The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have reached a new record in season ticket sales, hitting a mark of 18,800.

That eclipses the previous record of 18,642 that were sold for the 2008 season when the team was fresh off a Grey Cup appearance in 2007.

This time, however, the team is coming off a season in which they finished dead last in the Canadian Football League with a 4-14 record.

The team actually hasn't had a winning record since going 10-7 in 2007.

“What an exciting day for the football club and Bomber fans everywhere,” team president Jim Bell said in a statement released Tuesday.

“To be a record high in season ticket sales is a testament to not only football fans in our province, but sports fans in general who have ignited this city with pride over the last few weeks."

Season tickets to the city's new NHL team have also gone fast. The 13,000 available season ticket packages were sold out just minutes after they went on sale to the general public on Saturday.

There are still more than two weeks left before the Bomber season ticket deadline of June 23, Bell noted.

"We’re eager to see where that number will close. It’s been a long off-season and we’re looking forward to what the 2011 season will bring,” he said.

The 2011 ticket sales could be a sign of growing optimism for the team, which has made a number of signings on the off-season and has a healthy returning QB in Buck Pierce.

Or, it could be that fans who buy season tickets in 2011 are guaranteed a comparable seat in the team's brand new stadium, set to open in 2012.