Of Vancouver's two practitioners of professional football, only the one of the pointed-at-two ends variety advanced to the playoffs in 2013. But the round-ballers can boast an attendance boost.
The Whitecaps ended their third Major League Soccer season on October 27 up almost 3% in announced attendance for league games, thanks heavily to the golden boot-winning Brazilian magician Camilo Sanvezzo. BC Pavilion Corp. (PavCo) is resisting my request to release the actual number of tickets scanned at Whitecaps and BC Lions' games. So all we have now are what the teams announced at their games.
The Whitecaps' combined total for 2013 regular season games was 341,353. Add the two Amway Canadian Championship games and the final tally is 374,428.
The Whitecaps announced a 21,000 attendance six times during the campaign. That was not 20,999 or 21,001, but exactly 21,000. After three seasons, that round number has appeared a total of 16 times on scoresheets. While their attendance is sixth best overall in MLS, it is less than half the league-leading Seattle Sounders. Ownership had hoped to be selling out Level 2 by now. The Lions drew 281,530 for their 10 home dates (one exhibition and nine regular season games), down from the 298,075 they achieved last year. The 2012 West Final meant last year's grand total was 341,291.
In 2007, when the Lions were defending Grey Cup champions, they drew 317,428 for 10 games. Add the 54,712 West final and the tally was 372,140. The club netted $7.34 million in ticket sales and paid $160,744 rent over the entire season, which was less than the single $147,239 West final rent. PavCo refuses to disclose details of either the Whitecaps or Lions' leases, but the lease terms include a royalty based on ticket revenue and a levy added to tickets.
Every home game for both teams is available on high definition TV. Their leagues receive rights fees and in-stadium advertisers benefit from the exposure on TV. When fans stay home or go to a sports bar instead, that means a lost opportunity for PavCo to sell food and beverage.
Just wait 'til next year. The first big sporting event under the retractable big top is the National Hockey League's Tim Hortons Heritage Classic on March 2 between the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators. The last scheduled sports extravaganza is the November 30 102nd Grey Cup game.
Board feat
Jordan Bateman, the B.C. representative for the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation, will be claiming a small victory.
His submission to the BC Legislature's finance committee recommended reducing the size of the 11-member PavCo board of directors.
The board is now comprised of four men and two women, chaired by Grouse Mountain owner Stuart McLaughlin. Directors include meetings planner Theresa Breining, Big White marketing director Michael Ballingall, DDB adman Frank Palmer, former Prince George politician and bureaucrat Don Zurowski and newcomer Stephanie Sharp.
Sharp's biography with the Board Resourcing and Development Office says she has been president of Farax Consulting Corp. since 1994 and has been a director of the BC Progress Board and BC Women's Hospital Foundation.
McLaughlin took over the chairmanship after Peter Fassbender won election as a BC Liberal and quit following the election. Director Suzanne Anton also became a Liberal MLA and is now the attorney general. Retired adman Bob Bryant, E-Comm CEO David Guscott and ex-Victoria mayor Alan Lowe are also ex-PavCo directors.
The October-released PavCo statement of financial information for the year ended March 31, 2013, shows it spent $68,470,318 on suppliers and $16,189,247 on payments to executives, managers and workers.
The biggest supplier was food and beverage contractor Centerplate ($20,583,729), followed close behind by Telus Communications ($17,036,202).
Smaller suppliers included Karacters Design Group ($156,154) and DDB Canada ($74,940), companies chaired by PavCo director Palmer.
The highest-paid executive was Ken Cretney, the Vancouver Convention Centre general manager who became BC Place's boss in late May when Howard Crosley was fired. Cretney received $338,458 in pay and benefits plus $41,260 in expenses. •
