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It was easy to make fun of the entire concept of South Flats when it first got started. The area, located largely in between Main and Clark streets on Great Northern Way, is home to many newer developments, a large swath of them owned by Chip Wilson’s real estate company, Low Tide Properties.
And they called it “South Flatz”. So yeah. Not great.
But slowly, the area—so centrally located and right across from a rather awesome park in China Creek North—became legit.
It became home to one of the only in-service basketball courts during the pandemic, one that is still intensely popular to this day. It drew corporate offices for sought-after, cool companies like Electronic Arts and Mark Anthony Group (which produces White Claw drinks). It’s also the home to Emily Carr’s state of the art campus, and trendy coffee shops and eateries like Nemesis and Kafka’s. It’s also right next to a transit station (that’s about to get better with the Broadway addition) and features a seamless bike route, one of the city’s best stretches for cyclists.
So yeah, there’s a lot to like. The powers that be even saw the backlash from the name and changed it to South Flats. Good call there.
Still, I wasn’t a full-on believer in the area until I stepped into the official Game Days South Flats watch party at the very end of Great Northern Way, near the SkyTrain station.
Am I ready to bow down to Wilson and the rest of the developer gods who run this city and take pity on us plebs just because he threw a fun party for free? No. But I’m not going to say it wasn’t a good time either.
The free watch party was completely sold out and the area under the canopy (crucial sun protection) was set up beautifully with tables, chairs, a huge screen, and massive speakers. There were also food trucks (Japadog and Shameless Buns, among others), good beer (Strathcona Beer Company) and—this is key—multiple areas for kids to play soccer and hang out at.
My friend and I went for the first Canada game in which the home side drew with Bosnia-Herzegovina. The place was absolutely packed, and the crowd was intense, living and dying with every Canada corner kick (there were many).
In all, it was a special place to experience Canada’s first Men’s World Cup match on home soil with a packed house of emotional fans. There could have been more seats, as the layout really benefited those who got there first—the front was flush with comfy chairs and better seating. But that’s fair. I leaned on the long wooden table at the back while my friend, who just had knee surgery, sat on it. Yes, there was some craning of the neck to get a view of the screen, but that’s going to happen. Overall, it was a fun atmosphere and a place I’d go again no question.
Watch Party Rating: 4/5
South Flats Game Days resume this week from June 18 to 21. Reserve tickets here.