Lack of water fountains at arena is shameful

I recently attended Gabriel Iglesias’s performance at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. It was a great show, the staff so helpful and organized.

However, I was shocked to show up with my empty water bottle and be told that I couldn’t take it in. More shameful was the fact that there were no water fountains for patrons. Customer-service staff told me there were some behind the stage, but not accessible to the public, and offered me a plastic cup to use in the washroom. From the stack of cups, my request was not out of the ordinary.

This is unacceptable today. Arena management should step up and support environmentally sound practices. Our community is keenly aware that water-filling stations are a must.

These organizations allow entry with empty water bottles and supply filling stations or water fountains: Royal Athletic Park, major league baseball (Yankees and Blue Jays), Royal B.C. Museum, the Belfry and where security is at its highest — all airports.

And to add fuel to the fire, a small bottle of water at the arena was $3.50.

I expect that the next time I attend an event, I will be allowed to enter with my empty water bottle and there will be public water-filling stations. Then we all can be proud of the arena’s part in being environmentally sensitive. Cindy Petrowski Victoria