Hockey-mad city to become a ghost town

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Daily business routines in Vancouver - and indeed the Lower Mainland - won't stand a chance Wednesday against the first game in the Stanley Cup final.

After the game begins around 5 p.m., the only business of concern in the Lower Mainland is expected to be the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins.

As a result, aside from common areas where people will be watching the games, Vancouver will be a virtual ghost city.

Think of a modern-day version of those Wild West towns of classic cinema, with the tumbleweeds blowing through the streets, but just add the soundtrack of hockey action.

"There will be normally busy streets that won't have a car on them," Constable Lindsey Houghton of the Vancouver Police Department said.

Jerry Dobrovolny, transportation director for the City of Vancouver, doesn't think it will be quite that emphatic, but says his staff is tweaking the traffic-lights system in the city for a 2 p.m. start to deal with increasing traffic. That's 90 minutes earlier than usual.

"What we're hearing is people planning on leaving around 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock," he said, predicting a traffic surge as people try to get home. He declined to provide numerical projections. "We'll certainly see a lot less during game time."

Restaurants that have a hockey-watching tradition usually see a 90-minute to two-hour surge in clientele ahead of games, but given the relatively early start, Ian Tostenson of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association said he expects an even more compressed rush to be in place before the puck drops. He said the association expects most bosses will give their employees a break, letting them out early.

"You'd be seen as a bad boss if you didn't," he said.

Donald McInnes, executive vice-chairman of Alterra Power, said he will be sending home the 30 to 35 employees at his Vancouver-based clean-energy company at about 4 p.m.

"I'm going to the game. I don't see why everyone shouldn't get to see it, too," he said.

Over the course of the playoffs, there could be a cost to the effort, but Mr. McInnes said he was willing to deal with it. "It's an expense you've got to consider, like your Christmas party. It's team-building and bringing people together for a common good cause," he said.

But it won't just be a Vancouver situation.

Consider Cadeaux Gifts and Home Embellishment, a women's accessories and home-decor boutique and spa in New Westminster.

On Wednesday, owner Rose Ternes expects zero traffic during the game aside from the occasional hockey-phobe. Ms. Ternes feels obligated to stay through regular hours, but will let her employees go at 4:15 p.m.

"You can just tell that they would rather be anywhere where there's a TV, even just to watch the pre-game shows," she said, laughing.

"I have absolutely diehard fans, and the mood changes. At that point, I just say, 'just go,' because they're not very productive."

Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, is sending her eight staff home at 4 p.m. - and paying them for a full day.

She sent out an e-mail survey first thing Tuesday morning, polling board members on how they planned to deal with the situation. "Most of the businesses that answered were closing early," she said.

Some will leave it at that, but others will sponsor hockey-watching parties at local pubs or restaurants, she said.

Jock Finlayson of the Business Council of B.C., expects an informal practice at some organizations of allowing staff to book off early to get in place to watch the hockey playoffs.

"In some ways, I suspect the next seven to 10 days will be a bit like the 2010 Olympics, albeit on a smaller scale. Many people will be preoccupied with the playoffs and how the Canucks are faring; less 'output' will therefore be produced in some firms.

"It's an unusual situation."