Opinion: Canucks viewing parties can be held safely, despite what Ken Sim says

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The City of Vancouver seems to have learned the wrong lesson from the 2011 riot.

Unlike every other Canadian team in the playoffs, Vancouver isn’t holding an outdoor viewing party for fans to attend. They seem to go off without a hitch in Toronto, Edmonton, and Winnipeg, but Vancouver is remaining cautious.

Too cautious.

On Thursday, Mayor Ken Sim explained why the city isn’t holding a viewing party for Vancouver Canucks playoff games.

“We have to be incredibly responsible and thoughtful. We have a history of 1994 and 2011,” Sim told reporters, referring to Vancouver’s shameful history of rioting after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

“I would love to throw a party right now, but we have to be responsible.”

“When you look at that report, you could have doubled the number of police officers, and it wouldn’t have made a difference.”

Sim is right, but he’s also missing the point.

The lesson to learn after 2011 isn’t that watching hockey outdoors makes people do dumb things. It’s that allowing thousands of people to congregate for a Georgia Street free-for-all is asking for trouble.

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It should also be pointed out that Vancouver has never had a riot in the first round of the playoffs and that the 1994 riot happened without an organized viewing party.

It’s not hard to figure out how to hold viewing parties safely. Other cities hold them every year without a hitch.

The Canucks are holding a playoff viewing party inside Rogers Arena today, yet nobody is worried about a riot developing from it. That’s because the event, which will likely see over 10,000 people congregate, is ticketed and has security checkpoints.

So why not bring that principle to an outdoor event?

Fence off a space at one of the many nearby parking lots near Rogers Arena, and require a ticket to get in. Proceeds can go to the Canucks for Kids Fund, just like today’s indoor event. Have security checkpoints.

It’s not rocket science.

What it would require is some organization and money. Given the marketing boost it would provide the Canucks, they ought to pitch in.

Beyond that, it would add fun and civic pride to the city. Isn’t that what Sim said he wants?

“Do you remember that feeling during and right after the Olympics? There was a buzz around the city, and we felt that we could do whatever we wanted and it was okay to be the best in the world,” Sim said just last year.

“We were so proud.”