Bob Donegan of Ivar’s, a Seattle-based seafood restaurant chain recognized for its slogan “Keep clam!”, says he’s a bit involved concerning the lack of Canadians travelling south to cheer the Toronto Blue Jays as they sq. off in opposition to the Seattle Mariners.
Donegan says he loves Canadian baseball followers, referring to them as “friendly and goofy and delightful,” however he see indicators that they could also be passing up the prospect to see the Blue Jays throughout their solely journey to Washington state this season.
“I’m looking over the waterfront right now and there are hundreds of people walking the waterfront, not a single one of them has a Blue Jay cap or a Blue Jay sweatshirt on, and that saddens us,” Donegan stated Friday, forward of the Jays’ three-game set in opposition to the Mariners at T-Cell Park.
The Jays’ go to to Seattle comes as fewer Canadians journey to the U.S. amid President Donald Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats. April noticed a 51 per cent drop in vehicles with B.C. licence plates heading into the U.S. from southwest B.C. in comparison with the identical month final 12 months.
Julie Nimmock of Vancouver says she and a pal have a practice of travelling south to observe the Jays in Seattle. This 12 months, she stated, is totally different given the continuing commerce battle and considerations that heightened scrutiny on the U.S. border makes journey to the nation too unsure.
“I think with everything going on right now, I just don’t feel 100 per cent comfortable going to the States currently, and I also don’t want to particularly support the economy either, considering some of Donald Trump’s statements towards Canada,” Nimmock stated.
WATCH | Seattle radio station host talks concerning the absence of Canadian followers:
Kim Malcolm, the host of All Issues Thought of from NPR affiliate station KUOW, says loads of Canadians often cross the border to see Seattle-hosted baseball video games between the Blue Jays and the Mariners, however Seattle residents are seeing much less Canadian vacationer site visitors for the Might 9 recreation. She tells BC At the moment host Michelle Eliot about companies which have spoken to her a few decline in tourism that’s coinciding with U.S. President Donald Trump’s border rhetoric.
Nimmock stated she and her pal agreed to skip this 12 months’s journey to Seattle and can reassess as issues go alongside. Within the meantime, she plans on visiting Nat Bailey Stadium to observe the Vancouver Canadians, the Blue Jays’ Excessive-A affiliate.
A Seattle Mariners spokesperson instructed CBC Information that they’ve heard anecdotally that fewer followers are making the journey from Canada this 12 months, however “this weekend’s crowds are tracking towards our expected attendance numbers.”
If attendance have been to drop, different elements may very well be in play. This 12 months’s Blue Jays go to to Seattle is available in Might, when for greater than a decade it occurred in the summertime. There’s additionally the truth that the Blue Jays are off to a sluggish begin, with a profitable proportion beneath .500.
Staff’s report not an element, says sports activities columnist
Mike Wilner, a podcaster and baseball columnist with the Toronto Star, thinks the workforce’s on-field efficiency won’t have an effect on attendance by some means, as followers in Western Canada have a historical past of displaying up in pressure whatever the workforce’s report.
“I was in Seattle in 2022 when the Blue Jays lost four straight, each in more humiliating fashion than the one before … but it was packed with Blue Jays fans,” Wilner stated.
Wilner notes that some Canadian followers should still attend the video games as they purchased tickets to the Mariners-Jays collection final 12 months, forward of present U.S.-Canada commerce tensions.
Whereas it stays to be seen what number of followers will make the journey south, some Seattle companies are participating in a promotion to entice Canadians to go to the Emerald Metropolis.
Open Arms for Canadian Pals will see taking part companies take the Canadian greenback at par.
Donegan says between seven and 11 per cent of holiday makers to Seattle come from Canada, and “the lack of that delightful Canadian accent is noticeable” within the metropolis.
He says the objective of the promotion is to get Canadians to attend the Jays’ video games in Seattle, but in addition allow them to know “that you are our friends and our neighbours and we miss you and we hope that the relationship will survive this temporary roadblock.”
