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Council has decided to put a temporary ban on public mixed-martial-arts fights because of liability concerns.
"It is definitely a sport that's popular and it's growing, but if we're going to do it, let's do it right," Coun. Kim Capri said Thursday.
Capri wants to see the provincial government take over monitoring and authorizing the events, which is now done by the city's unpaid athletic commission.
A half dozen men who produce and promote local fight events, as well as producing fight shows for TV and video, told councillors the business brings $20 million a year into the city. They said they provide their own insurance for events, which reduces any risk for the city.
But councillors said they felt they didn't know enough to make a decision whether to ban the fights permanently or to allow the city's athletic commission to continue overseeing them, but with more resources to help commissioners deal with the complicated risk-management and liability issues.
A scheduled fight in November will go ahead, but no others.
Mixed-martial-arts fights are a rapidly growing form of entertainment, in which fighters are allowed to use techniques from a wide variety of martial arts. Public fights put on in Vancouver last year have drawn crowds of up to 3,500. The council ban won't prevent local company Bodog Fight from filming fights in private facilities for their TV and DVD productions.
The city's athletic commission chair, Roy Nocella, said it would be helpful if the provincial government got involved in regulating these types of fight events, but he doubted they will.
"We've sent several letters over the past 10 or 15 years asking them to be more involved," but nothing has happened yet, he said.
Source: The Vancouver Sun
"It is definitely a sport that's popular and it's growing, but if we're going to do it, let's do it right," Coun. Kim Capri said Thursday.
Capri wants to see the provincial government take over monitoring and authorizing the events, which is now done by the city's unpaid athletic commission.
A half dozen men who produce and promote local fight events, as well as producing fight shows for TV and video, told councillors the business brings $20 million a year into the city. They said they provide their own insurance for events, which reduces any risk for the city.
But councillors said they felt they didn't know enough to make a decision whether to ban the fights permanently or to allow the city's athletic commission to continue overseeing them, but with more resources to help commissioners deal with the complicated risk-management and liability issues.
A scheduled fight in November will go ahead, but no others.
Mixed-martial-arts fights are a rapidly growing form of entertainment, in which fighters are allowed to use techniques from a wide variety of martial arts. Public fights put on in Vancouver last year have drawn crowds of up to 3,500. The council ban won't prevent local company Bodog Fight from filming fights in private facilities for their TV and DVD productions.
The city's athletic commission chair, Roy Nocella, said it would be helpful if the provincial government got involved in regulating these types of fight events, but he doubted they will.
"We've sent several letters over the past 10 or 15 years asking them to be more involved," but nothing has happened yet, he said.
Source: The Vancouver Sun