Average attendance for the Abbotsford Canucks this season dipped to its lowest in franchise history, as the club finished with an average of 3,953 over 36 home games in 2025-26.
It marks the first time ever that attendance has fallen below 4,000 for the team and is the fourth consecutive season that numbers have decreased.
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Abbotsford’s attendance dropped a total of 4.7 per cent year-over-year. The 2024-25 season saw an average attendance of 4,152, numbers were at 4,816 in 2023-24 and a franchise-high of 4,898 in 2022-23. The inaugural season in 2021-22, which saw a significant portion season set to 50-per-cent capacity due to pandemic restrictions, posted an average attendance of 4,292.
The Canucks reached a season-high of 6,378 at the 2025-26 home opener against the Ontario Reign on Oct. 24. That game featured the raising of the 2025 Calder Cup champions banner. Abbotsford cracked 5,000 four additional times in 2025-26 – Jan. 10 (5,564 vs. the Calgary Wranglers), March 15 (5,537 vs. the Henderson Silver Knights), Feb. 16 (5461 vs. Ontario) and April 4 (5,164 vs. the Coachella Valley Firebirds).
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The 5,000 fans attendance mark is notable because that is the amount of fans required for the city of Abbotsford to reach the revenue sharing threshold established in the original contract between the city and the team. This marks the fifth consecutive year in which that threshold was not reached. The Canucks and the city signed a five-year extension, but revenue sharing details for that contract have not yet been publicly shared.
Abbotsford failed to post a sell-out crowd during the regular season for the third straight year. The last time the team sold out a regular season game was Jan. 21, 2023. The team did post excellent attendance numbers during last year’s Calder Cup run and drew an average of 6,136 over 13 postseason home games. Capacity inside the Rogers Forum is 7,073.
The Canucks posted attendance below 3,000 on five occasions in 2025-26, including a season-low of 2,753 vs. the San Jose Barracuda on Nov. 12. They also reported totals of 2,858 on Oct. 29 (vs. Calgary) 2,870 on Oct. 28 (vs. Calgary), 2,870 on Dec. 3 (vs. Calgary) and 2,985 on Jan. 6 (vs. the Bakersfield Condors). All of the listed games are weekday games, which have historically proven to be a challenge to draw fans in Abbotsford.
This year was also the first season in franchise history that the Canucks failed to make the playoffs, which may account for a decrease in attendance. The Canucks finished in ninth place in the Pacific Division and weren’t a playoff threat for the majority of the season.
The Abbotsford Heat, the building’s previous AHL tenant, previously posted five-year totals of 3,897 (2009-10), 3,807 (2010-11), 3,545 (2011-12), 3,778 (2012-13) and 3,007 (2013-14).
The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks had an 2025-26 average attendance of 18,662 (decrease of .8 per cent from 2024-25), while the debuting Vancouver Goldeneyes of the PWHL had an average attendance of 11,234. Meanwhile, the WHL’s Vancouver Giants averaged 3,700 for 2025-26 (decrease of 1 per cent).
Abbotsford’s attendance ranked 25th in the 32-team AHL. They were sixth in the 10-team Pacific Division and third among the six other Canadian-based teams in the league. The Cleveland Monsters posted a league-high of 11,531, with the Laval Rocket second at 9,946 and the Hershey Bears third at 9,647.
The Utica Comets ranked last in the AHL at 2,446, while the Belleville Senators were 31st at 2,814 and San Jose was 30th at 3,056. For more details, visit theahl.com.