How many people are really attending games at Vancouver’s biggest sports venue?
According to the figures obtained by Business in Vancouver from BC Pavilion Corp. (PavCo), attendance for the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place stadium was 298,139 over 17 games between March 11 and September 9 this year, or about 17,537 per game, which was 3,352 below the average of 20,889 announced by the team for the period.
Attendance for the BC Lions at the public-owned stadium was 87,745 for the first six games of their Canadian Football League (CFL) schedule, or an average of 14,579 per game, which was 5,170 below the 19,749 average attendance they announced.
During the six-month period, the teams overstated attendance by a combined 88,006. The higher numbers are based on the quantities of tickets the teams sell and give away, not the actual number of tickets used by spectators, as measured by the hand-held ticket-scanning devices that have replaced turnstiles.
The Whitecaps announced 10 crowds of 22,120. The highest count for the period was when the L.A. Galaxy visited. The club claimed attendance of 27,038, but the scanned tickets count was 24,770. The smallest crowds were for touring English Premier League club Crystal Palace (12,122 actual versus. 14,788 announced) and Sporting Kansas City (11,114 versus 16,383).
Crowds for the Lions ranged from 10,846 for the exhibition game against the Calgary Stampeders (which was announced as 17,630) to 16,947 for a regular-season game against the Stampeders (announced as 21,241).
On Nov. 13, Leos quarterback Jonathon Jennings staged a thrilling comeback to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West semifinal at B.C. Place. The crowd for the only home league playoff game for any Vancouver team in 2016 was announced as 19,176, the smallest ever for a Vancouver-hosted CFL playoff game. The actual attendance may be only slightly lower, because fewer complimentary tickets are generally available when PavCo charges higher rent for playoff games.
The previous low was 25,603 at Empire Stadium for the Nov. 23, 1963 West final. Unlike 1963, however, the 2016 game was not blacked-out, various National Football League games aired at the same time, and the Vancouver Canucks hosted a matinee with the Dallas Stars across the street.
BIV reported last March that, since the 2011 renovation, the Whitecaps and Lions overstated attendance figures by a combined 500,000.
The business model has changed since BC Place opened in 1983. Neither team relies solely on ticket revenue, while broadcast and advertising deals are increasingly vital.
For example, Bell Media-owned TSN signed a five-year, $200 million deal in 2013 with the CFL, which was renewed through 2021, giving teams $4 million a year. That covers most of the player payroll, which is capped at $5.1 million per franchise.
The Whitecaps’ main sponsor is Bell, whose company logo has appeared on the players’ jerseys since entering Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2011. Terms have not been publicized, but MLS commissioner Don Garber told reporters during one of his visits to Vancouver that the Bell jersey sponsorship was one of the most lucrative in the league.
In their unsuccessful appeal to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, the Lions and Whitecaps each claimed their attendance figures were proprietary and that disclosing them would harm relationships with sponsors and broadcasters. An adjudicator said anyone who goes to the games can see when there are empty seats and the statistics could not legally be withheld from the public.
