A business beside BC Place is facing a difficult choice during FIFA match days, as it is located within the fan zone that is closed to non-ticket holders.

Aquariums West on Beatty Street says that it will be closing its doors on those days because it is not expecting a lot of customers.

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“Unfortunately, the way that they have set up the rules for traffic that day, for people attending the games, the accessibility for customers who may want to come on those days is extremely limited or non-existent,” co-owner Kreig LeBlanc told 1130 NewsRadio.

“We are the odd man out here because we are not a restaurant or a hotel. We don’t sell sporting goods. So, our clientele really doesn’t intermix with this particular event.”

He criticizes City Hall for its communication around the issue.

“We were just told this is the decision, this is how they are going to do it. ‘We are not forcing you to close directly,’ but when we don’t have any traffic that is able to get to us, that’s essentially shutting us down,” LeBlanc said.

He adds the city is not offering any type of compensation.

“None whatsoever. They specifically said that they wouldn’t even consider that. The city won’t because unfortunately it sets a precedent once you do it for one.”

LeBlanc says that his store will close for seven days – the number of matches being played at BC Place while the World Cup is in town.

“A lot of the part-timers will lose their shifts. I mean seven days is a lot for us for a small business.”

He highlights that the store will be open on all other days. Yet, his business is already suffering from road closures in the area in anticipation of the major sports event.

“We are hoping that people will come and support us the days that we are open in between games, but we are already starting to feel that people are starting to avoid downtown in general just due to the congestion.”