Vancouver’s Tyler Broers said he’s never seen anything like what unfolded on Saturday.
Australian World Cup fans filled his multi-level sports bar, Dublin Calling, before and after their team’s match against Turkey, and nearly drank the bar dry.
“That never happens. That was the first time I’ve ever felt like I was actually going to run out of booze,” Broers, the bar’s manager, said Tuesday.
Now he and other Vancouver bar operators are bracing for Thursday’s match at B.C. Place between Canada and Qatar, and the next five matches in Vancouver.
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Reinforcements of staff and beer are being rushed to Granville Street, which has been pedestrianized for the tournament and is the front line in the World Cup’s war on thirst.
“Today we ordered 200 kegs for the weekend,” he said. “The Australians were actually trying to drink us dry. They said ‘we’re going to drink you dry before we leave.'”
Broers said one of the bar’s DJs had to use his van to pick up 20 kegs from a local brewery on Saturday to shore up their dwindling supply.
He said he “hired a whole army” ahead of the tournament, and then even more staff for the upcoming games.
Premier David Eby, for his part, said he will be hosting and yelling “go Canada go” during Canada’s match on Thursday.
He told a crowd gathered in Vancouver on Tuesday that everyone in B.C. and across the country should mark the occasion by wearing red.
Eby said Canadians have “been through a lot” over the last few years, and it would be an opportunity to celebrate how Canada is standing up on the world stage.
The premier said the World Cup has Vancouver abuzz, as parades of fans take to the streets. Business at bars and restaurants on Granville Street was up 20 to 40 per cent, he added.
Tom Young manages Donnellan’s Irish Pub further up Granville, and said the Australian fans came out in “full power” on Saturday.
“The vibe down here was like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Young said.
He said the street’s closure to vehicles until the tournament’s conclusion July 19 had been great for business. It was showcasing a part of the city that sometimes looks rough.
“The concerns I suppose everybody had was, will it be clean enough and will it be good enough? And it was, and they’ve done it, and it’s been really good,” he said.
The weekend crowd was also good-natured — police said there was just one arrest, fewer than on a normal weekend.
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Young said he’d like to see year-round foot traffic, or at least on weekends, like before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need to get back to that because it’s the entertainment district. It’s not just a main street,” he said.
Young said he had also brought on extra staff. Luckily there were “loads of people looking for work” as the school year ends and summer begins, all coinciding with the World Cup.
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He said Saturday’s match has given staff an idea of what to expect on Thursday.
“We learned a couple of lessons over the weekend for sure,” he said. “Seeing how many people were on the streets and everything else, but I think Thursday will be the very same.”
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Tattoo and piercing shop Adrenaline Vancity on Granville, meanwhile, is offering free tattoos for Team Canada players on its marquee, and a floor-to-ceiling wall of pre-drawn, soccer-themed flash tattoos.
Michael Bilinsky, head piercer and operations manager at Adrenaline, said no players have taken up the offer, but fans are a different story.
“We’ve had tons of people come in wanting to permanently cement their trip here to Vancouver for FIFA and the World Cup,” he said.
“We’ve been doing everything from countries’ flags to maple leaves and mountains and soccer balls.
“It’s been pretty awesome.”
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Bilinsky said a fire a few years ago had shut the shop down, but being open for the World Cup is “huge” and they’ve extended their hours and hired more people.
“We actually brought some of our old tattoo artists who’ve moved on to other studios to bring them back in for guest spots, just to be able to have enough people on staff to help accommodate the influx of clientele,” he said.
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Back at Dublin Calling, Broers said the bar had high hopes for the World Cup, but was caught off guard in a positive way on Saturday. They’re now better prepared as the tournament continues.
Thursday’s match is at 3 p.m. PT, while New Zealand plays Egypt on Sunday, with a 6 p.m. PT kickoff.
The 9 p.m. PT kickoff for the Australia-Turkey match gave Aussie fans more time in the bar before heading to the stadium, and Broers suspects they have set a high benchmark.
“We didn’t really anticipate that sort of first opening weekend for it. I’m not sure if anyone’s going to be able to top the Australians,” he said. “That was a very unique and amazing experience to have.”
