By not permitting MMA in Vancouver, city councilors have done a disservice to the people who vote them into their positions.
Vancouver city officials have done a disservice by punting back to the province the question of sanctioning mixed martial arts events.
On Thursday, Vancouver council voted overwhelmingly to ask the provincial government to become the sanctioning body for the sport, rather than having the Vancouver Athletic Commission (VAC) do it in that city alone. It is the same request the city made in 2007, to no avail, when it imposed a temporary moratorium on MMA events.
This moratorium was put in place to allow time to gather information on the sport, including the scope and role of the commission to get input from local police regarding MMA events, as well as the "financial implications associated with a decision to disallow" MMA events in the city.
An administrative report released by Vancouver officials answered many of those questions and even included the fact the VAC has no problem in assuming sanctioning duties. Generally it is the commissions, in conjunction with government, that opposes MMA, but here is a case where the commission has no issues should they be appointed as the regulators for the sport. In all my years covering the sport, this is the first I have heard of such a thing.
Local police also had no objections, citing "there have been no significant policing issues to date when MMA events are run professionally and a security plan with policing recommendations are in place."
The police also warn that not sanctioning the sport means promoters will take it underground -- away from proper police and medical presence -- endangering not only the fighters but also the public that will inevitably attend the fights.
Also mentioned in the report is the fact the Pacific National Exhibition receives an average of four to six inquiries from MMA promoters to hold shows on their premises but have to turn them away. It appears the PNE would welcome the boost in revenue MMA events would bring.
If MMA were to be allowed to be sanctioned by the VAC, a recommendation has been made to raise the current seat tax of 10 cents to 50 cents. For local promoters that hold events that attract 2,000 people, that would mean paying an additional $1,000 -- over and above the regular licensing free -- toward paying the commission representatives, doctors, having ambulance and paramedics on site and more. If the UFC was to hold an event in Vancouver and sell 20,000 seats, its cost would be $10,000, compared to a gate of likely more than $2 million. For the UFC, that figure is peanuts.
If the commission has no issues overseeing the sport, local police have no qualms regarding MMA events and local venues are asking council to put these events on, where's the issue? The people, the employees, the police and local establishments all want the sport; there should be no reason not to sanction MMA events in Vancouver.
In these times, the boost that MMA events bring to a city is a financial breath of fresh air to any local economy. Just ask Montreal, Columbus, Atlanta, Minneapolis and of course, the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas.
Marc Ratner, the vice-president of government and regulatory affairs for the UFC (and a former executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission) sent an excellent piece to the Vancouver Sun, directed squarely to the council members. In it, he pointed out that a UFC event could be worth $6-8 million for local economy, referring to UFC 83 held in Montreal last year.
And that is just the UFC. For the rest of the year, all other events would be considered gravy to all parties that can capitalize from local grassroots events.
There should be no reason to extend the current moratorium on MMA. The people want it. The city's athletic commission wants it and the local police have no issue with the sport. The sport is a safe one, provided it is regulated according to the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. To not do so would be doing a disservice to a large portion of the people who vote the councilors into their positions.
