Vancouver Canucks fans were a little disappointed yesterday after the team announced they were holding a “major news press conference.”
The news turned out to be major for the Canucks and Rogers, who announced a 10-year extension to their partnership, which includes continuing to broadcast games on television and radio with Sportsnet, and retaining the arena naming rights.
For fans, it meant nothing is changing.
While some may have preferred a move to TSN for television broadcasts, staying with Sportsnet ensures that fan favourites like John Shorthouse, John Garrett, and Dan Murphy are also staying put.
So call it good news, if not “major.”
Canucks president of business operations Michael Doyle did hint at some other news that has major fan interest.
The seats. They’re changing the seats.
Rogers Arena’s seats have been maroon coloured ever since the stadium opened as GM Place in 1995. It’s a colour that reminds fans of Orca Bay and the original Orca uniforms.
Snagged myself one of the Orca Bay chairs š pic.twitter.com/WLoM08I1ci
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) September 22, 2021
In response to a question about Rogers Arena’s much-maligned maroon seats, Doyle admitted that there are plans to change them “soon.”
āI think one of the most popular questions on social media is [about] our seats, and I can tell you that we do have plans for the seats,” said Doyle. “I wonāt tell you what colour, but yes, we do have plans for the seats soon.ā
Canucks fans have been clamouring for the team to change the colour of the seats at Rogers Arena to match the team’s colours ever since former COO Jeff Stipec brought up the topic during an August 2018 interview with Sekeres and Price.
āWeāre coming up to the life of those seats and I think when we do change them, theyāll be more aligned with the brand and the colours of the organization,ā said Stipec. āI canāt see us bringing in the crimson red seats as a new buy. I think it would be in the blue and green just to match the team.ā
Stipec probably had no idea what he was about to start.
Canucks fans have used the hashtag #bluetheseats on Twitter ever since. That was especially true when Rogers Arena’s seats were covered in blue T-shirts to celebrate the Sedins’ jersey retirement in 2020.
I mean cāmon you can see how good they look @fr_aquilini youāve gotta #bluetheseats
— Tyler Sturrock (@Bigbird17000) February 13, 2020
Two months after the 2018 Sekeres and Price interview, Stipec was replaced by Trent Carroll as Canucks COO. During an exclusive interview with Daily Hive in 2019, Carroll admitted that he had heard the fan reaction about the desire to change the colour of the seats, but also downplayed its importance.
āI hear a lot about the seats,ā Carroll said, laughing. āI donāt know what it is.ā
āWeāre always looking at areas that weāve got to invest in the arena… We do it more on priority. Do seats get on the list? Sure, but you want to improve the fan experience, would the change in the colour of the seats really change the experience that you have when you come into the arena? I donāt knowā¦ Thereās other things that weāre working on that we certainly want to invest in too.ā
Doyle, who was promoted after Carroll left the organization last year, said on Monday that there will be improvements made to Rogers Arena over the next 10 years.
āThis buildingās 27 years old and we have a significant exciting time ahead of us over the next 10 years, in improving Rogers Arena,” said Doyle. “We have some capital projects that weāre going to be going through the next 10 years.ā
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