Molson Hockey House...Joke


I had heard about plans for an Olympic hockey pavillion near GM Place a few months ago and naturally was very intersted in the concept. I actually am lucky enough to have some tickets to Olympic events including the Canada vs Switzerland mens game. I figured it would be great to hang out as close as could get to the games for a few of the days when I don't have tickets. Even if it costs 50 bucks or so to get into this hockey pavillion with it's giant screens, it would be worth it to be part of the Olympic environment.

Then, a few days ago Molson and Hockey Canada unveiled the plans for "Hockey House". Well, were my plans ever shot down....

Sure there's 40 foot screens and nightly entertainment, plus the admission includes all you can eat and drink, but come on...500 bucks? A bit much no? Let's do the math here, the Hockey House will be open daily from 11am to 2am. If I was going to be charged $500, I would arrive at 11:01am and eat three full meals, and perhaps drink a beer an hour (even though Molson Canadian is far from a good beer). Let's say twelve beers at eight bucks each, $96, three meals plus snacking all day for maybe $100. That plus my initial expectation of say $50 to get in the place and we're looking at $250 for the entire day. Of course this is considering a 15 hour day of event watching, and I can say right now, that's about seven or eight hours more than I would take or my wife would allow.

But wait, if I were to time my five hour visit correctly, on top of watching hockey on TV, I could catch the comedy stylings of Sean Cullen or Brent Butt and maybe even see some Barenaked Ladies, Gowan or Glass Tiger. Amazingly these endeavours add nothing in value to the ticket price for me.

So, what would I propose? I'd be happy to pay up to fifty bucks to get into an event like this without the "entertainment" or food and booze included. Then I could hopefully purchase a "good" beer at my own pace and desire. I wouldn't mind spending a hundred bucks inside the pavillion. The organizers of the event have admitted the prices may be "flexible," based on the response. Sadly, I know they won't come down to a level at which I will attend. It's a shame, and perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that the Olympics will be geared more toward the corporate attendees as opposed to the real hockey and sports fans.


Comments

Bidnall said…
I was surprised to learn a man who blogs this much about hockey is even married!
October 11, 2009 at 10:40 AM
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