You can't tailgate downtown. BC Lions fans would have been doing that years ago if it was possible.

Blue_and_White_Army said: You can't tailgate downtown. BC Lions fans would have been doing that years ago if it was possible.

Where do they tailgate?

there is no tailgating here cause of the liquor laws. period.

Liquor laws are provincial, people.

Blue_and_White_Army said: You can't tailgate downtown. BC Lions fans would have been doing that years ago if it was possible.

You most certainly can, and they do. I have tweeted one of the organizers on twitter to see where it happens.

Bad_Gones said: The Lions fans tailgate at the parking lot at Ontario & Terminal (across the street from science world). According to PrawnGuy that's the closest spot they could get permission for. In my opinion that's too far away. Hopefully our most excellent president can negotiate something with the club & Pavco.

Main and Terminal? Ontario doesn't intersect. In any event, across the street from Science World isn't much farther from BC Place than Doolin's

Sorry, I meant Quebec.

According to Google Maps it's 100m further than Doolins.

The march to the match along the waterfront could be cool.

Blue_and_White_Army said: Liquor laws are provincial, people.

Yes, and that's why we could tailgate at Swangard almost every game for several years.

Liquor laws are provincial. Enforcement is not.

Bad_Gones said: Two big differences here LB. 1) Our numbers are much bigger now. 2) We're downtown now. The odds of the VPD turning a blind eye are virtually non existent.

Oh, I agree. The point I was trying to make was that it's the enforcement which determines how successfully we can tailgate, not the law.

Unless someone has some private outdoor space within a 10 minute walk radius of BC Place, which can accommodate upwards of 100 people I think this is a 100% no go.

Blue_and_White_Army said: True, it's essentially the location that determines the enforcement. I've never heard of riots in Burnaby Central Park.

Haven't you heard the chant? "We don't riot, we just jaywalk."

(At least, us Whitecaps fans don't. I'm not sure what you Highlanders owners get up to over there...)

The_Real_Deal said: Unless someone has some private outdoor space within a 10 minute walk radius of BC Place, which can accommodate upwards of 100 people I think this is a 100% no go.

Well, as Chris pointed out earlier (and I confirmed via Google Maps) the walk from Science world is only 100m longer than the walk from Doolins. @PrawnGuy does tailgating for the Lions games. I'll talk to him and see what we can work out.

No traffic lights but could pose a major obstacle for bike traffic if taking the Seaside Bike / Pedestrian path.

Chris said: Not everything we do need have beer available.

BLASPHEMY!

Tailgating is a hoot, but probably more common in the US, where the stadiums are in the burbs surrounded by a sea of cheap parking.

How feasible would it be to "rent" part of the the parking spot behind Doolin's for tailgating?

It can be a "dry" event as you can simply get (and drink) your pints in the pub.

Doolin's had set up their Irish tent there during the Olympics, location is perfect and would be a great gathering place for folks joining for the march only as well.

It would nice to be outside when the weather is like this. Maybe a one off? If it possible to get a liscense for liquor, in a beer garden like situation ie designated roped off area, with drink tickets/coupons being sold outside of area.

Add me into the list of people who would be open to the dry/science world site for a tailgate

chauchi09 said: It would nice to be outside when the weather is like this. Maybe a one off? If it possible to get a liscense for liquor, in a beer garden like situation ie designated roped off area, with drink tickets/coupons being sold outside of area.

We would require a Public special event license from the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch and would need approval from the Vancouver Police Department Emergency and Operational Planning Unit. All servers would need a Serving It Right certificate, and the person applying would need a level two certificate. There is also the cost of $100 for the application and another $500 for the Police. There is also the legal and liability side of things. I for one would be unwilling to take on myself.

A tailgate would be awesome, but like people said above the liquor laws in BC make this near impossible. Even if it was a "dry" tailgate there would still be people who would drink etc. and with the VPD they'd probably be there regardless as it would be a large congrigation of people.

