Looks like Canucks will keep Rogers Arena's maroon seats for another year
If you’re a fan of Rogers Arena’s 29-year-old maroon seats, I have good news. If you attend a Vancouver Canucks game next season, you’ll probably be sitting in one.
Canucks fans have been obsessing over the seats at Rogers Arena — both the colour and comfort of them — for years.
Former Canucks COO Jeff Stipec brought up the topic in a 2018 interview with Matt Sekeres and Blake Price, hinting that the old maroon seats may get replaced by blue and green ones.
But three months later, Stipec was gone from the organization, and the plan to change the seats appeared to be de-prioritized.
That was until last summer, when new black-coloured seats began popping up at Rogers Arena. They were for the brand-new President’s Club, a new VIP section with a restaurant located in between the home and visitor dressing rooms. The Canucks went with mismatched seats last season, with the plan to upgrade the rest of their home rink at some point.
In March of this year, the Canucks made it official, sending out a press release announcing plans for the third phase of $150 million renovations at Rogers Arena. Highlighting the release was the plan to replace all the old maroon seats in the arena with “new custom-designed black seats that include cupholders” over the next two summers.
âThe project, which will begin when the hockey season is over, is something our members and fans have been requesting for some time, and we understand its importance,” Canucks president of business operations Michael Doyle said in the March 4 release.
But fast-forward to mid-August, and there doesn’t appear to be much progress. Summer concertgoers haven’t noticed anything new, and a source inside Rogers Arena said there was no sign of construction.
“Plan is still in place and timeline has not changed from our announcement in March,” a Canucks spokesperson told Daily Hive last week. “Could have an update soon on more specifics.”
Preds fans are making fun of Rogers Arena's maroon seats pic.twitter.com/f626wxc1Ya
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) April 22, 2024
While it’s true the Canucks gave themselves two summers to complete the project, many fans assumed the work would start this summer. It’s not a quick process to replace 18,000 seats, after all.
And maybe they’ll get started replacing them soon.
But the Canucks host their first preseason game at Rogers Arena on September 24, and there are also 13 concerts and other events scheduled between now and then. That doesn’t leave much time to get to work.
If the Canucks wanted to replace the seats in-season, there is a large gap in the schedule beginning in February. The Canucks don’t play at home between February 8 and March 5 due to the Four Nations Face-off tournament taking place February 12-20 ahead of a five-game road trip. That gives the Canucks a full 24 days without an event currently scheduled at Rogers Arena.