Vancouver; First non-sellout of an "outdoor" game?

[Super Nintendo Chalmers]

Everything is lining up against this event: The feeling about the direction of the team, the venue, the actual match up, scheduling it in March in an region that averages 2 C in the dead of winter.

All kidding aside, there is little "heritage" around these parts regarding hockey. I'm talking about the outdoor aspect of it. The last time there was a sustained cold long enough for safe ice to form was in 1994. I know because I was out on Trout Lake with hundreds of other people playing shinny. That would be unimaginable in much of the rest of the country.

[burn_baby_burn]

I bet ticket prices have a lot to do with it. I didn't take the NHL up on their offer for the Heritage Classic in Calgary. Personally I thought the price was much too high for where they were putting me and I chose to stay home and watch the game sitting in front of my fire place.

[Daradon]

No, I get it was the 1915 finals. I just thought the finals back then WERE one game.

Regardless it's stupid because neither of those teams technically exist anymore, it was even before the NHL. In fact, it wasn't even the Stanley Cup, so you can't say 'Stanley Cup Finals' It was still the Challenge Cup.

EDIT: Here's what Wikipedia says about the series. Called Stanley Cup here, not sure if that's right or not. I always equated the change of the name of the cup to the time when the NHL was started up, but of course, that's not exactly correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1915_Stanley_Cup_Finals

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

If it was just because everyone in Vancouver had hopped off the Canucks bandwagon, we would be seeing a lot more empty seats at regular home games, and it'd be cheaper to get ahold of tickets for those games.

There are empty seats at home games. Lots for some games.

[Enoch Root]

So... Vancouver is no good?

[Locke]

Oh, they'll announce it as a sell-out, just wait.

[sun]

Problem is that Vancouverites aren't hockey fans. They are canucks fans. And they are only canucks fans if the team is winning.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Daradon

No, I get it was the 1915 finals. I just thought the finals back then WERE one game.

Regardless it's stupid because neither of those teams technically exist anymore, it was even before the NHL. In fact, it wasn't even the Stanley Cup, so you can't say 'Stanley Cup Finals' It was still the Challenge Cup.

EDIT: Here's what Wikipedia says about the series. Called Stanley Cup here, not sure if that's right or not. I always equated the change of the name of the cup to the time when the NHL was started up, but of course, that's not exactly correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1915_Stanley_Cup_Finals

No, it was always the Stanley Cup, right since the first winner in 1893. It was, after all, Lord Stanley that presented it. Winning the trophy was originally based on a challenger format until 1912 when it began to evolve into a league champ vs. league champ format.

[pylon]

LOL.

The Vancouver Canucks are a bad hockey team, with even worse fans.

I have nothing more to add.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

No, it was always the Stanley Cup, right since the first winner in 1893. It was, after all, Lord Stanley that presented it. Winning the trophy was originally based on a challenger format until 1912 when it began to evolve into a league champ vs. league champ format.

Yeah, but I don't think they changed the name until he died? Or at least things had caught on to a certain extent.

'Originally commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup'

What does that mean?

Oh, and it appears you are wrong. Lord Stanley never presented it personally.

'Stanley never saw a Stanley Cup championship game, nor did he ever present the Cup. Although his term as governor general ended in September 1893, he was forced to return to England on July 15.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Cup

[CedarMeter]

Just checked out ticketmaster and you can still get 7 tickets in a row.

SEC ROW SEATS PER TICKET 453 FF 1-7 CA $188.20 x 7

Though it does say not many left on the opening page.

[Resolute 14]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that he personally presented the trophy to a winning team. He did personally donate it, however. (His sons were also avid hockey players). "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup" is what is engraved on it, but it was commonly known as the Stanley Cup from the start.

Completely irrelevant aside... when the Stanley Cup went pro, the Earl Grey planned to donate a new trophy for the senior amateur hockey championship. But the Allan Cup was presented first, so he instead donated the Grey Cup to be the dominion rugby-football championship.

[Daradon]

^^^ Haha yeah, knew that about the Grey Cup.

Yeah, I guess it's just semantics. I had just heard the name Stanley Cup didn't gain real traction till years after. Course, I'm sure that could be successfully debated both ways. History gets foggy very quickly, who knows.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Locke

Oh, they'll announce it as a sell-out, just wait.

From Vancouver's perspective it's a sell out, because the NHL bought all the tickets. From the NHL's perspective, they are going to have to give a ton of tickets away the day before to fill the place.

I know a few season ticket holders who didn't purchase tickets to the event, as there is nothing special about watching the game in the building right beside where they normally play. They would have gone at the regular price, but when tickets were 3-4 times higher, they'd just as soon sit at home. With the team not doing well this year, it made it even easier for them.

Suck it canucks.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

There are empty seats at home games. Lots for some games.

empty seats that are sold though, the lower bowl at GM Place is so expensive that it's mostly 90% corporate season tickets now, and when the team isn't the trendy thing to do for those types of people to not use their tickets

also the fact that it's an 'outdoor' game in March in Vancouver

and they are playing Ottawa.......

I suspect it will sell out by Sunday, but whomever thought Vancouver in March against their 23rd biggest rival with higher ticket prices than normal was a good idea should be fired

any other Canadian team, or any of the California teams, or Boston, or Chicago etc. and it's sold out day tickets go on sale

[d_phaneuf]

LA/Ana had the same issues before its game too, lowered prices 20% with a few weeks left

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-...r-stadium-game

[d_phaneuf]

closest seat is 150 feet from the ice, yet it will probably look great in HD on tv (like the Kings/Ducks did)

just a pointless event

[greentree]

It will rain. That tiny hole up there in the $650 million thingy they call a retractable roof will be shut tight.
Just you watch.
(That is, just watch if you are really, really bored on Sunday with absolutely nothing better to do. Odds of that happening in my case are approximately 3000 to 1, and I live in YVR)

[Resolute 14]

Calgary or Edmonton would have made far better opponents, definitely.

As a history buff, I like the idea of an Ottawa-Vancouver match-up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Vancouver's lone Stanley Cup. Except, they hosted it on the 99th anniversary for some dumb reason, and there might be all of a dozen people who actually think that historical tidbit is relevant or neat.

The Flames really did the same thing with the 1924 inspired uniforms, but at least there is a modern tie in with the Montreal Canadiens as well, and the fact that Montreal is a big name opponent. Pitching the Bruins against the Canucks would have made more sense than the Sens. Or the Rangers, but they've already played two.

[OldDutch]

I thought they added Ottawa in to give every Canadian team a chance to play in one? With TO getting theirs this year, wasn't Ottawa the only one who has been in the league since the outdoor games inception and is Canadian who hasn't played in one? (Winnipeg is "new")

Just seemed like a convenient way to make fans of two teams with little to brag about happy they got a chance to play the big game too.

However, just like the two kids picked last in pick up games, they both are odd miss matches who no one really likes.