WINNIPEG — Stewart Johnston didn't even need to watch a down of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers game last week to be “blown away” by the experience.
The CFL’s new commissioner saw team billboards on his drive to Princess Auto Stadium, watched fans at the official tailgate party enjoy some barbecue and bevvies and spotted kids testing their football skills two hours before kickoff against the Edmonton Elks.
“You started to feel the energy before you even got to the stadium, and then I was blown away by the tailgate. It is truly an event,” Stewart said in a phone interview this week during a pitstop at his Toronto home before continuing visits to all CFL cities.
Appointed in April as the league’s 15th commissioner, the former TSN president made his seventh of nine stops in Winnipeg as part of what he calls his “100-day listening tour.”
The 54-year-old caps it off Thursday in Calgary when the Stampeders host the Blue Bombers, then Sunday’s game in Edmonton between the Elks and Ottawa Redblacks.
When he took the job, Johnston identified three components to focus on to ensure the league’s success: entertainment, innovation and community.
The Blue Bombers get check marks for all three.
Walking around the stadium concourse, Johnston weaved through fans in their 20s and 30s socializing at one end near the Rum Hut, while some of the seventh-consecutive sellout of 32,343 spectators took in the action from their seats that included a family section.
“Throughout all of sport, particularly in North America, we’ve seen this transition to social areas that is incredibly important for young adults for their version of consuming a game, which is simply different,” Johnston said.
“To see them all having such a great time socializing with each other, occasionally glancing down and cheering for a play, and then continuing great conversation with food and drink, it was fantastic and it brings such a great energy to the stadium.”
His tour includes speaking with club staff, players, fans and media. He’s asking fans to name three things the league is doing "wonderfully" and two they believe need improvement.
Responses have included some recurring themes.
Fans appreciate the strong sense of Canadiana in the league and rising Canadian stars. There’s positive feedback about “the refreshed look” of TSN broadcasts and optimism about improved ratings and game-day revenue. Through the first four weeks of the season, ratings were up 9.9 per cent from the same time last year.
Many fans are excited about CFL players potentially competing at the 2028 Olympics in flag football, a sport Johnston believes can be linked to the league.
His 14-year-old daughter, Vivian, took up flag football at school last fall and tells him how much fun it is. If participants become fans of that game, it could progress to watching the three-down game.
“If you live in a market where there is a CFL team, maybe your whole team would want to go and attend a game,” Johnston said. “And if you attend a game, maybe you buy a jersey or a hat and become a fan for life.”
When it comes to what the CFL can do better, fans have told him they want a more professional and modern look to the league’s website. They’re also curious about when there will be a 10th team, as well as how the league plans to attract younger fans.
Blue Bombers president and chief executive officer Wade Miller said staff have worked hard to draw a range of fans during the past decade. There is a 55-45 split of male and female game-day fans, more than 60 per cent of a capacity crowd are season-ticket holders and the age of fans is trending down.
“It’s giving them what they want,” Miller said of fans aged 18-30. “It’s the ability stand up, the ability to walk around and be social.”
Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the only franchises to turn a profit last season.
Miller said clubs' executives share ideas to help each other.
“Off the field, the CFL teams work extremely well together and we’re all in this together,” he said.
There are opportunities to make games events, Johnston said.
He pointed to the B.C. Lions holding concerts before season-opening games with stars such as Snoop Dog and 50 Cent.
The Stampeders’ game against the Bombers on Thursday is tied to the Calgary Stampede that kicks off the next day.
The inaugural Stampede Bowl includes a trophy for the winner. And in a partnership with the Stampede, tickets to the game come with admission to some Stampede events.
Country and rock artists will also play sets before the game, at halftime and post-game at Stamps House.
“If there was one lesson I’ve learned from Wade Miller and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, it’s we’ve got to focus on selling one ticket at a time,” Johnston said. “It’s thinking about new ways to drive an engagement with our fans and then showing an incredible appreciation for our fans. Customer service needs to be incredible.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
