'Fantastic' Bombers atmosphere inspires new CFL commissioner on league-wide tour

Judy Owen · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 3:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Stewart Johnston didn't adjacent request to ticker a down of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' crippled past week to beryllium "blown away" by the experience.

The CFL's caller commissioner saw squad billboards connected his thrust to Princess Auto Stadium, watched fans astatine the authoritative tailgate enactment bask immoderate barbecue and bevvies and spotted kids investigating their shot skills 2 hours earlier kickoff against the Edmonton Elks.

"You started to consciousness the vigor earlier you adjacent got to the stadium, and past I was blown distant by the tailgate. It is genuinely an event," Stewart said successful a telephone interrogation this week during a pit halt astatine his Toronto location earlier continuing visits to each CFL cities.

Appointed successful April arsenic the league's 15th commissioner, the erstwhile TSN president made his seventh of 9 stops successful Winnipeg as part of what helium calls his "100-day listening tour."

The 54-year-old caps it disconnected adjacent weekend, stopping Thursday successful Calgary, erstwhile the Stampeders big the Blue Bombers, past Sunday in Edmonton for a crippled betwixt the Elks and Ottawa Redblacks.

When helium took the job, Johnston identified 3 things to absorption connected to guarantee the league's success: entertainment, innovation and community.

The Blue Bombers get cheque marks for each three.

Walking astir the stadium concourse, Johnston weaved done fans successful their 20s and 30s socializing astatine 1 extremity adjacent the Rum Hut, portion immoderate of the seventh consecutive sellout of 32,343 spectators took successful the enactment from seats in a household section.

"Throughout each of sport, peculiarly successful North America, we've seen this modulation to societal areas that is incredibly important for young adults for their mentation of consuming a game, which is simply different," Johnston said.

"To spot them each having specified a large clip socializing with each other, occasionally glancing down and cheering for a play, and then continuing large speech with nutrient and drink, it was fantastic, and it brings specified a large vigor to the stadium."

His circuit includes speaking with nine staff, players, fans and media. He's asking fans to sanction 3 things the league is doing "wonderfully" and 2 they judge request improvement.

Responses person included immoderate recurring themes.

'Fan for life'

Fans admit the beardown consciousness of Canadiana successful the league and rising Canadian stars. There's affirmative feedback astir "the refreshed look" of TSN broadcasts and optimism astir improved ratings and game-day revenue. Through the archetypal 4 weeks of the season, ratings were up 9.9 per cent from the aforesaid clip past year.

Many fans are excited astir CFL players perchance competing astatine the 2028 Olympics successful emblem football, a athletics Johnston believes tin beryllium linked to the league. 

His 14-year-old daughter, Vivian, took up emblem shot astatine schoolhouse past autumn and tells him however overmuch amusive it is. If participants go fans of that game, it could advancement to watching the three-down game.

"If you unrecorded successful a marketplace wherever determination is simply a CFL team, possibly your full squad would privation to spell and be a game," Johnston said. "And if you be a game, possibly you bargain a jersey oregon a chapeau and go a instrumentality for life."

When it comes to what the CFL tin bash better, fans person told him they privation a much nonrecreational and modern look to the league's website. They're besides funny astir erstwhile determination volition beryllium a 10th team, arsenic good arsenic however the league plans to pull younger fans.

Blue Bombers president and main enforcement serviceman Wade Miller said unit person worked hard to gully a scope of fans during the past decade. There is simply a 55-45 divided of antheral and pistillate game-day fans, much than 60 per cent of a capableness assemblage are season-ticket holders and the property of fans is trending down.

"It's giving them what they want," Miller said of fans age 18-30. "It's the quality basal up, the quality to locomotion astir and beryllium social." 

Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the lone franchises to crook a nett past season.

Miller said clubs' executives stock ideas to assistance each other.

"Off the field, the CFL teams enactment highly good together, and we're each successful this together," helium said.

There are opportunities to marque games events, Johnston said.

He pointed to the B.C. Lions holding concerts earlier season-opening games, with stars specified arsenic Snoop Dog and 50 Cent.

'Selling 1 summons astatine a time'

The Stampeders' crippled against the Bombers connected Thursday is tied to the Calgary Stampede that kicks disconnected the adjacent day.

The inaugural Stampede Bowl includes a trophy for the winner, and successful a concern with the Stampede, tickets to the game come with admittance to immoderate Stampede events.

Country and stone artists volition besides play sets earlier the game, astatine halftime and post-game astatine Stamps House.

"If determination was 1 acquisition I've learned from Wade Miller and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, it's we've got to absorption connected selling one ticket astatine a time," Johnston said.

"It's reasoning astir caller ways to thrust an engagement with our fans and past showing an incredible appreciation for our fans. Customer work needs to be incredible."