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The biggest crowd of the year cheered on the Clippers Tuesday, May 19, in game three of their BCHL final series against the Brooks Bandits. (Image Credit: Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)
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Biggest Nanaimo Clippers crowd of the year fills Frank Crane Arena

May 20, 2026 | 12:26 PM

NANAIMO — The biggest crowd of the year turned out at Frank Crane Arena on Tuesday night.

Game three of the BC Hockey League final series between the Nanaimo Clippers and Brooks Bandits on Tuesday, May 19, saw 2,327 people in attendance, the largest crowd of the BCHL playoffs to date and the biggest crowd in Nanaimo this season, according to the BCHL website.

Brooks won the game 2-1 in overtime, giving them a 2-1 series advantage heading into game four on Wednesday, May 20.

Both teams feature in the highest-attended games this postseason, with Brooks and Cranbrook previously holding the top spot with 2,128 during a game in their third-round playoff series, while Nanaimo and Cowichan’s second-round matchup saw three reported sellouts of 2,040 for games in Duncan.

Several games across the BCHL through the regular season topped Tuesday’s mark, thanks in large part to the Vernon Vipers.

The central-Interior team sold between 2,646 and 2,809 tickets in four different games entertaining Salmon Arm, while games against Cranbrook were also very popular with fans.

Vernon occupied 10 of the top 11 spots in BCHL single-game attendance this season, with the lone outlier being a Family Day matchup in Chilliwack against the visiting Alberni Valley Bulldogs, where 2,407 fans were at Chilliwack Coliseum.

Prior to Tuesday night, the Clippers’ highest attendance this season and in the playoffs was against Alberni Valley on Jan. 30, where 1,919 fans watched on.

Tuesday’s attendance was the fourth biggest single-game crowd for the Clippers since the COVID-19 pandemic, narrowly behind game three against Penticton in the 2022 final series, where 2,332 fans watched on.

The highest post-COVID crowd remains a school-day game on Nov. 2, 2023, where 2,552 elementary school students, teachers, and some fans cheered the Clippers on at an 11 a.m. puck drop.

Nanaimo also saw 2,508 fans for a Jan. 13, 2023 game hosting Surrey, and 2,211 fans taking in a game against the Grizzlies on Jan. 12, 2024.

A Feb. 18, 2011 game had the highest attendance in recent history, where the Clippers closed the regular season against Alberni Valley in front of 2,799 Clipper and Bulldog faithful.

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