BC Place — Attraction in Vancouver

I was here for a Whitecaps game and was surprised to see the seriousness of security over small bags and clutches at the event. Your bag must be no larger than 6.5" x 8.5" (16.5cm x 21.6cm) if it is you will not be let in, but if you buy their marketed team clear bag 12" x 12" x 6” (30.5cm x 30.5cm x 15.2cm) you can filled that up and take it in. If you dislike either of those options, you can leave it outside the stadium with their security team hanging it up on a rack off the streets of downtown Vancouver for $10, or you can dispose of it.

That's what their security manager told us to do. I couldn't believe he told us to throw out a purse to be let in. There were about seven other ladies at that gate who were being refused entry due to their bag size; some were just barely bigger. The bag is question was 6.5” x 9.5” (16.5cm x 24.1cm), it was a tad bit wider since it was a rounded shape but the inside pocket was tiny and had barley anything in it, we showed them the inside of the bag but they refused to look or clear us through acting worse than a TSA agent. I asked why an inch is a big deal when they can look inside and check it, and then I was told that BC Place can get audited for our bag??!! Then he rambled on about safety and keeping a fast-moving line, so smaller bags help with that. He said out of the whole stadium, only 400 people would be affected by this, and it's just whatever. I couldn't believe the extent he was going through trying to validate this ridiculous policy, so we left that gate entrance and went to another gate and were let in no problem. We got in and saw others with larger bags than ours… We also came a few months back for a BC Lions game, same bag, no issues.

So the inconsistency, outrageous policy restrictions, and overall customer experience handling are what I am shocked about. Also, trying to make a profit over such a needy thing is crazy. Rogers Area allows bags no larger than 14” x 14” x 6” (35cm x 35cm x 15cm); they have a bag check as well for larger bags for $10. I mostly attend events at Rogers Arena and have never had or seen a problem with them about bags; lines aren't too bad, but what do you expect when packing in an arena or stadium? FIFA is coming next year, and BC Place is “excited to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors.” I guarantee you that line will be held up even longer with this rule. Anyone who owns a nice purse, let alone a sentimental bag would never leave it out on the streets with bare minum secirity guards few blocks away from Hastings St, and if you think people dropping thousands of dollars to come and watch a World Cup game won't being walking in with nice bags that are a normal size you must be a bit naive. I am not trying to be snooty about this; the bag isn't expensive, but it is sentimental. I think you should put your security efforts and energy into opening up the bags with gloves and looking through them instead of just refusing off the bat, smaller bags don't stop things from being brought in. And that other line I went to that let us in was very fast and efficient, and the workers there were very nice and friendly. To both the security guys at gate G, I hope you smile more and have a better attitude about life than you do about your job, cause it was...

The worst bag policy and procedures of any stadium I've ever been to. My purse was just barely more than the size card for sizing up what they allow you to bring in now, which is barely more than the size of a wallet. Then if its even slightly 'too big' they force you to walk half way around the building to check your bag, and pay $10 per bag for them to park your bag on a row of racks in the open air outside. Then you have to carry your wallet and valuables around all night in your hands because you have nothing to carry them in. We were given passes for the on field experience after the game ended, but we left early because we were worried about getting back to my bag... they make you exit to the outside at ground level and would not allow us to even use the elevator to go back up to the bag check. They made us use the ground level rear exit, then we had to walk all the way around the stadium and up several flights of stairs with our now exhausted children in tow, still carrying all our valuables in hand. We finally get back to the bag check area, and it's a ghost town. Nobody or anything there. Our bags have disappeared. We knocked and knocked on the doors, inside staff keeps saying sorry inside is closed, would not even listen to our inquiry or tell us where to go. Super unhelpful. Finally a man with some sense came and let us in and told us to go to an area to get our stuff. On our way there, another long walk, we are then approached by several staff telling us it's closed inside and we must leave out the immediate exit. We try to explain but they wouldn't listen or give any option... finally the man comes up behind us and says no, I told them where to go to get her purse... and they finally relented. Then we asked where they were supposed to have our stuff and they had no idea. Then I see another guy, pulling a wagon with a ton of bags piled in it, with my purse on top. I finally got my bag back, but there were a whole lot of bags there that were still unclaimed, and a lot of people were still on the on-field experience as we had left before it ended because I was worried about my bag. We are from out of town so I couldn't just come back to get it either... also, it looked like my bag had been gone through, so Luckily I had carried most of my valuables around all night. Worst experience ever. I have children with special needs and medical issues and they made our fun evening not very fun at all and incredibly...

This is a 3.5 stars not 4. Full disclosure I went to an Ed Sheeran concert not a sports event. I am sure this is very different experience a sports event. There is alot to love about this stadium and some prep you need to understand and prepare yourself for. I love the location. There are lots of parking spaces to make this location a simple park and walk. Lots of high quality and cheap or expensive places to eat and hotels if you want to make it a weekend affair. Getting in looked horrific as I walked towards the stadium so I walked to the side and their was no queue. The selection of food wasn't bad and some of the food looked very tasty, and people seemed to be smiling while eating. I loved the cute and handy local beverage stands which seemed to be handled very quickly. The seats were comfortable, the views were great and the sound was better than Lumen field (due to the lack of metal). It is a smaller stadium than Lumen field in Seattle and Ed Sheeran had 65,000 attend which was a record. The stadium has a roof which does twinkle (very cute) which is great but it meant the fireworks used in the concert were substantial reduced in height and effect. The merch lines were the worst I had seen in a long long time as was the management of those lines and the construction of the lines. (So bad they ended up with 5 security people managing our line as people walked through the door and straight into the merch line not realizing it was 150metres snake on the otherside, as the snake wasn't allowed to block the entrance. 45 mins to get a tee and I think that line was one of the smallest). Also the queue to the ladies (restrooms) was horrific, longer than the merch lines in some cases. So remember ladies and mums this stadium was design with 95% of the audience being men so when an audience is over 50% female, things start to break. So go before you get in and go early and/or don't drink alot before the main show starts and unless you need a bespoke Vancouver shirt in a medium don't buy merch as you walk in leave it and wait until 30mins before the main act of the concert when the lines are empty. Leaving the stadium was very easy and quick and the traffic to get on the 99 was really...