Vancouver Giants play first opening night in Langley

The Vancouver Giants are hitting the ice for the first time tonight at the Langley Events Centre — their new home arena — after spending 15 years in East Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum.

Team owner Ron Toigo said the team is excited to play in the new arena.

"Langley's put a lot of money and energy into making this something that will be a real great event for us. It'll be smaller than the Coliseum, but the ambience in there will be a lot of fun."

Tickets for the Western Hockey League opener — against the Everett Silvertips —  are sold out.

"It's something we haven't experienced saying for some time," Tiogo said.

Toigo says the Giants' new fan base is in the Fraser Valley, and for many young families, driving out to the Coliseum was a major hassle.

"The demographics of young families who have got young kids in hockey — they just don't live in the city anymore."

He said the new Langley location also offers free parking.

Decreasing ticket sales

The move to Langley was also prompted by low ticket sales at the Pacific Coliseum.

Games were selling far below capacity, with average attendance dropping to 5,000 per game last season in the cavernous 15,700-seat building.

"The ambience of the building when you can't draw the right numbers isn't that great," Toigo said, adding low ticket sales also made staying at the Coliseum too expensive. 

Toigo said the team's on-ice struggles since winning the 2007 Memorial Cup might also have played a hand in reducing the Giants' fan base.

He hopes the smaller venue will inspire a better performance from the team.

"Our players will be able to feed off the crowd. One thing leads to another, you win a few more games, more people want to come to the game, and hopefully it falls into place."

Honouring Gordie Howe

Before the puck drops tonight, the team will be honouring the late Gordie Howe.

Howe was a former minority owner of the team, but was beloved for his active involvement in mentoring young players.

"He really did enjoy his time in Vancouver, and became a really big part of the organization," said Toigo.

In a pre-game ceremony, the team will retire Howe's number nine jersey and show a commemorative video. Howe's sons Murray and Marty are expected to be in attendance.

The 88-year-old hockey legend passed away June 10, 2016.

With files from The Early Edition

To listen to the interview, click on the link labelled The Vancouver Giants open their season in their new home in Langley