Vancouver won’t be setting up public viewing space for Raptors game
Posted May 28, 2019 7:02 pm.
Last Updated May 28, 2019 7:04 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – If you were hoping to gather in Vancouver to watch the Raptors play in the NBA Finals, you’re out of luck.
Vancouver’s city council has backed off the idea of creating a public viewing space to watch the series somewhere downtown.
Last week, Councillor Michael Wiebe said the city had been talking about possible locations for a family-friendly viewing get-together with food trucks, and suggested the Terry Fox big screen in front of B.C. Place, but that is not to be.
According to the city, it’s because staff were not able to find a suitable location.
Sportsnet 650’s Randip Janda is calling that decision a missed opportunity.
“This is a big moment in Canadian basketball right now,” he says. “This could be a watershed moment for the sport here in Canada.”
RELATED: With Raptors advancing, is there renewed hope for a Grizzlies return?
And Vancouverites will still find places around the city to take in the game.
“That’s not going to stop people from going to bars, that’s not going to stop people from watching those games at home, so while the city may not want to put those dollars out there and spend it on that, people are still going to watch,” Janda says. “This is still a big deal in Vancouver.”
He adds there’s clearly an appetite for it, given the Raptors have been breaking Canadian TV ratings records on their way to the finals.
“This is the biggest moment in Canadian basketball history, and that’s not hyperbole in any which way,” he says.
The Raptors’ last game reached an average audience of 3.1 million people on Sportsnet, making it the most-watched NBA game ever in Canada.
With files from Taran Parmar.
