HAMILTON — With the Hamilton Tiger-Cats thriving on and off the field, President Scott Mitchell says the corner was turned a few years ago.

A new stadium, 17 consecutive sellouts, two appearances in Grey Cup Championships and confidence in the on-field product are among what the Ticats have brought to the table over the last few years, emerging successful in all facets of the organization.

The transformation, Mitchell says, started with the vision of Kent Austin and a brand new stadium in Tim Hortons Field.

“I think we turned that corner a few years back,” said Mitchell. “The reality is you can only do so much when you don’t have a great facility and you also can only do so much when you don’t have a great product on the field.

“While we had some success previous to Coach Austin arriving,” he added, “the reality is it’s no coincidence that both Tim Hortons Field and Kent Austin arrived a few years ago and really changed the whole dynamic of the organization.”

“It’s no coincidence that both Tim Hortons Field and Kent Austin arrived a few years ago and really changed the whole dynamic of the organization.”



The Ticats have sold out every game at their new stadium so far and expect another sold out season in 2016. Demand for tickets is so high that there’s talk of capping season ticket sales. Meanwhile the team is putting another $1 million into stadium renovations.

The discussion around the team shifted drastically in short order, something Mitchell traces back to Austin’s hiring in 2013.

It wasn’t always the case that the number one question in Hamilton is whether the team will win the Grey Cup this year. It hasn’t happened yet under Austin, but these days Ticats fans go into every season knowing their team is in the discussion.

Austin is working hard to find out what, if anything, that missing ingredient could be.

“We evaluate and analyze every area of the football team,” said Austin, asked ‘what’s missing’ during a season preview teleconference. “Down to the individual players and schemes to the impact of injuries, how we can prevent injuries and get more man games and man hours on the football field — especially with key players.

“Just about every area including analytics, self-scout, opponent scout — all those things are evaluated in the off-season to see where we can make improvements, test those improvements and measure the efficacy of what we’re doing and see if we’re on the right trajectory for success.

“It’s typically multi-faceted, it’s not just one area that you put your finger on.”

True, there’s no one answer as to why Hamilton’s recent on-field success hasn’t translated to a championship. At least part of it, Austin also pointed out, has to do with luck. The Ticats were a last-minute penalty flag away from winning the 102nd Grey Cup in Vancouver in 2014, while last year they were the likely Grey Cup favourites until quarterback Zach Collaros suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fall.

They’ll be without Collaros to start 2016 but his progress remains positive as he works towards a return to the field. And outside of that, despite some losses on both sides of the ball, there’s no reason to believe this team can’t return just as dominant this season as it was through the first half of 2015.

RELATED:

» A team by team look at the 2016 CFL Draft

» Ticats trade up to select OL Brandon Revenberg

» Buy: Ticats season tickets

It starts on defence, where Austin believes the Ticats can be even better than they were a year ago.

“I think the chemistry can always be created because it stems from the leader on that side of the ball, and that’s [Defensive Coordinator Orlondo Steinauer],” said Austin. “The way they coach the guys to prepare them and I think our overall philosophy on what overall leadership looks like should carry the day regardless of any personnel changes.

“We still have a really good core group of guys that are coming back,” he added. “They’re outstanding leaders that have been in the system. We actually think we can be better defensively, but every coach is going to say that at this stage.”

While Jeff Reinebold continues to mold special teams with his expertise, one newcomer on the coaching staff will be Stefan Ptaszek, now the offensive coordinator following the sudden departure of Tommy Condell.

Austin speaks highly of Ptaszek, a former McMaster head coach who has won three Yates Cups and a Vanier Cup at the helm of the Marauders.

“I’ve known Stef, I’ve known his body of work, his success,” said Austin. “He’s been a winner, he knows the game. He knows talent.”

While coaching stability is huge, the team has also been busy looking to improve off the field.

The Ticats have added an All-Access program, a points system that allows fans to access and consume content and win prizes as well as opportunities to engage with Ticats. They’ll also launch a retail store on the southeast corner of Tim Hortons Field along with an alumni clubhouse for 2016.



Most recently the team announced the addition of the Coors Banquet Bar, a 4,000 square foot weather-protected bar where fans can gather on the second level.

“Obviously we’ve had goals in Hamilton to be a very successful and sustainable organization,” said Mitchell. “And we’re thrilled to be able to say we’ve surpassed that sustainability and are really reveling in the opportunity to be a successful and viable franchise.

“We want our experience at Tim Hortons Field to be the best live sporting experience in North America, and I think clearly we’ve done a great job with that.”

With Austin in the fold and a dominant home field advantage, the Ticats have the confidence in the on-field product to compete for a Grey Cup every season. The next step is to turn that into a championship.

“Without that great success on the field and the great confidence that we have an organization that can compete week in and week out and particularly compete for championships, you’re never going to be able to achieve everything you want to off the field,” said Mitchell.

While the Ticats begin their quest for a Grey Cup on June 23 in what should be a heated road battle with the Toronto Argonauts in the first game at BMO Field, their fans can look forward to seeing it all in person at the home opener on July 1 when the BC Lions come to town.