The Vancouver Whitecaps have the fourth lowest attendance in Major League Soccer, but the teamB次元官网网址檚 president and sporting director is defending the fan experience at B.C. Place.

Axel Schuster said the club is doing everything it can to make the games more family friendly, but that trade-off has been questioned by longtime fans who have dropped their season tickets.

Chris Anderson grew up as a Whitecaps fan and decided to take the plunge and purchase a season ticket in 2015.

But after eight years, he decided to pack it in after what he called mediocre performances from the team on and off the field.

Anderson said the mixing of families and casual fans in areas that had once specifically been for supporters groups, the rising cost of living in the city and an on-field product that underachieves are among the factors have turned away him and some of his fellow fans.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a part of where affordability to go to a match and check it out and for people to be enticed to go to a match and feel that the fans are being heard, or there is something thatB次元官网网址檚 being done to make things happen that is different, (it) doesnB次元官网网址檛 feel like that. I donB次元官网网址檛 get the feeling of that,B次元官网网址� Anderson said.

The Whitecaps are averaging 16,675 fans per match, with a regular-season low of 13,232 on Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo.

B次元官网网址淏.C. Place is a massive venue,B次元官网网址� Anderson said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not a purpose-built venue which hurts the experience.B次元官网网址�

Schuster said the club understands the realities of the cost of living in Vancouver coupled with rising inflation.

B次元官网网址淭he city is very expensive and there are people that are living in the region of the city who are having a hard time. ThatB次元官网网址檚 a fact. We also see that with our employees,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Schuster added that he believes the clubB次元官网网址檚 tickets are one of the most affordable in the league.

B次元官网网址淥ur average price is US$15 under the average price of MLS. We are definitely already one of the cheapest ticket pricing markets. That doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean thatB次元官网网址檚 great who cannot afford so we still have to look in to that,B次元官网网址� he said.

Schuster said the club has worked to make food and beverages more affordable for families attending the matches and is looking to integrate public transit in to the tickets the club provides.

The issue of low attendances at sporting events post COVID-19 pandemic has affected a variety of sports.

Craig Depken, a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina specializing in sports, said the monetary and time costs of attending a match as well as external factors like economic pressure and inflation and the quality of a teamB次元官网网址檚 play are factors that affect attendance.

MLS clubs face another challenge in having stadiums built for other sports acting as their home venues

B次元官网网址淔ans would rather be in a smaller stadium thatB次元官网网址檚 full than a bigger one thatB次元官网网址檚 empty,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview. B次元官网网址淔or Vancouver, their attendance isnB次元官网网址檛 really growing. Some of that could be short-term economic uncertainty and what youB次元官网网址檙e seeing is that drop off of casual fans responding to the quality of the team, quality of the product or outside economic forces.B次元官网网址�

Anderson said the WhitecapsB次元官网网址� handling of a sexual abuse scandal involving former womenB次元官网网址檚 coach Bob Birarda could also affect attendance.

Schuster defended the current front officeB次元官网网址檚 handling of the scandal, saying it has undergone four separate investigations in to the incident and has implemented strict SafeSport guidelines for staff to follow.

B次元官网网址淎s somebody who wasnB次元官网网址檛 there at the time, I have to go with all the facts and information I was provided,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 have spoken with a lot of season ticket holders who have said B次元官网网址楾his is not good!B次元官网网址� and I say B次元官网网址榙o you have fact? Please present me a fact. If thereB次元官网网址檚 a fact that can prove these rumours or this story proves or makes it real for me, I will act on that.B次元官网网址�

Schuster said the club experienced a brief dip in season ticket sales in the wake of the news but sold 1,000 new season tickets this season.

Nick Wells, The Canadian Press

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