What kind of fan turnout is expected for Ottawa Redblacks' home opener?

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Anticipation is growing for the Ottawa Redblacks’ home opener against the Montreal Alouettes on Friday.

“It’s going to be a good crowd,” team president Adrian Sciarra said Wednesday. “We’re crossing 20,000 (in ticket sales) today, with two days still to go.”

Last season, with three of their nine home games hit hard by rain, the Redblacks reported an average attendance of 18,925 at TD Place, which lists a capacity of 24,000.

That was up slightly from 2023 but was still the second lowest in the CFL, ahead of only the 15,127 that turned out for Toronto Argos home games.

While season-ticket numbers are generally not reported throughout the league, Sciarra said the Redblacks’ base is “on the way back, but still has a ways to go.”

“Our renewals from season-seat members last year were just under 90 per cent, which is excellent,” he said. “And obviously we’ve sold new season seats as well, so that base is growing again. Our group sales business, our casual sales, are both really strong and have a good start to the year.”

The Redblacks are doing what they can to make fans forget about the lean years from 2019-2023, when the team had a 14-54 overall record, both on and off the field.

In 2024, the team adopted a “Bullies on Bank Street” mentality and backed it up with the CFL’s best home record at 7-1-1.

From a promotional standpoint, the Redblacks are also continually raising their game.

Along with a a pre-game party featuring a live band and $6 beers for the hour-and-a-half from the time the doors open to kickoff, there’s a $5 “fan-friendly menu” that launches this season, and what Sciarra called “some new things as part of our in-game experience fans will see when they get here.”

There’s also a $100,000 “guaranteed jackpot” for Friday’s 50-50 draw.

But, of course, nothing brings people back to the stadium like winning football.

“We’re super excited for the home kickoff to the season, and getting the team back on the field, and our fans back at TD Place for the start of the regular season,” said Sciarra. “Our expectations are high. We’ve got what we believe to be a really strong team, and we’re just excited to get out there and get these games going.”