Rogers Arena will have its new seating installed by the beginning of the 2025-26 NHL season.
Next year.
The Canucks confirmed Tuesday that they’ll be installing new black seats throughout the arena ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season. The new seats, to be installed by Irwin Seating Company, were originally supposed to be installed in two stages, with the first set put in place over this past summer.
But the previous company contracted by the Canucks went bankrupt, according to multiple sources, and so the Canucks were back at square one.
Irwin is a well-established seating company, with seats installed in 23 of the NHL’s 32 arenas.
The new seats will have higher back rests, the Canucks say, as well as cup holders.
Whether the arena’s seating capacity will remain the same is unclear: when seats were installed for the high-priced ice-level President’s Club before last season, the new ones were slightly wider than those previously in place, and the seating capacity of the new premium area was slightly reduced as a result.
The seat replacement was first announced by the team over a year ago, after years of ownership saying the seats were fine despite regular comments by fans about the decreasing quality of the seat cushions.
The team has made renovations throughout the arena over the past few seasons, including a new video board and the President’s Club.
Extensive renovations took place in the team spaces as well, with the players’ changing areas redesigned, and an expanded workout area and new coaches’ offices.
Over the past months, the team finished construction of player-centred medical and recovery facilities, including a sensory deprivation room and sauna.