A Vancouver Whitecaps fan is blaming slippery ramps at BC Place Stadium for an accident that seriously injured his knee over the weekend.
Basil Rolfe was walking down the winding concrete ramps to his seat at the Colorado Rapids game on Saturday when he slipped and fell.
It was pouring rain outside at the time, and Rolfe said the ramps were soaking wet.
“The people coming in, they were shedding an enormous amount of water,” he said. “Without any warning, bam! My feet shot out from underneath me and I knew instantly I’d done something fairly profound to myself.”
His quadriceps tendon was severed from his kneecap, and he’s been told it will take months to recover from surgery.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m without any ability to make a living,” Rolfe said.
The soccer fan admits he had a few beers before the game, but blames BC Place for his fall. He said he and his friends saw eight or nine other people slip and fall on the same ramp.
Pet Kinney was among them, and agreed that the ramp was "really slippery."
“It looks like they put a new finish on,” Kinney said.
B.C. Pavilion Corporation, which owns BC Place, said the ramps have anti-slip coating, and that mats are placed near the entry gates and at the top of the ramps to absorb excess water during rainy weather.
“This was an unfortunate incident. We are truly sorry our guest had a bad experience and wish him well in his recovery,” the Crown corporation said in a statement.
Rolfe said he didn’t see any mats on Saturday, and has sought legal counsel.
“[I was] just there to watch a soccer game, and this is not how it was supposed to work out,” he said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Shannon Paterson
