BC Lions could draw 40K fans for first time in 10 years on Sunday

Sunday’s BC Lions game promises to be the most well-attended home game in a decade.

Playing their first home playoff game in six years, momentum is on BC’s side. The lower bowl will be sold out soon, and the team has opened the upper bowl at BC Place for the second time this season.

“The lower bowl’s gone and we’re into the upper, which is fantastic,” said Lions owner Amar Doman during an interview with Don Taylor and Rick Dhaliwal on CHEK TV.

“This playoff game is probably going to be the most attended out of any game we’ve had [during my ownership],” he added.

You might also like:
• Lions win bid to host first Grey Cup at BC Place in 10 years
• Sunday's BC Lions playoff game to feature Sarah McLachlan, special halftime show

Tickets for Sunday’s Western Semi-Final game against the Calgary Stampeders start at $30 for adults, and only $10 for kids 17 and under. Kickoff is at 1:30 pm.

“We’re trying to keep everything cost effective for the families to really be able to come to a game and enjoy a night out and not feel bad or worried about it. In these inflationary times we’re in, I’m trying to hold everything down for our great fan-base.”

The Lions had a season-high attendance of 34,082 at their home opener back in June, helped by a pre-game concert from OneRepublic.

Doman has high hopes for Sunday, saying a crowd of 40,000 people is “attainable.”

The home opener was the highest-attended Lions game since 2013. They haven’t hit the 40K mark in attendance in a decade, when 43,216 fans packed BC Place for the Western Final.

The last time the Lions hosted a playoff game in 2016, they drew fewer than 20,000 fans.

But this is a new era of Lions football, due in large part because of their owner. A 12-6 record and star quarterback Nathan Rourke don’t hurt either.

Doman is gunning for a big crowd not only to make money, but to help his team win. He’s even been willing to provide free transportation for fans coming from Vancouver Island, the Fraser Valley, and the Interior to help that happen.

“The crowd is building. I’m really excited because if we can get an extra edge, drowning out the Calgary offence. I’ll tell you what, that matters in football… Let’s try and drown these guys out.”