Inflated sports attendance figures in Vancouver
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 8:01 am
Interesting article by Bob Mackin (aka Bob "The Hammer" Mackin) for Business in Vancouver on what is perhaps a poorly kept secret: how sports franchises (in this market specifically) routinely over-report their attendance figures.
https://www.biv.com/article/2016/4/spor ... -inflated/
The article begins with a comparison of reported and actual attendance figures for the WHL Vancouver Giants, as obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and continues with those from the Lions and Whitecaps. No Canucks data appears in the article.
Excerpt:
This article was from about a week ago. I didn't catch Tom Mayenknecht's show last Saturday so I wonder if he had Mackin on (he is a regular guest) to discuss the Whitecaps' numbers.
https://www.biv.com/article/2016/4/spor ... -inflated/
The article begins with a comparison of reported and actual attendance figures for the WHL Vancouver Giants, as obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and continues with those from the Lions and Whitecaps. No Canucks data appears in the article.
Excerpt:
The FOI request was jointly (and ultimately unsuccessfully) contested by the Caps and Lions who shared concerns that disclosure of actual turnstile counts could compromise their business operations.The Giants are not alone in overstating home game attendance numbers.
At BC Place stadium, the Vancouver Whitecaps and BC Lions also announce tickets distributed. For 55 event dates between September 30, 2011, and July 20, 2013, they claimed a total of 1.3 million attendees. But the actual number of tickets scanned at the gates was 1.1 million, according to data that the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC (OIPC) ordered BC Pavilion Corp. to release in March.
For instance, when the Lions reopened the stadium September 30, 2011, following BC Place’s $512 million renovation, the Canadian Football League club announced a crowd of 50,213, but the number counted was 46,151. Likewise, a 54,313 sellout was announced for the Lions’ 2011 Grey Cup win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The actual attendance was 50,830.
The Whitecaps announced nine crowds of 21,000 and one of 22,500 from October 2, 2011, to July 14, 2013. The latter was actually 20,796 on July 6, 2013, when the Seattle Sounders visited. The other nine matches had varying totals under 21,000, including 17,688 for the October 2, 2011, debut under the new stadium roof.
This article was from about a week ago. I didn't catch Tom Mayenknecht's show last Saturday so I wonder if he had Mackin on (he is a regular guest) to discuss the Whitecaps' numbers.