The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Rick Tocchet is the head coach, Jim Rutherford serves as the president of hockey operations, and Patrik Allvin serves as the general manager.
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Albany Attack was the name of a franchise which played in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) from the 2000 season through the 2003 season. The Attack played in the former Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York. After the 2003 season, the franchise was sold and moved to San Jose, California and renamed the San Jose Stealth. The current incarnation of the franchise, now owned by Canucks Sports & Entertainment, is the Vancouver Warriors.
The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along with the Toronto Raptors, as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada. Following the 2000–01 season, the team relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, United States and was renamed the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies played their home games at General Motors Place for all of their six seasons in Vancouver.
Scotiabank Arena, formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). In addition, the minor league Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League play occasional games at the arena. The arena was previously home to the Toronto Phantoms of the Arena Football League (AFL) and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. Scotiabank Arena also hosts other events, such as concerts, political conventions and video game competitions.
Rogers Arena is a multi-purpose arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place from its opening until July 6, 2010, when General Motors Canada ended its naming rights sponsorship and a new agreement for those rights was reached with Rogers Communications. Rogers Arena was built to replace Pacific Coliseum as Vancouver's primary indoor sports facility and in part due to the National Basketball Association (NBA) 1995 expansion into Canada, when Vancouver and Toronto were given expansion teams.
Nicolaus "Nick" Sakiewicz is currently Chief Business Officer of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League. From January 7, 2016 until February 23, 2022, he was the commissioner of the National Lacrosse League.
John McCaw Jr. is a businessman who formerly partly owned McCaw Cellular in Seattle, Washington and a former part-owner of the Vancouver Canucks NHL franchise, with Francesco Aquilini.
The Q Centre is in Colwood, British Columbia, Canada. In 2014, the arena was named "The Q Centre" after local radio station CKKQ-FM. The arena opened in February 2004, has 2,300 seats and houses year-round events for hockey and lacrosse. With an additional floor capacity of 860 people and standing room area for up to 480, this premier spectator facility can hold any type of event, from trade shows to major sporting and entertainment events.
There have been a wide variety of sports in Vancouver since the city was founded. Team sports such as ice hockey, lacrosse, and Canadian football have extensive history in the area, while the city's relatively mild climate and geographical location facilitate a wide variety of other sports and recreational activities.
Francesco Aquilini is a Canadian businessman, investor, and philanthropist and is the current chairman of the Vancouver Canucks. He is a managing director of Vancouver-based Aquilini Investment Group, the parent company of several diverse subsidiaries. The company is best known for its ownership of the Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena, where Aquilini sits as Chairman and NHL Governor. Aquilini is also chairman of Canadian digital media company Enthusiast Gaming.
Arthur R. Griffiths is a Canadian businessperson, philanthropist, and former candidate for political office. He is former owner of the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Grizzlies, and General Motors Place. He chaired the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Bid Society which helped to bring the 2010 Winter Olympics to the region. Griffiths ran unsuccessfully as the BC Liberal candidate for a 2008 provincial byelection in the Vancouver-Burrard riding. In June 2016, Griffiths was inducted to the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame and is the recipient of the W.A.C Bennett Award, which is given "to an individual who has made a significant, unique and lasting contribution to sport in the Province of British Columbia." He and his father Frank are the only father and son that have been bestowed with this honour in the history of BC Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1994, several groups were involved in an attempt to relocate the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from Minneapolis, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana. The proposed relocation would have been the second involving a Minneapolis-based franchise in the span of two years, as Minneapolis had lost its National Hockey League (NHL) franchise to Dallas in 1993. Timberwolves owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner were considering selling the team due to problems with the mortgage on the Target Center, the team's arena that had been built only four years earlier as part of Minneapolis' 1989 entry into the NBA. The events of the attempted relocation resulted in Glen Taylor, businessman and former Minnesota State Senator, purchasing the team and keeping it in Minneapolis.
The Langley Events Centre is a 322,312-square-foot (29,943.8 m2) multipurpose facility in the Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada. The LEC debuted in April 2009, hosting the 2009 BC Gymnastics Championships. It boasts an arena bowl with a 5,276 capacity for sports, including 24 individual suites. The LEC also showcases a triple Gymnasium with a capacity of 2,200 spectators under its centre court configuration. The venue's second building houses the Field House, a dry floor arena, as well as a double gymnasium with a capacity of 1,000 spectators. Other highlights of the facility include a Banquet Hall with an 800-person capacity, an indoor walking track, meeting rooms, and the Willoughby Community Centre, while includes a fitness facility, outdoor playground and various grass and turf fields. The LEC is home to the Langley Gymnastics Foundation, a non-profit organization offering gymnastics programming for recreational and competitive athletes.
There are professional teams based in Canada in several professional sports leagues. The National Hockey League currently has seven Canadian franchises and is the most popular professional sports league in Canada. The Canadian Football League is the only all-Canadian major professional sports league. Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer also have Canadian teams.
The Vancouver Grizzlies relocation to Memphis was a successful effort by the ownership group of the Vancouver Grizzlies to move the team from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The team began play as the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2001–02 season. It was the first of three National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise moves between 2001 and 2008, and the third of four major league teams to relocate from Canada to the United States between 1995 and 2005.
R. Thomas Gaglardi is a Canadian business executive, and the owner of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League.
The Vancouver Warriors are a professional box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. The team moved from Everett, Washington, for the 2014 NLL season.
The expansion of the National Basketball Association has happened several times in the league's history since it began play in 1946. The most recent examples of the expansion of the NBA are the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995, and New Orleans Hornets in 2002. In June 2022, Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that while there are no current plans to expand beyond 30 teams, the NBA "invariably will expand."
The Vancouver Titans are a professional Overwatch esports team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Titans compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2018, the Vancouver Titans began play as one of eight expansion teams in 2019 and is one of two professional Overwatch teams in Canada. The team is owned by Canucks Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Vancouver Warriors of the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
