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City of Abbotsford unlikely to receive revenue sharing from Canucks this season

Threshold of 5,000 tickets sold per game nearly impossible due to COVID-19 capacity restrictions
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The Abbotsford Canucks have averaged 3,939 fans per game this season.

The Abbotsford Canucks will not average 5,000 tickets sold per regular season game in 2021-22 and thus not meet the revenue sharing threshold established in the contract set out between the team and the city of Abbotsford.

COVID-19 capacity restrictions have been in place for much of the club’s season, as there were only six games during the months of November and December that were not under the 50 per cent limit.

The Canucks have averaged 3,939 fans over 15 home games this season. At least another six games in February will be played under the 50 per cent restrictions, as the current limitations on events remain in effect until Feb. 16.

The only time this season the team broke the 5,000 ticket threshold was a Nov. 12 game against the San Jose Barracuda.

Abbotsford sits in 18th place overall for average attendance in the 31-team American Hockey League. The Hershey Bears rank first with 7,389, while the Stockton Heat are the lowest with 1,345.

Not making the revenue threshold does not mean any increase in the $750,000 management fee that Aquilini Investment Group charges the city of Abbotsford for operating the building. That fee is capped at three-quarters of a million dollars regardless of how many tickets are sold. However, any additional revenue will now not be shared this season.

The News did reach out to the city of Abbotsford for confirmation, and they stated that revenue sharing was not budgeted for year one.

“The city didn’t budget for these enhanced financial gains in this first year of operation,” a city spokesperson stated.

In Vancouver Canucks news, the National Hockey League team introduced general manager Patrick Allvin as the club’s new general manager and during a press conference Canucks president Jim Rutherford hinted at potential upgrades to the Abbotsford Centre.

As per the Canucks contract with the city, any capital maintenance or repair would be the responsibility of the city.

RELATED: Proposal to run Abbotsford Centre offered to Canucks ownership group



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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