VANCOUVER, BC - History is set to be made in less than one month as ticket sales surpass 95% capacity for the inaugural HSBC Canada Sevens Vancouver, which will see the largest ever rugby crowd in Canadian history attend the exciting 16-team tournament at BC Place on March 12-13, 2016.

“We can feel the momentum building as we head into the final stretch of preparations for what promises to be a dynamic and memorable weekend of rugby sevens.” said Bill Cooper, CEO of HSBC Canada Sevens. “It’s great to see the community at large stepping up to support this international sport festival. From the athletes themselves, to our partners and sponsors, to the members of the public who have already secured their tickets, everyone is playing a role in bringing this world class sporting event to life.”

HSBC Canada Sevens Vancouver is anticipated to go down in Canadian rugby history. To date, the largest crowd to watch a rugby event in Canada was 22,556 for a 2013 match between Canada’s Men’s Team and the New Zealand Maori All-Blacks in Toronto. With ticket sales already surpassing 25,000 per day –– both days of the tournament are poised to break the former attendance record. Rugby fans have shown their willingness to travel to Vancouver, as 4,000 tickets have been purchased from Provinces outside of B.C., over 1,500 tickets purchased in the United States, and over 500 tickets sold to international fans from 12 different countries.

“It’s very exciting to see anticipation building and tickets selling well for the inaugural HSBC Canada Sevens at BC Place in Vancouver,” said John Moonlight, Captain of Canada’s Men’s Team. “The crowd support we received last summer at home in Toronto during the Pan American Games was incredible and helped us win gold, and I know the fans in Vancouver will do the same in one month’s time.”

Canada’s Men’s Sevens team has been seeing steady improvement throughout the first four stops of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. Most recently they claimed the Bowl title at the HSBC Sydney Sevens on February 6th, defeating rival Samoa whom they will also face during Rio 2016 Olympic Qualification later this year in Monaco June 18-19.

As the HSBC Men’s Canada Sevens tournament draws near, fans and ticket holders are encouraged to visit CanadaSevens.com for the most up to date information on the competition schedule, as well as important details to enhance their weekend experience. The HSBC Canada Sevens organizing committee has also released the official tournament schedule and key event information for fans to facilitate weekend planning now available on the event website Canadasevens.com. At this time, the competition schedule confirms the timing of when matches will be played throughout the two-day tournament. Further details, including which teams will be playing within the allocated time slots will be added on March 6th, following the Pool draws after the HSBC USA Sevens in Las Vegas. 

In addition, ticket holders can now access detailed information on ticket holder stadium “In and Out” privileges throughout the tournament.  With stadium gates opening both Saturday andSunday at 9 AM, and the event running through to 7:50 PM and 6:30 PM respectively, “In and Out” privileges have been designed to accommodate the length of the daily schedule, enabling ticket holders to leave and return into the stadium as often as desired up until 1pm on both days. Furthermore, BC Place will be adapting concession menus to accommodate the length of the days, including alcohol sales that will commence at 11am.