The 2020 CFL season was canceled due to Covid-19, but now that cases are dwindling some good news is on the horizon for the 2021 season. The Ottawa Redblacks and the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats are looking to fill the stands come game time.
For Ottawa, the number is estimated to be around 15,000 fans, possibly more. The Redblacks already have 11,000 season-ticket holders with an additional 1,500 or more on a waiting list. While there have been some deferrals with former season-ticket holders, the numbers are not large enough to cause concern.
We had projections and scenarios set at different levels and even 15,000 we would have thought was optimistic. Fifteen thousand is good news and if it’s more, which we hope it is, that’s even better, much better than what we had been thinking.
Adrian Sciarra, senior vice-president of sports business operations at the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group
Season-ticket renewal rates are about 96%-97% of the pre-pandemic amount, and with the team selling flex packs, the team should see a good audience come kick off on August 28th. This is all of before any game tickets have been sold, as the team wants to see how many seats have already been taken, so tickets will be sold closer to August.
The 2021 Ottawa Redblack season kicks off on August 7th against the newly named Edmonton Elks. Their home opener is August 28th against the BC Lions.