Today, I am going to talk about all those empty seats you are seeing at arenas and stadiums lately.
I am prompted to write about it is because Rod Pedersen had a commentary about it last week, about how the empty seats at games are being noticed in the WHL and elsewhere.
I can assure you, this ain’t just happening down there in Regina and environs. It’s also happening up here, at your friendly neighbourhood (and re-painted) Access Communications Centre.
Folks who have been attending Battlefords North Stars games lately have surely noticed it is much easier to practice social distancing around the rink. And it’s really easy to find parking.
There is no doubt why this is happening, and it is summed up by these words: proof of vax.
Back in September, before proof of vax came in, the North Stars drew attendances of 750 and 719, respectively. Then came Oct. 1 when the new provincial rules took effect, and the crowds for the next two home contests dropped dramatically to 413 and 366. This was not for some rinkydink opponent, either, this was the Humboldt Broncos.
Since then things have improved, but the best announced attendance the North Stars have been able to muster was 653 on Oct. 29 against Humboldt. Pre-pandemic, this was considered a “small crowd."
It should be pointed out these attendance woes are no local phenomenon. It’s happening everywhere you look. Just look at games out of Edmonton. You may have noticed all those empty seats at Commonwealth Stadium on TV when the Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing the Edmonton Elks. There couldn’t have been more than 10,000 in the whole stadium.
Yeah, but the Elks are terrible, you say. It’s not just the Elks having problems. It’s also the winning, dominating Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid, who’ve been on absolute fire to begin this NHL season. Anyone see their games on Sportsnet lately? There sure are a lot of empty seats all over Rogers Place on TV. They stick out like a sore thumb. Thank you very much, “Proof of Vax.”
There is zero doubt that attendance is down noticeably in arenas and stadiums where “proof of vax” in is effect. Proof of vax is also why attendance isn’t worse than it is. The one good thing about it is that COVID-19 is the least of your worries when you go to these games. It’s a huge relief and peace of mind knowing that everyone else there is also vaccinated, or at least has tested negative.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t a hassle. When proof of vax first came in, I thought it would be no different than when you used to show your driver’s ID to get into the bars and nightclubs. But here, you have to show your ID AND your proof of vax.
A bigger annoyance is the mask-wearing required at these hockey games. This is the policy that stands out as overreach to many people. In theory, if our vaccines work, then the proof of vax ought to be good enough and we shouldn’t need to also wear these uncomfortable masks.
What you have is an arena full of double-vaxxed fans, all having to wear this extra protection in order to protect the already-protected from … the protected!
Of course, one of the justifications cited by supporters of proof of vax policies in the first place was the need to protect the vaccinated from the unvaccinated. Their argument was that you needed to protect people from getting COVID-19 at these venues. They said if these rules were in place, people would feel safe at the games and attendance would go up.
So much for that bull. It turns out proof-of-vax is no longer good enough for these folks. Look no further than the pointless freak-out reaction to the recent Eric Church concert in Saskatoon at SaskTel Centre.
Proof of vax was in full effect, but you wouldn't know it from the backlash. You had Ryan Meili and the NDP opposition calling for the concert to be cancelled, and mounting criticism that it was irresponsible to hold this potential “super spreader” concert with 13,000 people there. There was a media furore, with photos circulated of people supposedly not wearing masks, and accusations that unvaccinated people might have snuck in.
Good grief! Listen, I want people to take this virus seriously. People ought to get vaccinated and follow the rules, including wearing masks. But this reaction was flat-out hysterical.
It seems to me that the proof-of-vax policies might be achieving the opposite of what they were intended to do. Instead of calming people down and ushering in the return of normal life, the craziness is hitting new heights.
It’s the fully-vaxxed people who are the most afraid. This pandemic has trained them to be wary, so when these folks hear talk of large crowds in arenas, the first thing they think of is COVID-19. Conversely, the unvaxxed people are the least afraid, because many of them couldn’t care less. It goes to show you what a crazy mixed-up world we live in today. It ought to be the vaxxed people who are the least hesitant, while the unvaxxed people ought to be scared out of their wits. But it isn’t.
It’s a no-win situation for teams. By requiring proof of vax, you’re turning away 20 or 30 per cent of your sure-fire customers. But the fully-vaxxed folks aren’t showing up in enough numbers to replace the unvaxxed, because too many of them are too hesitant to show up.
On top of this are people who are on board with the proof-of-vax rules and would have no issues going to a game. But they absolutely refuse to wear masks for a ridiculous two to three hours at a time.
There are two ways to get around this: (a) eat popcorn the entire time you’re there, or (b) save your money, sit at home without your mask on, and watch a game on TV.
Most of these fans are going for option (b): save your money. Which brings us to the real burning issue, the cost.
The financial situation for many fans is not good. People have lost their jobs, or took a pay cut to get through the pandemic, or maybe they have businesses that are financially strapped. Now, you also have inflation on top of it. When you’re in a crunch something has to go, and for many, that’s sports.
Adding to the dilemma for our local sports franchises is that sports were already gone for much of 2020 and 2021. People who thought they were big fans of the CFL or junior hockey found out during that long hiatus that they weren’t as into sports as they thought they were, and have checked out.
It is not an enviable place to be for any of these sports teams, many of whom were struggling to come up with ways to attract fans before the pandemic hit. I know many junior hockey teams were tearing their hair out going “how do we attract more people to the games?” Now, they’re reduced to keeping their usual die-hards who will show up no matter what anyway.
All anyone can hope for is that things get “back to normal,” in every respect, soon. Enough already with this virus and all the problems it has created.
