Thousands of Detroit Lions fans are using social media to say no to Nickelback for American Thanksgiving, but the Vancouver-based rock radio staple is the Pepsi Max-sponsored halftime entertainment for the Grey Cup on November 27.
But will every seat be filled for the 99th classic?s eighth trip to BC Place stadium?
There could be as many as 900 ?seat kills? because of obstructed views in the top rows of level 4. Structural reinforcement meant columns were expanded and the corners have rendered some seats useless. The stadium?s official capacity in BC Pavilion Corp. (PavCo) bumph is 54,500, but when a sellout was announced July 20 the number given was 52,511.
Asked if any of the seats would be put on sale at a reduced rate or blocked with banners, Grey Cup Committee general manager Scott Ackles said the ticketing team was finalizing printing and distribution and it would be up to Ticketmaster.
?We may be dealing with some of those, but at this point in time it?s too early to tell,? Ackles said. ?I have not heard any numbers at this point.?
Cable vision
PavCo did not want to comment on Freyssinet?s $6.5 million lawsuit against Canam Group.
The French-based company that supplied the cables for BC Place Stadium?s new roof was blamed by Quebec-based Canam for a $25 million cost overrun last April.
Freyssinet filed an October 31 BC Supreme Court lawsuit that claimed it was not paid in full and that Canam wrongly tried to recover the other $24 million already paid from the subcontract.
Could the latest blunder be why Telus has yet to hype its pioneering technology at the stadium or its new name?
?We?re not going to have any comment on that speculation,? said Telus spokesman Shawn Hall.
All the problems encountered in the bumpy reopening of the stadium can be traced to the Freyssinet versus Canam dispute.
When the steel mast and cable installation proved difficult, the application of roofing fabric was delayed from February to April to June. It had a domino effect felt on reopening night with long lineups, while under-trained staff grappled with big crowds and short supply of food and beverage.
Kreek speak
Adam Kreek showed up at the Canadian Olympic Committee?s Gold Medal Plates at the Westin Bayshore in style on November 4, wearing the rowing gold medal he won at Beijing three years ago as a belt buckle.
Free-spirit Kreek was at Simon Fraser University?s Woodward?s campus four days later to speak at a public forum on the role of alcohol in sports and culture. Kreek watched Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final at the King?s Head in Kitsilano where a brawl broke out after a disappointed Canucks fan dumped beer on a woman wearing a Boston Bruins jersey.
Downtown Vancouver didn?t have a monopoly on stupidity on June 15.
?People watching the game were just as upset as the people who were playing the game, but they weren?t exhausted after playing 60 minutes of hockey, so they had to get that energy out some how,? Kreek said. ?So add that with the extra fuel of alcohol and carbs.?
Kreek spends much of his time as a keynote speaker and workshop trainer. He?ll be rowing around Vancouver Island to aid the Robert Bateman Get to Know Foundation in April.
In December 2012, he?ll be rowing across the Atlantic in a fundraiser for Right to Play.
Lucky sevens
Rugby sevens is on its way to the Summer Olympics at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and it?s a game that has the potential to make an impact on North American television.
The fast, high-scoring matches fit nicely within a 30-minute window.
Burnaby is hosting the Vancouver International Rugby Sevens Serevi Invitational July 21 to 22, 2012. Serevi is Waisale Serevi, the great Fijian sevens player who now lives in Seattle.
Perhaps this can be a toe-in-the-water to test local audiences for a bid to get the International Rugby Board?s Sevens World Series to stop at BC Place someday. The nearest 2012 stop is Las Vegas February 10 to 12. ?
