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ADAM BLASBERG 60 BCBUSINESS.CA SEPTEMBER 2023 Hamilton. 16,342 for the revenge match against the Elks. The Lions only went over 20,000 fans twice more in 2022—against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and their well- travelled fans and for the home finale Fan Appreciation night against Winnipeg. This year, keeping up the momen- tum from the opener, especially without Rourke—who signed a contract with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars—is absolutely cru- cial for the squad. Announced attendance for this year's opener was 33,103, a league high so far this season. "If you have good attendance and go for a dip, that momentum sort of goes down," says Vienneau. "We believe, if we have a good showing in the second game, our momentum is going to continue. We don't expect it to be LL Cool J numbers—that was a special thing. But if we get that lower bowl close to sold out for our second game on a Sunday without that extra draw of an LL Cool J or a OneRepublic, that's a good step for us in the right direction. Our overriding goal for this year was to consistently sell out the lower bowl. That would be a huge win for us." With an aging fanbase that's losing more and more of its potential younger demo- graphic to the behemoth that is American football fandom, the Lions have struggled to remain competitive in the marketplace in recent years. In 2012, the team averaged more than 30,000 fans per game. Average attendance dropped every year until 2022, when the concert game buffed up the num- ber to just over 20,000. The 17,803 average in 2019 was the lowest in 21 years (except- ing the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic). There are a number of tactics that Vienneau and company are employing to get fans marching back to the stadium en masse. Theme nights are once again a big draw, with new additions this year includ- ing July 22's Watermelon Smash, which saw rival tailgate parties between Lions fans and Saskatchewan Roughriders fans on Terry Fox Plaza. But Vienneau has also made season tick- ets a priority—a move that has paid off so far, with a 45-percent increase in the team's season ticket base. "In the off-season, we weren't sitting on a beach in Hawaii, we were working hard to increase that season ticket membership," he says. One of the ways the club did that was through offering a variety of season ticket options. "We created something called the Quarterback Club, which is essentially a kid's ticket that comes with an adult ticket," explains Vienneau. "The kid feels like they're in charge, and they bring their mom or dad. It's a bit of a reverse. That program alone sold us 500 new season seats." Last year, for the playoffs, the Lions cre- ated Island tickets that come with bus rides to and from the ferry. "It was a huge success. And then people asked us to do the Interior, S P O R T S