The CFL has officially released the 2023 schedule for the CFL, and the Tiger-Cats road to the 2023 Grey Cup is a balanced schedule that should be manageable. The Tiger-Cats pre-season games will be at home against Toronto (May 27th) and on the road at Montreal (June 2nd). Hamilton will open the 2023 regular season at Winnipeg (June 9th), and their home opener will be against Montreal (June 23rd).
In September the Tiger-Cats will host Toronto for the Labor Day Classic (Monday, September 4th), and the Hall of Fame game will be played against Winnipeg at Tim Hortons Field on September 16th. The Tiger-Cats will host the 110th Grey Cup championship on Sunday, November 19th.
A Schedule Defined By Balance
The Tiger-Cats 2022 schedule was defined by a complete lack of balance. The first several games of the season were against West Division opponents, and they finished the season with a flurry of East Division games. Also, in 2022 the Tiger-Cats ended up playing several consecutive games all in the 2nd half of the season.
In this 2023 schedule, every aspect is much more balanced which should make the schedule more manageable for Hamilton. The Tiger-Cats will have 5 home games in the 1st half of the season, and 4 in the 2nd half. Hamilton will play 6 division games in the first 9 games, and 4 division games in the 2nd 9 games. They will have their BYE weeks in Week 4 and Week 20.
Scheduling, Attendance, and Exposure
The days of the week that the Tiger-Cats play on have an impact on their in-stadium attendance and the potential TV ratings that they will draw for each game. The Tiger-Cats will have two Thursday night games, and six Friday night games. Hamilton will have eight Saturday games, one Sunday game, and the Labor Day Classic on a Monday.
The Tiger-Cats tend to draw the best attendance with games that are on the weekends rather than Thursdays and Fridays. The Tiger-Cats look forward to packing Tim Hortons Field for their nine home games “Our fans are known for the electric atmosphere and home-field advantage they create and we look forward to seeing them almost every other weekend throughout the 2023 season and of course, we look forward to joining our fans in welcoming the rest of the Canadian Football community to Hamilton for the 110th Grey Cup on November 19.”
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