Simon Coutts remembers being “heckled” by passersby in 2011 as he boarded up his bike shop on Vancouver’s Robson Street before the Canucks’ Game 7 Stanley Cup Final loss to the Boston Bruins, which would spur hordes of drunken fans to riot.
Simon’s Bike Shop had been in business since 1986, and Coutts said the Stanley Cup riot in 1994 made him take precautions when the Canucks made the final again.
“In 2011, I was out on the street every day. I was watching the parties, watching the people,” Coutts said on Tuesday. “There were just too many people out of control downtown and there’s drinking and all sorts of stuff … and then I guess you could say all hell broke loose.”
That night is on his mind again as the Canucks begin the next round of the playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.
WATCH | CBC archival footage of Vancouver’s 1994 and 2011 Stanley Cup riots
A look back at Vancouver’s 1994 and 2011 Stanley Cup riots
4 hours ago
Duration 1:17
In 1994 and again in 2011, chaos erupted in downtown Vancouver after the Canucks lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
He’s not alone in reflecting on Vancouver’s troubled relationship with the playoffs. Mayor Ken Sim acknowledged the riots at a news conference last month, saying the city had “a history” and they would need to make sure any playoffs viewing event would be very safe.
“We’re not just gonna say, ‘hey, let’s throw a party, this time’s gonna be different,'” he said.
“What we learned in the past was, that’s what they thought in 2011.”
Viewing parties
On Wednesday morning, Sim told reporters there would be a viewing party for Game 3 of the series on Sunday evening at Oak Meadows Park, and community centres and libraries were also looking into hosting events.
Sim said if the Canucks make it to the next round of the playoffs, there will be viewing opportunities at the PNE in East Vancouver.
Vancouver Coun. Pete Fry said the city wants to spread viewing parties throughout the city rather than force fans into the downtown core. Additionally, the plan is to keep it family-friendly.
“We’re hoping to meet people where they’re at,” he told CBC News.
The City of Vancouver will host a viewing party for Game 3 of the Canucks-Oilers playoff series at Oak Meadows Park on Sunday. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
He said past riots are on the city’s mind, which is why there won’t be a “big activation” right downtown.
Other Metro Vancouver cities, including Delta, Maple Ridge and New Westminster, have already made plans for playoff viewing parties.
Ian Tostenson, CEO of the B.C. Restaurant & Foodservices Association, said in an interview that he supports the Vancouver mayor’s “cautious approach” to Stanley Cup celebrations given the city’s “track record.”
“Big events like FIFA and big concerts and stuff, we’re able to do that really well,” he said. “I just worry that if we just kind of recklessly sort of go throw some TVs up and invite, you know, 20,000 people on Georgia Street again, I just predict there’s going to be trouble somewhere.”
He said holding another large public viewing party downtown carries risks because if “something goes terribly wrong, it’s just going to set us back years and I think we’ve made some progress here.”
WATCH | Former police chief reflects on Stanley Cup riots:
Vancouver’s Stanley Cup riots, 10 years later
3 years ago
Duration 5:49
Ten years after the streets of Vancouver were flooded with rioters after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final, Ian Hanomansing talks to the former police chief about that night and the role cellphones played. He also catches up with a couple who went viral after being photographed kissing on the ground.
‘A different atmosphere’
On June 15, 2011, the day of Game 7, a Vancouver Police Department spokesperson said there was “a different atmosphere” in the city compared with 1994, and that police were confident there wouldn’t be another riot after the success of the Olympics a year before.
A report produced after the 2011 riot, entitled “The Night the City Became a Stadium,” laid out how those predictions went up in flames.
“Vancouver tried to do a good thing and found itself in an almost impossible situation,” said the report, commissioned by the province and the City of Vancouver. “There were too many people, not too few police. No plausible number of police could have prevented trouble igniting in the kind of congestion we saw on Vancouver streets that night.”
Report authors John Furlong and Douglas Keefe said alcohol and binge-drinking that night “were like gasoline on a fire.”
“Alcohol fuelled nasty behaviour and triggered law-breaking that surprised and galled us all.”
Police combed through CCTV video and asked the public for help in identifying suspects, resulting in hundreds of criminal charges.
‘No one wants a repeat’
Coutts says he remembers the fires, the broken windows at The Bay, London Drugs and a neighbouring pizza shop — and the “intense” moments when rioters tried to pry off the plywood he’d put up to protect his bike store.
He said his daughter called him “bawling,” imploring him to come home, but he stayed to protect the store.
Police confront rioters in downtown Vancouver on June 15, 2011. (Geoff Howe/Canadian Press)
For Coutts, lingering memories of the 2011 riot make him think a “big party” isn’t a good idea, but the family-friendly indoor viewing parties for away games at Rogers Arena have been both controlled and successful.
