Meat draw, bacon and other Canadiana on offer as Canucks cut ticket prices
For 16 games, there will be $47 tickets, but prices higher for popular opponents
It’s debatable who’s the more optimistic: A farmer during seeding or a sports fan at the beginning of a season.
For Canucks fans, once spoiled by a string of bountiful regular seasons that included reaching 100 or more points seven times from 2002 to 2011, optimism means another fallow year or two in hopes of reaping the rewards down the road.
“To tell you the truth, my expectations are just to have an exciting brand of hockey to watch, to see the young guys develop,” longtime fan Don Falconer said. “I don’t think anyone is fooling themselves that this is a playoff team.
“The hope is for fun hockey and for the future.”
The Canucks play their seasonopener on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, and for their part have lowered prices.
You can watch Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday for $79; and tickets cost as little as $47 for 16 games (Detroit, Vegas, Carolina and Los Angeles are some of the opponents for those nights).
“Forty-seven dollars, that’s cheaper than it used to cost when I had a half-season ticket package way back in the day,” Falconer said. “Back around 1998-99, I think I paid more for a game back then.”
On the other hand, if you want to watch Montreal or Chicago on their lone visits to Rogers Arena, the cheapest seat is $110; for Toronto it’s $121, the Stanley Cup champions from Pittsburgh is $127, and when Edmonton returns for its final visit in late March, the cheapest seat is $130.
“Put it this way,” Kingsley Bailey of Vancouver Ticket said. “There are maybe a dozen games to watch the Canucks this year, those are the games people want.
“The other games, tickets are more problematic to unload.
“The positive thing is, the team can’t get worse. They’ve got some good young players, there’s hope for the future and I can see they (Canucks front office) are really, really trying.”
A string of consecutive sellouts that began in November 2002, ended at 474 games in October 2014, 13 games shy of the league record.
That corresponded with declining season ticket numbers, from 17,000 a couple of years ago to 16,500 last year. The arena seats 18,630 for hockey.
On opening night, the Canucks are offering bacon, a free beer and a meat draw. A house band will play Canadian rock classics at the first four games (all against Canadian clubs).
There’s also a new family zone. “The last couple of years, we’ve had a lot of work to do getting out there and selling tickets,” Canucks COO Jeff Stipec said. “This year, we have all the arrows pointing in the right direction.”
Stipec declined to say how many season tickets have been sold for 2017-18.
The renewal rate is up five per cent over last year, he said, the strongest renewal rate in four years and the second-highest renewal rate of the 14 teams that did not make last season’s playoffs.
The club is targeting families, young people and new fans.
“There’s still lots of work to be done to fill this building,” Stipec said. “If we can get them here to experience a hockey game in Rogers Arena, we’re confident they’ll come back.”
Over at Vancity Sports on Seymour Street, owner John Szvelka has had a tough time selling Canucks sweaters so far this season.
“I got all the new Adidas jerseys in, I’ve sold some of every team’s sweaters except the Canucks,” said Szvelka.
“I’ve been in this business a long time and I’ve never seen it like this for a local team. Hopefully they’ll grab a few wins and get fans excited.”