Rogers Arena is set to welcome the home team Vancouver Canucks and visiting players for games in the new NHL season, though there won't be any spectators allowed at the venue.
However, the arena is re-opening its onsite sports bar and restaurant once again - called Sportsbar Live - during Canucks games. The catch: So far, Sportbar is only accepting reservations for Canucks away games - meaning the venue is not providing a cheat-y way for local fans to catch the action on the ice.
The Sportsbar is a unique concept in that one portion of the sprawling space cozies right up with the stadium seats. In the pre-COVID era, during Vancouver Canucks home games the curtains are opened up, giving patrons seated in that zone a decent view of the ice and gameplay, without the need to purchase a ticket to the game. Of course, the farther away from that one side of the restaurant you're seated means you aren't going to see the ice at all, but the atmosphere remains charged up, with lights and horns blaring out the joy of a home team goal.
For this most recent 2020 pandemic-era season, with no games played at all at Rogers Arena, Sportsbar LIVE did open up on game days in order for fans to watch the game on the screens - but of course whether they would operate during live home games in Vancouver was a non-issue.
In the past, Sportsbar has also offered limited opportunities for sports fans to enjoy brews, Caesars, and its elevated pub grub fare during non-NHL sporting events, for example during the Super Bowl, with the game broadcast on the venue's numerous screens. Additionally, if you can remember back when we had live music in Vancouver, concerts at Rogers Arena meant tables were open at Sportsbar, though in that case, the curtains are kept closed so there's no ticket-less looky-loo-ing.
Currently, Sportsbar is only taking reservations for January 13 and 14. The first Canucks home game will take place at Rogers Arena on Jan. 20.
We've reached out to the arena and the Canucks organization to see if they have more information about the re-opening of the Sportsbar.
