{"id":925427,"date":"2026-10-08T15:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T15:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/925427\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T15:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T15:16:14","slug":"stampeders-president-jay-mcneil-determined-to-sell-out-grey-cup-in-calgary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/925427\/","title":{"rendered":"Stampeders president Jay McNeil determined to sell out Grey Cup in Calgary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Jay\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto courtesy: Calgary Stampeders<\/p>\n

Jay McNeil isn\u2019t sure if this year\u2019s Grey Cup is going to sell out, but he\u2019s willing to die trying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to selling tickets, there\u2019s so many variables,\u201d the Calgary Stampeders president told 3DownNation on Wednesday. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I could confidently say, \u2018Yup, it\u2019s going to sell out.\u2019 I can say this: we are going to kill ourselves to get it sold out.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the game a little over five weeks away, there are still thousands of tickets for sale ranging in price from $280 to $520. Most of the main sections at McMahon Stadium are close to sold out, but the two sections nearest the west end zone have barely sold.<\/p>\n

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The Stampeders haven\u2019t experienced strong regular-season attendance this year. After enjoying a 3.5 percent increase in 2025, attendance is currently down 10.3 percent in 2026. With average crowds of just over 20,000, the Red and White are on pace for their second-lowest attendance since 1970.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were really proud of the progress we made in 2025 and the growth we\u2019ve shown in our\u00a0attendance, our game-day revenues, and all those sorts of things. Then\u00a0we took a step back in 2026. There are a lot of factors that go into that,\u201d said McNeil.<\/p>\n

The Stampeders were optimistic heading into this year. McNeil indicated that the team grew its season ticket base for the first time since 2019, and only the second time since 2014. He also said that 76 percent of the club\u2019s season ticket holders are already locked in for 2027.<\/p>\n

The native of London, Ont., who has called Calgary home since he was drafted by the Stampeders in 1994, has previously revealed that the team\u2019s season ticket base declined from over 22,000 in 2015 to just under 14,000 in 2023.<\/p>\n

With season tickets up year-over-year, the problem has been selling single-game tickets. McNeil indicated that the team typically sells between 4,000 and 6,000 tickets in the week leading up to each game, which accounts for around 25 percent of overall ticket sales.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Mother Nature hasn\u2019t been very cooperative as of late.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeather has been a tremendously negative impact to our game-days this year. We\u2019ve had rain on six of eight game days, and also the week leading into it. That\u00a0makes selling single-game tickets a big challenge, and that\u2019s where we\u2019ve seen our decline,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where weather really does become a critical factor because nobody\u2019s buying tickets if it\u2019s raining on the Monday before a game. They\u2019re going to continue to wait, and if that weather doesn\u2019t change or the forecast doesn\u2019t change, then you\u00a0don\u2019t end up selling those tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was also the largest sporting event in the world to compete with over the summer, as the World Cup was hosted in 16 cities across North America, including Vancouver and Toronto.<\/p>\n

The B.C. Lions have experienced a 17.1 percent decrease in attendance year-over-year, though they hosted two games at a relatively small pop-up stadium in Kelowna. Attendance at Toronto Argonauts games has grown by 2.5 percent in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we underestimated the impact of the World Cup (in Calgary),\u201d said McNeil. \u201cEspecially with being so close to Vancouver, and people choosing to spend some of their\u00a0entertainment dollars in traveling to Vancouver for the\u00a0World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need\u00a0to do a better job. It is certainly a focus for our\u00a0organization \u2014 it is for everybody in the league \u2014\u00a0is to not only get back to where we were in 2025, but our intention was to grow in 2026, and certainly, that is\u00a0our mandate\u00a0as we close out the season is to finish strong, and then\u00a0we look ahead to 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was recently announced that American country star Riley Green has been selected to play the Grey Cup halftime show, which drew some criticism amid the current political climate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McNeil indicated that the mandate for the Grey Cup halftime show isn\u2019t necessarily to feature domestic talent, but to secure an act that can attract the widest possible audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we increase our reach with our halftime show to make this appropriate for Canada\u2019s largest single-day sporting event? How do we introduce new audiences to the CFL and to the Grey Cup? How do we make this\u00a0a North America-wide event,\u00a0or even\u00a0outside of North America?\u201d said McNeil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look for somebody that has that type of reach. You can see it over the past few years\u00a0with Green Day,\u00a0the Jonas Brothers, and last year with MGK. We\u2019re trying to do things on a much different level than we\u2019ve done in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid we talk to Canadian artists? For sure,\u00a0but\u00a0unfortunately, it\u2019s not\u00a0easy when you look at tours and schedules and trying to piece it all together. It\u2019s not always\u00a0a slam dunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

McNeil confirmed that local pop star Tate McRae politely declined the opportunity to perform.<\/p>\n

The state of McMahon Stadium could be another reason for slow ticket sales, as the venue lacks many of the modern amenities sports fans have come to expect. The University of Calgary has hired an architecture firm for their proposed new stadium<\/a>, which would seat 5,000 and serve as the home for Dinos football, soccer, and rugby.<\/p>\n

Despite the prospective departure of venue\u2019s collegiate tenants, there are no firm plans for the Stampeders to get a new building of their own. McNeil makes no disillusions about how badly a new stadium is needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been very vocal to say that McMahon Stadium is at its end of life \u2014\u00a0not approaching its end of life, it\u2019s at the end of life. This is the conversation that needs\u00a0to be had, and how do we move forward with a new stadium?\u201d said the 56-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city has been talking about the potential for a new stadium. They\u2019ve launched a feasibility study to look at different <\/a>locations<\/a>. The Calgary Stampede is doing a feasibility study about turning\u00a0GMC Stadium into a football\u00a0stadium<\/a> as well, and so it\u2019s expedited some of these conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best way to ensure this year\u2019s Grey Cup sells out would be for the Stampeders to play in it. This seemed unthinkable a few weeks ago when the team lost 53-16 against the Edmonton Elks to fall to 5-8, though they\u2019ve since won three-straight games. Calgary can clinch a playoff berth<\/a> with a win over Winnipeg on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were pretty low after the Labour Day back-to-back, and\u00a0I give all the credit to our coaches and to\u00a0our players for responding,\u201d said McNeil. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t won three games (in a row) all year, and now here we are. We\u2019re in control of our own destiny. It\u2019d be nice to clinch\u00a0a playoff spot on Saturday, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of who makes the game, McNeil knows this year\u2019s Grey Cup is going to be special. When asked to make his sales pitch to fans who are still on the fence about buy tickets, he offered the following.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrey Cup week in Calgary is going to be special,\u00a0and it\u2019s\u00a0going to be an event you don\u2019t want to miss because there\u2019s going to be so many great things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a great team, and they\u2019re doing an incredible job. It sounds like such a clich\u00e9, but we can\u2019t wait to welcome Canada because we know we\u2019ve got a special week planned, and\u00a0we\u2019re excited to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster.<\/p>\n

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