Downtown Vancouver was electric Sunday night, as the Canucks beat the Nashville Predators to open their best-of-seven, first-round Stanley Cup series.
While the team has been congratulated for its performance, the Vancouver Police Department was also out with some words of encouragement for fans, with a relatively calm evening on the streets.
Though there several calls about people who had drank too much, the VPD says fans were on their best behaviour Sunday, with only one person arrested near Rogers Arena for public intoxication and causing a disturbance.
“Aside of that one arrest, we poured out a lot of liquor. Last night, we saw a lot of people who were walking around with open liquor. We stop people, we educate them, we inform them of the liquor laws, we encourage them to dump it out — we force them to dump it out — and we also have the discretion to write tickets under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act if we need to,” Sgt. Steve Addison explained Mon day.
He would not say specifically how many officers were deployed but noted “every available officer” was out for both the Sun Run and the Canucks game.
Addison says police will continue to have a strong presence around Vancouver for the rest of the playoffs run.
“We know it’s going to be a long run. We’re in it for the long haul, we’re in it to support the city, create a safe environment for everybody, and we want to see people coming out, having a good time, and we will be part of it,” he said. “We will be part of the fun, family, safe, festive experience. We’re all cheering on the Canucks, we all want the Canucks to win, but we want this to be a safe environment for everybody.”
Sunday marked the first playoff game hosted in Vancouver since 2015. Prior to that, during the 2011 run, the Canucks’ loss to the Boston Bruins sparked mass riots throughout downtown Vancouver, costing the city millions of dollars in damages.
There continues to not be any city plans for public watch parties in Vancouver. However, should anything materialize, Addison says the VPD will be part of discussions.
“We have participated in discussions and will continue to participate in discussions about any potential plans,” he told reporters.
“There are no official fan zones or viewing areas for the first round of the playoffs. If those discussions progress, we’ll certainly be part of those discussions and will provide our input in how to create those fan experiences and do it safely. Our goal here is public safety. In order for everybody to have the optimal fan experience, for everybody to enjoy what we hope is going to be a long playoff run, we really need to make sure people are being safe and responsible.”
The Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 4-2 on Sunday.