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Monday, August 16, 2021

B.C. Place to welcome back fans Thursday for first time in almost 18 months - The Province

On Thursday, 529 days on, fans will again be in the stands at B.C. Place as the B.C. Lions host the Edmonton Elks

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It’s been almost 18 months since fans filed into B.C. Place Stadium to watch the World Rugby Sevens Series on March 7-8, 2020.

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On Thursday, 529 days on, fans will again be in the stands as the B.C. Lions host the Edmonton Elks, passing through state-of-the-art metal detectors.

The last Lions home game with bums in the seats was 657 days ago; the Vancouver Whitecaps, who host Los Angeles FC on Saturday, last played in front of home fans 539 days ago. Across the street, the Vancouver Canucks played their last fans-in-the-seats game on March 10, 2020.

Lower bowl and suite seating will be at 50-per-cent capacity, meaning about 12,500 fans for football games and about 13,000 for soccer matches. The stadium has a maximum capacity of approximately 54,500.

Security gates at an open house tour of B.C. Place on Monday to view preparations to once again welcome fans, athletes, and performers to the world-class stadium.
Security gates at an open house tour of B.C. Place on Monday to view preparations to once again welcome fans, athletes, and performers to the world-class stadium. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

Those fans will notice new protocols in place for both COVID-19 and for security checks, including a 100-per-cent mobile ticketing platform with Ticketmaster’s SafeTix.

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“What it is, SafeTix provides an encrypted ticket to each of our guests and that really helps eliminate fraud, it helps understand the chain of custody of the ticket, and who ultimately ends up in the building,” Jenna Visram, assistant general manager at B.C. Place, said on Monday.

There will be staff to help people find their seats, which are allocated with distancing in mind by an algorithm.

See through bags at an open house tour of B.C. Place on Monday.
See through bags at an open house tour of B.C. Place on Monday. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

Other new twists to attending games at B.C. Place include a clear-bag policy, cashless payments at concession only, touch-free entry, a ban on congregating on the concourse — get your food and beverage, or visit the washroom, then straight back to your seat — and a recommendation that masks be worn inside.

And if you forget and have a bag that isn’t clear plastic, there will be places to check it at Gates C and H.

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“The clear bag has been implemented so we could avoid contact with guests, you know, rummaging through people’s bags to ensure they don’t have anything that isn’t allowed into the venue,” Visram said.

When you enter through the new, touchless metal detectors, you are asked to keep your mobile phones, keys, coins, watches and jewelry on you, while taking out cameras and umbrellas to slide through on a little shelf.

The venue is now also cashless, with payments made through mobile devices or prepaid cards.

“For those who don’t have a mobile form of payments, we also have put in place a cash-to-card system, so essentially you purchase a gift card for the venue, which you can use on food and beverages,” Visram said.

B.C. Place Director of Events and Assistant General Manager Jenna Visram uses the cashless payment system during an open house tour the stadium on Monday.
B.C. Place Director of Events and Assistant General Manager Jenna Visram uses the cashless payment system during an open house tour the stadium on Monday. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

There is no service charge for the cash cards, B.C. Place claims they don’t rip and are water proof, and they never expire. If you don’t want to physically carry the card, a photo of the QR code is fine, Visram said.

B.C. Place last year became the first stadium in Canada to obtain a third-party endorsement from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s GBAC STAR accreditation.

“We’re really proud of that achievement,” Visram said. “All of our operating procedures have been evaluated, all of our cleaning products have been evaluated to ensure we’re meeting that high standard.

“The GBAC STAR is really the gold standard in housekeeping and environmental services.”

gordmcintyre@postmedia.com

twitter.com/gordmcintyre

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