COVID-19: Return to Full Capacity Events in Vancouver Driven by Cheap Tickets and Stifled Demand

Article content

Vancouver entertainment fans are nervous and excited about full-capacity concerts and sporting events, which are now returning to British Columbia at a time of low ticket prices and increased demand, runners say.

Article content

Rogers Arena is set to fill up for the Canucks’ first home game in 2021 on Tuesday. Fan Peter Wortman said he feels “a bit wary” about returning to the arena for the first time since March 10, 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the opportunity for big in-person events.

“I will try to stay away from crowded areas, including the off-site lineup and when shopping for food and drinks during intermission,” he said. “I can’t stop living my life, but I can be more careful.”

A 29-year-old season ticket holder, the Pemberton resident will be surrounded by tens of thousands of other vaccinated adults Tuesday. He’s more excited than ever to see his favorite team back home and ready to do whatever it takes, including wearing a mask at all times, unless he’s eating or drinking.

Article content

“Things are getting back to normal,” Wortman said. “It is nice.”

Chris Brumwell, a spokesman for the Canucks, said the team is “trying to encourage fans to arrive early and with their vaccine card and photo ID ready to present” so people can get in faster and reduce crowding. at the entrances. The company has also switched to a mobile ticketing system this year to minimize the exchange of tickets by hand.

“We are using technology to minimize health risks where we can, but it is especially difficult to do inside a building of this construction,” Brumwell said. “Our competition is small, it would be difficult to enforce directional traffic flows.”

The capacity restrictions lifted Monday coincided with a “higher than imagined” demand for sports tickets, said Kingsley Bailey, a Vancouver ticket broker. “We see a much younger demographic going to games and some of my older clients don’t renew their season passes due to health concerns.”

Article content

The pent-up demand for single-game tickets comes at a time when prices are lower than usual.

“Before the pandemic, you would be looking for a minimum of $ 60 for a Canucks ticket. Now, we are seeing prices as low as $ 50 or $ 40, ”Bailey said. “Many people who have not had the opportunity to watch professional sports because it was unattainable, go because the prices are reasonable. That the demand will increase as long as the team is successful. “

It has reached a point where, on occasion, the BC Lions box office tickets have been sold out.

During the team’s Sept. 24 game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, “a lineup of disappointed fans stood outside BC Place when it was at half capacity,” Bailey said.

“And those are the tickets to the Canadian Football League, which are much less expensive than hockey.”

Article content

In previous months, venues spaced seating groups according to provincial health guidelines. The ticket broker believes that the resulting reduced seat supply further increased the demand for event tickets.

However, “there are fewer indoor concerts than sporting events planned in Vancouver this fall,” Bailey said. One of them will see country musician Eric Church take the stage at Rogers Arena on October 29. As the province lifted meeting capacity restrictions on Monday, more tickets were made available.

“Those tickets are selling fast,” Bailey said. “It’s really drawing crowds.”

At each sporting or entertainment event, fans 12 and older must show proof of vaccination prior to admission. In areas where vaccination rates are low, including parts of the Fraser Sanitary Regions, the North and the Interior, capacity remains limited to 50%.

[email protected]