Money doesn’t grow on trees. Seriously people have been looking for money trees, they don’t exist. I wish they existed!
Vancouver has always been a hockey city. The Vancouver Canucks have had support that hasn’t been felt by any other sports franchise in Vancouver for well over a decade.
They claim to have a game sellout record that dates back ten years. Lately there has been a lot of empty seats at the library they call Rogers Arena. They make a profit and I believe the owners are happy with just making a profit.
With the crappy product they have put on the ice the last season and a half and the cost of tickets many fans are walking away.
Lucky they don’t have to walk far when they leave Rogers Arena to find a new team that was a movement of supporting culture that is building ahead of steam.
That team is the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Let’s look at factors that are making these fans switch teams:
Price
To take a family of four to a game tickets prices
Canucks: $400 (tickets average $100/game)
Whitecaps: $88 (tickets average $22/game)
Game Days
Canucks: sure the Saturday night games are the top games for fans. But who is going to take their kids to a Tuesday game vs Columbus that will cost them over $400 and won’t end until close to 10pm.
Whitecaps: 14 out of 17 home games are on Saturdays. Times of game starts range from 3:30pm to 7pm. Nothing better then taking a family to a 4pm game and being able to leave the game by 6:30pm and have a nice dinner with your family. Make a day of it. Make it a day your child won’t forget.
Environment
Canucks: the arena is a corporate hangout. You have business men taking clients there to make deals. They don’t stand and cheer unless there is a fight or a goal. A family can’t afford to take their kids to games. People have gotten in trouble by security for standing and cheering for bothering other fans at the game.
Whitecaps: BC Place is a stadium where it is not unusual for the supporters to stand, chant and sing for the full 90mins. Kids are told to stand and make noise. The Southsiders, Rain City Brigade and Curva Collective have created a amazing movement and stadium atmosphere in the south end.
Future
Canucks: people will always show up to Canucks game. People have the disposable income to buy the tickets. But the atmosphere moving forward is going to hurt the team.
Whitecaps: with a average attendance 20,000 the past two seasons and two straight sellouts to start this season the future is bright.
With the Canucks not making the playoffs this season it gives the Whitecaps a great chance to solidifying there following within this city and province. If they can keep being a exciting team it will get fans in the door and make Vancouver a soccer city.
You can read my other articles on AFTN at canadiansoccer.com and listen to the AFTN podcast on ITunes and Stitcher.
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