Vancouver Whitecaps Clearance Sale 2013

I went to this sale on Dec 14th, 2014.  All volunteers were invited to come at 11:30am.  The 'Caps card holders got in earlier if they chose to use their points to get in at 11pm.  The rest of the season ticket holders were in line with us volunteers.  I got there at 11:20am thinking I could just walk in, just like last year.  No dice this year.  The Whitecaps have a huge fan base now and Dario, another volunteer, and I waited til 11:45am to get in.  Thank god it wasn't raining badly out.

As I came inside Gate H, I noticed two things.  There were lots of people and there was a very long lineup for the cashiers.  It was so hard to decide where to start as there were people EVERYWHERE!  I looked around for the cheaper bargains and looked for things that I would wear.  I looked through racks, boxes and tables to find my bargains.  My friend Nadine had texted me and told me she was going to meet me there at 12 earlier.  I was looking for her outside the window but couldn't see her.  Then one of the Whitecaps staff came up to me and told me she was in line.  So I tried to shop around until she got in.  I ended up with some great deals.

 

The Bell Sweater worn by Brad Rusin - $10, Toddler Jersey - $10, Two pairs of Socks - $5 each, Bell Shirt worn by Bilal Duckett - $10, Shorts worn by Camillo - $10.  I also got another pair of shorts worn by Kenny Miller - $10.  

I really just wanted to get a nice hoodie for my young niece but I didn't see any on the tables.  Oh well.  I'm still happy with my purchases.  I gave the shirt to my oldest nephew, the toddler jersey to my littlest nephew and I'm keeping the shorts and sweater.  I love the Whitecaps merchandise sale.  I always find something!! 

Vancouver to Host Grey Cup 2014!

It was officially announced this morning that 102nd Grey Cup 2014 will be hosted by Vancouver.  Rumours started swirling earlier this year that Ottawa, who was supposed to host next year's Grey Cup, would not be able to due to their stadium not being completed in time for the event.  So, naturally, it had to come back west and it was agreed that Vancouver was going to host it for the 2nd time in 4 years.

I had worked on the Grey Cup Events Management Team in 2011 when we last hosted it.  I had a blast.  I know that when we get our team going again, its going to be another fantastic event made that way by the fans and the volunteers that I've worked with for so many years now.

Working the Venues....

Great memories of the win....

BC Lions Appreciation Party....

The Sales after the win and getting to hold the Grey Cup!

NHL Heritage Classic coming to Vancity 2014

So, the March 2014 NHL Heritage Classic is rumoured to be held in our beautiful city of Vancouver.  The venue of course will be BC Place.  At least we can be warm and dry.  BC style.  Why suffer like the rest of the country does?  Take advantage our west coast weather.  The cities in question is between Edmonton and Vancouver but seeing as Edmonton recently had one, it will more than likely be Vancouver's turn to host.

I can't wait since I work at BC Place as a Host.  I'll get to see it all happen.  If I got to pick the two teams I want to go head to head here, it would be the Vancouver Canucks (obviously) and the Winnipeg Jets.  Just because we don't get to play them very often and because the eastern fans living in BC can be annoying at games (ie, Toronto). 

So lets hope the Heritage Classic looks like this.

FIFA Women's World Cup Soccer Emblem Launch for 2015

On Friday, December 14th, the emblem for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 was launched from BC Place and I was there.  I worked in the VIP hospitality area.  This was an invitational event only with the VIPs and media.

I arrived at 7:30am that morning to start my shift at BC Place on behalf of FIFA/Soccer Canada.  As I walked in, I saw a lot of girls soccer teams.  Apparently we had 230 girls from soccer teams from all over the mainland to help with the launch.  They spent the next two and a half hours rehearsing.  But before they could do that, we had to help cover up any logos on the teams outfits that weren't adidas with duct tape.  Fun.  I know.  Once that was done, I went to the hospitality lounge with a group of volunteers I knew and we awaited the VIPs to arrive.  The lounge itself was like a mini freezer.  There was no heat.  Just like the rest of the building.  BC Place does not believe in heating the building entirely unless there is a Whitecaps or BC Lions game on that day.  We tried to layer our clothes but the cold air was hard not to notice.

My duty was to keep the VIPs contained in the lounge so they didn't get a sneak peak of the field where the girls were rehearsing.  Most  of the VIPs were running outside of the building cause it was warmer outside than it was inside the lounge, even though I had asked catering to turn up the heat.  Too little, too late.  But they drank their coffees and tried their best to keep warm.  The Canadian National Womens Team was also in attendance.  They were part of the presentation.

This is a video of Don Hardman, FIFA Event Venues Manager, who we work closely with.  He speaks about the Women's World Cup and what to expect.

Here is the video we were shown at the presentation.

Youtube is being a pain and won't show the video presentation so I'm putting up a link.

Colorful Canada 2015 Emblem Revealed

After the presentation was all done, we headed back into the ring road and organized shirts by sizes for the girls to grab as a souvenir and could maybe get signed by the Canadian  National Women's Team.  The whole event took 5 hours and then we were done for the day.  It was a great experience and although it was just a handful of us volunteers, which was all we really needed for this event, it went really smoothly.  I can't wait for the FIFA events to start rolling in this city.  I will be involved in the management side of things...not sure in which way yet though.