We could stop drinking beer and start smoking pot. VPD doesn't stop anyone for blazing in public.

I think a lot of teams tailgate because they are way in the suburbs miles from a pub. I guess our parties in Central Park would be considered tailgating. Pubs just make more sense in the environment we are in.

A little backgrounder on how we ended up where we did: We used to tailgate in the Impark Lot west of BC Place, the EasyPark across from the Shark Club and a small private lot that was just west of Costco.

Back in 2006 and 2007, when the Lions hosted the West Final, our tailgate grew to the point where we consumed the Impark lot west of BCPt. The problem was the amount of garbage that was left behind. Impark didn't like that and jacked up their rate and said no tailgating. EasyPark followed their lead, and we ended up, through a couple of lucky breaks beside the Costco. We thought we had found a home until we it was learned that lot was going to be unavailable to us from 2009 on to accomodate construction equipment for the renovation. After a successful 2009 campaign at Quebec/Terminal, one of our organizers was told that we'd be welcomed back when BCP re-opened.

Let me just clarify one thing about the tailgating that we do. Our group had to get permission from EasyPark (City of Vancouver), mostly relating to liability issues on their side.

I don't know what the full details of the arrangement with EasyPark and our group is as I wasn't a part of that, but I can tell you this: while we were tailgating at Empire, our group had many discussions with members of the VPD, and their stance is this: if you're not making a scene or disturbing anyone else, they'll leave you alone. This isn't to say that go out and get smashed in the parking lot, but discretion is key.

Like Chris said, if drinking is your main purpose, stick to Doolin's. If you're interesting in enhancing your matchday experience and cooking your own food and willing to publicly sacrifice your cold beverages, then the city may cooperate.

From what it sounds like, Doolin's management seems pretty reasonable as it relates to menu selection for matchdays, so I don't really see a reason to change.

As for the Lions Street Party, it's a family oriented event organized by the club. I don't think I've ever been, but the restaurant across the street or one of the many in the area is your best option for a beer, if that's your choice of pre-match entertainment.

It should also be noted that we're out there before every game, rain or shine and there's a maximum of 11 home games (1 pre-season, 9 regular season and 1 post-season). I doubt we'd be tailgating if the Lions played as many games as the Whitecaps do.

Honestly, I've been to Doolin's for 2 of the 3 matches I've been to + 1 away match, and we (Southsiders) have a good thing going there. For a fraction of the people to skip Doolin's for a tailgate will give the impression that they're doing something wrong.

seathanaich said: Brett's the only person who has been kicked out of a Highlanders game, remember?

This year. ;)

Our main group is about 20-30. There are others, but they just started tailgating this year. Everyone much cooks their own food, or has someone within their sub-group cooks. The option to share is there, depending on what's on the grill.

You're not totally off-base with your thoughts. From my own limited experience and based on input from other members and board members, Doolin's hasn't given enough members of the group many reasons to leave. Granted, because it is a pub, it caters to those over 19, whereas a tailgate is all ages.

I believe part of the problem is the difference in perception between us tailgating hardcore Lions fans and the Southsiders, often mis-tagged as being your typical hooligans. I know, that's not the case, or I wouldn't have joined. I think that stereotype may be your undoing. Because of how large the group is, it's hard to tag a median age of the group. Our tailgate group, the average age is probably late 30 and into the 40s.

I had just started tailgating when we became nomadic and at one point had no lot, so I've come to appreciate how cooperative EasyPark/City of Vancouver has been. I also know that a lot of work was done by a couple of individuals in order to establish our ability to tailgate.

Having said all that, I'm sure that members of the board have put in countless unpaid hours in discussions with various establishments and determined Doolin's was the best option. I also understand that if a Southside tailgate was established, it wouldn't be there prior to every match?

So, the question is, does someone want to take the bull by the horns and open a line of communication with the City of Vancouver to ensure that the Southsiders have the same rights that us tailgating Lions fans do?