VANCOUVER - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 80

the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1970, the team of today, the Vancouver Canucks
(604/899-7400, www.canucks.com ) , was boosted by the likes of Tiger Williams and loc-
al boy Darcy Rota through the late 1970s and early 1980s, making it to the Stanley Cup
final in the 1981-1982 season. In more recent years, the franchise has come closest to re-
claiming the cup in the 2010-2011 season, when it reached the finals and lost in a closely
fought seven-game contest to the Boston Bruins. The Canucks play in General Motors Place
(across from BC Place Stadium on Griffith Way), which was built for the now-defunct
Vancouver Grizzlies NBA franchise. The season runs October-April; ticket prices range
$60-210.
Football
The BC Lions (604/589-7627, www.bclions.com ) are Vancouver's Canadian Football
League (CFL) franchise. American football fans may be surprised by some of the plays
because the rules are slightly different from those of the National Football League (NFL).
And no, you're not imagining things: The playing fields are larger than those used in the
game's American version. CFL teams have been competing for the Grey Cup, named for
Earl Grey, a former governor-general of Canada, since 1909. Vancouver joined the com-
petition in 1954, first winning the cup a decade later in 1964. In recent years, the Lions
have struggled to gain a large support base, but they continue to perform well, last winning
the Grey Cup in 2011. Home games are played at BC Place Stadium, on the south side of
downtown at the corner of Robson and Beatty Streets. The season runs June-November,
with most games played in the evening; tickets range $32-85.
Soccer
Vancouver is a soccer stronghold, and with two professional teams and dozens of intra-
city leagues, it is always well represented on the national team. The Whitecaps (604/
899-9283, www.whitecapsfc.com ), Vancouver's professional men's soccer team, play in the
Major Soccer League, competing against teams across North America through the summer.
Formerly known as the 86ers, the team was sold and renamed in 2001, and players today
have the unenviable task of maintaining the team's record as one of the winningest in all
of professional sports—the 86ers were undefeated for six entire seasons through the 1980s.
Home games are played at BC Place Stadium, at 777 Pacific Boulevard. The season runs
May-August, and game-day tickets are in the $15-38 range.
Horse Racing
Talk in recent years has been of relocating Vancouver's main racing venue to the outlying
suburbs, but for the time being, thoroughbred racing takes place in the Pacific National