Disabled Vancouver Canucks Fan Denied Last-minute Ticket

The Vancouver Canucks have changed their ticket policy after a hockey fan with a disability complained that he was unable to take part in a last-minute discount ticket promotion.Scott Poulter, currently in a wheelchair due to a double hip replacement, tried to buy a ticket through Rogers Arena’s Last Seat in the House promotion. The promotion provides a discount on single seats without any available seats adjacent to them.

Poulter said he was told by both the box office and Ticketmaster that the promotion did not apply to seats in the disabled section, because none of those seats were single seats without available adjacent seating. Wheelchair seating is normally set in pairs so that guests with disabilities can sit next to a companion who can assist them if necessary. This means that there are hardly ever any single seats without available adjacent seating in the disabled section.

Victor De Bonis, Chief Operating Officer of Canucks Sports and Entertainment, voiced his concern over the incident, and said that this is the first time that a person with a disability has raised a complaint about the last-minute seating promotion. The next time such a promotion is offered, some seats in the disabled section will be split off in order to offer people with disabilities the same chance to take part in the promotion.

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