Rob Vanstone
Regina Leader-Post

REGINA -- The Saskatchewan Roughriders used to be less of a gate attraction than Bride Wars.

There were days when entire sections at Taylor Field would be vacant -- much like the expressions of benumbed fans.

During the three-win season of 1999, a trickle of walk-up customers could purchase seats on the 55-yard line.

Two years earlier, the community-owned CFL franchise had been sustained by one of its trademark telethons. The act of buying a game ticket almost felt like a charitable deed, without the accompanying tax deduction.

The lean years did not always coincide with on-field futility. In 1993, the Roughriders drew crowds of 17,566 and 18,212 to their first two home games -- even though head coach Don Matthews fielded an exciting, competitive team that included Kent Austin, Ray Elgaard, Jeff Fairholm and Don Narcisse.

Fast forward to 2009. The season ticket count has reached a franchise-record 23,000. A second successive sold-out season is virtually assured at 28,800-seat Mosaic Stadium.

"I think it's phenomenal," Roughriders president-CEO Jim Hopson said.

"We're very, very pleased. We had a good year last year in terms of finishing in second place and getting a home playoff game, but we didn't have the ultimate experience of the year before."

Ticket sales were brisk after Saskatchewan won the 2007 Grey Cup, leading to the team's first-ever sold-out season. The voracious appetite for tickets throughout 2008 -- the team's second straight 12-win season -- has provided additional incentive for people to buy season packages for 2009.

As of late last week, the Roughriders had sold 18,800 individual season tickets, about 500 flex packs (which include 10 ticket vouchers that can be used for any game in any combination), with the remaining season tickets being sold to corporations and sponsors.

The Roughriders are rapidly approaching the point where sales of season tickets and flex packs will be capped to accommodate walk-up customers.

Suppose you had presented this scenario as recently as three years ago.

You would have been referred for counselling.

Not so long ago, the Roughriders only sure-fire sellout was the Labour Day Classic. Now the streak of sold-out home games has swelled to 18. There is every reason to believe that, by November, it will be 27 or 28 -- depending on whether Saskatchewan stages a home playoff game for the third successive season.

The recent surge at the ticket office is especially noteworthy in light of the fact the offseason has not included a string of good-news stories.

Yes, there were the free-agent signings of Regina-born slotback Jason Clermont and Moose Jaw-born offensive lineman Joe McGrath, along with a new contract agreement with promising quarterback Darian Durant.

However, the departures of all-star linebackers Maurice Lloyd (to the Edmonton Eskimos) and Anton McKenzie (now of the B.C. Lions) have created uncertainty about whether they can be replaced.

Courtesy: www.leaderpost.com