Letters to The Province: Wednesday, May 29, 2024

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Re: How Lionel Messi’s magical visit to Vancouver fizzled

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So Lionel Messi and his “superstar” buddies decided not to travel to Vancouver, and in so doing, the MLS and Inter Miami selfishly disappointed thousands of fans, young and old. Are we really surprised?

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At the very least, the Whitecaps and MLS (given that some of the revenue goes to the MLS) should be providing a cash refund to those who bought tickets for the Messi game.

The Whitecaps and the MLS knew that there was a strong possibility that Messi (and certainly Luis Suarez) wouldn’t play on artificial turf given their previous history and Inter Miami’s schedule, which featured the longest road trip of the year as a game in isolation bookended by a home game in Miami. I note that Axel Schuster (Whitecaps’ CEO) acknowledged after the game that they weren’t that confident that Messi would show, yet still shamefully marked up the Messi tickets, and used his face extensively to market the game.

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We paid $329 for each of our Golden Era package tickets. The regular price for the other three games in the package averaged $45 per game, or $135 in total. This means that the cost of the Miami game was $194, a mark-up for the Miami game of $149, which is over 300 per cent. At a bare minimum, this should be the refund provided to fans. This doesn’t even compensate those who travelled from out of town and incurred accommodation costs, etc.

Even at regular prices, it would still be a huge windfall for the Whitecaps as there is no way they would have sold 54,000 tickets to see Miami without any of its superstars. That’s probably an extra 30,000 tickets sold for at least four games that were in the Golden Era package at about $45 per ticket that they likely wouldn’t have got otherwise, which amounts to over $5 million of additional revenue, even if the above refund was provided to fans.

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Think long term, Whitecaps and MLS.

Tom Jamieson 

Shame on MLS for allowing this travesty

Well, it’s the day before Messi Day as I write this in the little village of Vancouver out here on the west coast of Canada. Y’all remember us out here, don’t ya? Although as I addressed this to whom it may concern, I believe that is a misnomer as obviously nobody in MLS gives a damn about Vancouver.

As for Messi Day, apparently the saviour of MLS, along with Luis Suárez and Sergio Busquets, they decided not to bless our city with their presence. Myself, my son and a friend purchased season’s tickets (again) with the sole purpose of seeing the apparent greatest player on the planet play in our fair city. The addition of Suárez and Busquets was icing on the cake. Unfortunately, there were also 30,000-plus other people who purchased tickets, on top of the roughly 28,000 fans who attend regularly. This is a black eye for MLS in Canada, again. Soccer, or football as the rest of the world knows it, is constantly sold short in North America, and this will do absolutely zero in the further promotion of the game.

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This one is on MLS, not the Whitecaps as they have no control over who the opposition fields as a team. MLS should have had stipulations about playing in “smaller market” cities.

Yeah, yeah, the prima donnas won’t play on artificial turf. Well, I seem to recall another player of renown who played in Vancouver a few years ago. Anyone recall a fellow by the name of David Beckham? He came and played and did a wonderful job of promoting the MLS to North American sporting fans.

But in the end, it is only a game.

Shame on MLS for allowing this travesty, which has been promoted in the city of Vancouver since Messi joined the league, to transpire. Once again the paying public pays the price for some — not all, as it is MLS — overpaid adults playing a game.

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Robert Peebles, White Rock

Let’s turn our focus to the B.C. Lions

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Now that the Canucks have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, let’s focus on the coming B.C. Lions’ CFL season.

In 1994, the Canucks lost in the Stanley Cup final in Game 7. Vancouver was the host to the 1994 Grey Cup that year and the Lions won.

In 2011, the Canucks lost Game 7 in the Stanley Cup final. Vancouver was the host that year to the Grey Cup and the Lions won.

In 2024, the Canucks lost Game 7 in the conference semi-final. Vancouver is hosting the Grey Cup this year on Sunday, Nov. 17.

Will history repeat itself and the Lions win? Let’s hope so.

Stephen Bailey, Surrey

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