Letters to The Province: Many reasons for falling attendance at Whitecaps games

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Re: Where art thou, Whitecaps fans? Can Sounders rivalry game boost flagging attendance at B.C. Place?

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It’s a big question mark. As I can see it, there are several reasons: mediocre play, not much exposure by the Whitecaps to the public, and very poor media coverage.

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When I moved to Vancouver from Montreal in mid-1970s, I fell in love with the Whitecaps, watched many games at the old Empire Stadium, bought season tickets and enjoyed the games together with my friends and colleagues from work. The Whitecaps were a powerhouse at the time. When they moved to the cold, concrete B.C. Place, it took a while to adjust to a new situation. However, I was coaching my young son and daughter and we would go the games once in a while. Later on, I would bring my grandsons to watch the games live. Sure, there were good and bad times.

Recently, COVID was one reason, poor play was another, and constant changes of team did not help. Then, the media. I am 79 and too fragile physically to go to the arena. I would like to watch games on TV, but where? Neither TSN nor SNET cover the games. Apple does, but neither I nor any of my friends have Apple on their TV. I can watch Montreal games and many American teams, but not our Whitecaps. My guess is that the Whitecaps owners got more money from Apple than from either Canadian broadcaster, and they lost the support of fans in Vancouver.

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Ian Sawoniak, former Whitecaps fan, Richmond 

Re. Canucks adding VIP section between team benches at Rogers Arena

So they will install these awesome seats in a great area in Rogers Arena and if you rent these you are able to go to any event at the arena for three years. Wow only $75, 000 for three years unless you would prefer an aisle seat, which is only $85,000. What a joke. I’m quite confident they will be vacant at every event, especially the Canucks games.

Tom Duncan, Chilliwack

Why are interest rates so high?

I’m sure a lot of people would like to know how raising interest rates benefits anyone but the banks. If unaffordable housing is such a concern, seems to me raising interest rates makes it even worse. If you own, you are at risk of higher mortgage payments, so you could potentially lose your home. If you want to buy, the higher interest rates could keep you out of the market. If you rent, those increased mortgage payments are going to increase rental rates. So far, prices on everything still keep going up.

S. Krueger, Surrey

Letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected]. CLICK HERE to report a typo.

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