CIS CORNER: GEE-GEES GOOD BUY AT TWICE THE PRICE

The University of Ottawa is partnering with the local National Capital Amateur Football Assocatiation to sell tickets to Gee-Gees football games at Frank Clair Stadium this fall.

At the risk of shillin', $20 to see all four regular-season home games of a team which has a decent shot of repeating as Yates Cup champions and possibly going to the Vanier Cup is a great buy — for point of comparison, at another top OUA football school, Laurier, it's $51 for a season ticket, and Laval charges $160 for a pair to all four of its conference home dates.

Everyone who buys a season ticket package will also be entered in a raffle with more than $9,000 worth of prizes, such as a golf trip for two to South Padre Island and tickets to the Grey Cup and Vanier Cup. Working with minor sports associations and selling package deals to attract families to the games is a tried-and-true strategy in Ottawa. The 67's certainly do it, and apparently a big reason the MBNA Capital Hoops Classic last January between the Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens drew some 9,700 fans (topping the original goal of 5,500) was that the Scotiabank Place staffers worked with the minor basketball community to sell tickets.

To an outsider in this city, it's always seemed odd that more fans aren't in the stands at Frank Clair, despite the Gee-Gees' strong football tradition, relatively decent media coverage and some level of public interest. Let it be said the U of O, as the No. 1 football team in town for the foreseeable future, is doing its best to get people out this fall -- affordable ticket packages and a good team on the field.