By the way, I really love the logo!

Grand Re-Opening of BC Place and Lions are 2nd in the West!!

WOW!!!  Another win for our boys in Orange!  33-24 against the Edmonton Eskimos....at least they were a bit of a challenge unlike Saskatchewan last week! haha!

The Grand Unveiling  of BC Place was held before the gates were to open on the 3rd floor of the building and lucky me, that's just where I was positioned for the first hour and a half.  It was a mixture of Whitecaps and Lions players and Management holding a very long ribbon that Cristy Clark was to cut.  I took pictures of them as they marched out of the forum to outside of the gates where they were to cut the ribbon.

Once this was done, the BC Lions players were taken away in golf carts to get ready for the game and the gates were officially open. The lions fans were very curious and anxious to get in to take a look at what their 563 million dollars got them.  I gave out maps, answered questions and helped people find their way to the 4th and 2nd floors where they were seated.  At one point I turned around and saw an old favorite of mine, Pat Quinn.  Some people had spotted him and were taking pics with him so I took one of him as well.  Always love seeing Pat at sporting events.  Reminds me of the "Gentle Giant"...for those of you who remember that show.

So, once the game started and people were for the most part seated, I headed to my alternate position on Level 2.  The crowd was massive and usually while the game has been on in the past, the hallway is pretty quiet.  Not tonight.  We had 50,213 people in the building tonight!  The lines for beer and food were crazy and constant.  This is where I thought adding all those extra TV's came in handy.  Everyone was able to watch from the lineups they were in.  The ATM's were even co-operating tonight! Unreal...that never happens at a Lions game.

At half time I went up to the 4th floor to find a friend and get his impression of the building as it was the first time he had seen the inside.  He thought it looked great as well.  The only thing I hadn't thought about was that with the roof open, the stadium did become somewhat cold.  I know I was freezing and so were some of the Ushers who hadn't thought about wearing a jacket either for this game.  In the past because of the dome, the air was still and that made it hot inside the stadium everywhere, in the stands, hallways and anywhere else!  Looks like we're gonna have to get used to the "fresh air" now.....it was nice however.  Here's a pic I took with the roof off.  Amazing.

When half time ended I went down to the 1st floor of the building for break with all the other volunteers.  We sat and watched the game on our big TV and cheered on our Lions as they defeated the Eskimos in Lion fashion.  We used to be able to hear the crowd cheer and feel the rumble of the feet on the bleachers by our area but not anymore.  If we hadn't seen the touchdown with our own eyes on TV, you wouldn't have known the crowd was cheering.  Kinda eerie if you ask me.

The 50,213 people who came to celebrate the re-opening of BC Place and to cheer on our Lions went home very happy and in some cases, were also extremely drunk.  It was a good night had by all and I get to do it all again on Sunday with the Whitecaps!

Bell Pitch Orientation @ BC Place

OK...so I was very excited about going to BC Place tonight so I could see all the amazing and wonderful changes they have made to our old and worn out BC Place.  Most of it I had already seen from working the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at Olympics last year. However, there were a few things that I noticed that were new.  The amount of TV's in the corridors are astounding.  Now nobody has an excuse for missing any play of the game while waiting in long beer or food lineups.  There are at least 1100 TV's in the building attached to every column of the building.  The bathrooms have super sensitive sensors....you just need to get near the sink and you'll have two taps to choose from to wash your hands from.  Towels are sensored too.  Edgewater Lounge has been renovated, the seats inside the dome were still being placed and polished, testing for the very large video screen was being done.  The seats are awesome cause they were comfortable to sit in and they all came with cup holders which is always handy.

For Whitecaps, Level 4 will be closed as there are only 22,000 seats and the dome was made so it would be soccer specific and it would cover the areas not being used.  For the BC Lions however, all floors will be open and the full dome will be open for all seating in the upper levels.

This picture above was taken from the bottom of the East Airlock.  You can see just how massive this screen is.  Its the 2nd largest in North America.  Only Dallas has a bigger one but their stadium is twice as large as BC Place.  

Saw a couple new food carts called "Steveston FC" which I think means Steveston Fish and Chips but don't quote me on that. Another one was Beef on a Weck....not sure what that is.  Anyways...the concession stands will all be there and I'm sure they will keep experimenting with different types of beers as well.

Also this year, there will be NO SMOKING PERMITTED at the stadium.  There will not a be smoking pit provided either as there was in past years.  So be prepared by bringing some Nicotine gum.  Its only a few hours....I'm sure you can get through it without whining to a CAT member or Whitecaps Customer Assistance Member that you need a smoke. Cause truth be told, we really don't care for your bad habits. ;)

A lot of the other changes that were made, were done to the Lions and Whitecaps dressing rooms.  The Lions dressing room was completely renovated.  To get a look at the dressing rooms, go to this video. BC Lions Dressing Room Renos.

There was still alot of construction going on inside and we all had to wear construction vests while on our tour.  Alot of it was just stuff laying around...I'm sure they will work around the clock to have it all done by Friday night.  My first game back in the building will be on Friday night when the BC Lions take on the Edmonton Eskimos for first place in the west!!  I'm so excited, I can hardly wait!