“Right now, my feeling is a good feeling, so I don’t have the same feeling I had last time,” he said. “No one wants a repeat.”
Montreal police say they’ve arrested a man in connection with the theft of tens of thousands of dollars in golf merchandise tied to the Presidents Cup PGA Tour being held this week in the city.
Police say that on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 a person entered a downtown Montreal hotel and stole numerous official items and clothing “from a major golf tournament.”
The tournament is taking place at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in the city’s L’Île-Bizard–Ste-Geneviève’s borough through Sunday.
Police say a 46-year-old man was arrested in downtown Montreal on Thursday and was arraigned Friday on a number of charges including theft.
The accused remains detained until his next court appearance.
Police say the investigation is ongoing to locate the stolen golf items and apparel, adding that anyone with information is invited to come forward.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors are expected to confirm today that Vince Carter’s No. 15 will be the first number to be retired by the NBA franchise.
Carter will attend an MLSE Foundation event this afternoon at the renovated Vince Carter Court at a park in the city’s northwest end.
Raptors president and vice-chairman Masai Ujiri will also be on hand along with some current players and city officials.
Reports this week said that Canada’s lone NBA team would honour Carter on Nov. 2 when Toronto plays the Sacramento Kings at Scotiabank Arena.
Carter, an eight-time all-star, played parts of seven seasons with the Raptors. He was named NBA rookie of the year in 1999 and won the Slam Dunk Contest in 2000.
He was the Raptors’ first superstar and is credited for raising the profile of the team and igniting enthusiasm for basketball across Canada.
Carter guided the Raptors to the Eastern Conference semifinal in 2001. Toronto had a chance to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 but Carter’s shot at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced out.
He asked for a trade in 2004 and was dealt to New Jersey in a mid-season deal that saw the Raptors receive little in return. The Nets, who are now based in Brooklyn, plan to retire Carter’s number in January.
Carter played 22 seasons in the NBA before retiring after the 2019-20 season. He’ll be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame next month.
The Raptors are celebrating their 30th anniversary this season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 58th home run, going deep for the fifth straight game to help the New York Yankees wrap up their second AL East title in three years with a 10-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.
Giancarlo Stanton had four RBIs that included his 27th homer, Alex Verdugo also homered and Gerrit Cole outpitched Corbin Burnes in a possible postseason preview. Judge and Stanton homered in the same game for the 14th time this year, tying Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in 1961 for the most in Yankees history.
New York assured itself a first-round bye and home-field advantage in a best-of-five AL Division Series starting Oct. 5.
Baltimore, which clinched a postseason berth by winning Tuesday night’s opener of the three-game series, will be in a best-of-three Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.
Stanton homered in the second to put the Yankees ahead and hit a three-run double in a six-run sixth.
Judge hit a two-run homer in the seventh against Bryan Baker and has 144 RBIs, the most in the major leagues since Ryan Howard’s 146 in 2008. Judge matched his career best by homering in five consecutive games.
Making his last start before the playoffs, Cole (8-5) allowed two hits in 6 2/3 innings, struck out five and walked one, lowering his ERA to 3.41. He struck out Anthony Santander with a 98.1 mph fastball that ended the eighth after plate umpire David Rackley called a ball on the previous pitch, a knuckle-curve that appeared to be just above the strike zone. Cole glared as the umpire as the pitcher walked back to the dugout.
Cole was given a standing ovation when he walked to the dugout with two outs in the seventh and tipped his cap to the crowd of 42,022.
Burnes (15-9) allowed two hits in five innings, one walk and nine strikeouts — including eight on cutters. Burnes came out after 69 pitches and is likely to start the Orioles’ postseason opener on Tuesday. He had a 1.20 ERA in five September starts.
Stanton lofted a slider at the bottom of the strike zone into the left-field seats after missing badly at a slider on the prior pitch.
Austin Wells, in a 4-for-42 slide, forced in a run when he walked with the bases loaded against Cionel Pérez. Stanton drove the next pitch on one hop to the wall in right-center for a 5-1 lead. Stanton has 72 RBIs after hitting 6 for 18 with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in his last five games.
Anthony Rizzo added a two-run single against Baker.
Emmanuel Rivera hit a ninth-inning sacrifice fly for the Orioles.
UP NEXT
Orioles: LHP Cade Povich (2-9, 5.59) starts a series opener at Minnesota on Friday, when LHP Pablo López (15-9, 4.11) will be on the mound for the Twins.
Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (16-9, 3.98), 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA since the All-Star break. starts Friday’s series opener against Pirates RHP Jared Jones (6-8, 4.14).
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