Canucks banking on capacity limits being lifted, selling all regular season seats
With British Columbia still in Stage 3 of COVID-19 restrictions, Vancouver Canucks pre-season games in Abbotsford and at Rogers Arena will have 50 per cent capacity and most seats will be filled by season ticket holders.
But the team is banking on that capacity restriction being lifted in time for the regular season home opener.
“Our plan is at the beginning of October, we would go on sale for full capacity as of our opening game on Oct. 26, and we are hoping it would be 100 per cent when that time comes,” said Michael Doyle, the Canucks president of business operations.
If the 50 per cent venue capacity limit remains in place when the puck drops on opening night and the game sells out, half of the fans who bought tickets would need to be refunded in order to meet the restriction.
Sports business commentary Tom Mayenknecht thinks it’s the correct strategy to sell all the tickets anyway.
“It is easier to provide a refund, provide a credit to future games than it is to all of a sudden rush sales at the last moment,” he said.
“I have never seen situation in the business of sports where an NHL franchise like the Canucks or others have to do as much contingency planning as they’re doing,” Mayenknecht said, adding “It’s not an easy time.”
He believes the Canucks would prioritize season ticket holders if they’re forced to have smaller crowds this season, which could shut casual, single-game fans out of Rogers Arena.
“The bread and butter of the National Hockey League continues to be season ticket holders,” said Mayenknecht.
The Canucks are in contact with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. But with the clock ticking down to opening night, Doyle doesn’t know when she’ll make a decision on venue capacity.
“We are working closely with them, and we don’t have a date. I don’t think she has given anyone a date yet,” he said.
If the crowd size restriction remains in place, it will be devastating for the Canucks bottom line.
“The single biggest revenue driver for the NHL is the gate, is ticket sales. And if you’re cutting your budget in half, it’s a massive hit,” said Mayenknecht. “But it’s at least better than having no fans in the stands whatsoever.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.