all those types of things and other business opportunities we might be able to attract. Concerts are upon us and we’ll look at all those things in terms of taking advantage of the new facility."

The AHL’s Manitoba Moose moved from the old Winnipeg Arena to the MTS Centre in the fall of 2004 and transformed their entire organization in the process.

"As we go forward and expand our business there will be changes," said Bell. "Our organizational chart, all those things have been discussed but certainly need to be fine-tuned. I would think as the business grows so will we."

Bombers board chairman Ken Hildahl says the new stadium puts the Bombers on firmer financial footing.

"This guarantees the viability of professional football in Winnipeg moving forward for the next 50 or so years," said Hildahl.

"The fans come out a winner. (The) football club is happy and fans should be happier. We’ll see some excitement from fans due to the new stadium and that will translate into an uplift in revenues. You can’t guarantee it until you put the money in the bank but our economic model should change dramatically."

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca