The B.C. Lions are working to address issues highlighted by the Canadian Football League Players’ Association 2025 report card with a new wave of renovations to the team’s Surrey practice facility.
“We appreciate the open and honest feedback from our players. Since the introduction of the CFLPA report cards last year, our organization has put an increased emphasis on providing players and staff with the best possible working environment,” team president Duane Vienneau told 3DownNation.
“In response to last year’s report card, we addressed one important area with the addition of a new strength and conditioning coach. We continue to work around the clock to improve in every area, despite the limitations at our current training facility. Thus, the next phase of our Surrey facility upgrades will begin early in 2026. These include a new and expanded locker room, with a fully-functional kitchen and highly-improved player lounge, which will help ensure our diet and nutrition program is among the CFL’s best.”
The Lions improved by one letter grade from the 2024 CFLPA report card, going from a C- to a C. However, they fell to the bottom of the league rankings, recording the lowest average grade of any team this year.
B.C. was one of just two teams to receive an F grade in any of the 10 categories detailed in the report card, failing in nutrition and diet. In their comments on the survey, one player wrote, “The overall nutrition of our team is very below par and what it should be for a professional football team. This needs major improvement.” Another said, “Nutrition is 99 percent on the players here.”
The team also received a C- for its equipment and facilities. Despite not being included as a category in the inaugural report card, B.C. players noted at the time that the team’s outdated practice facility was their largest challenge. One wrote that the staff “does what it can,” but the amenities are “unsatisfactory compared to other teams in the CFL.”
The Lions began the process of improving the facility in July, erecting a temporary outdoor high-performance training centre to allow the team to continue all training and operations without obstruction while efforts were made to upgrade the interior. Architectural renderings provided to 3DownNation show what the next phase of renovations will entail, transforming the space into a state-of-the-art performance hub.
Tectonic Architecture, the firm that created these renderings, previously did overlay planning and buildout for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, performed permit coordination for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and was the architect-of-record for the 2023 Laver Cup.
These plans were in the works before the CFLPA revealed their findings, but advance a trend of addressing issues highlighted in the report cards. In 2024, the team received a D+ for their training & medical staff. Tanner Care was hired as the director of player performance that April, which caused the newly separated categories of strength & conditioning and therapy & medical staff to improve to a B and B-, respectively.
The Lions have been full-time residents in the Surrey neighbourhood of Whalley for over four decades. They began leasing their current practice facility beside Tom Binnie Park from the city in 1991, which also previously housed the team’s business operations until those moved to downtown Vancouver in 2023.
However, the building and surrounding field space no longer meet the standards required for a professional sports organization. For the past few years, the Lions have been forced to bus seven minutes up the road to Hjorth Road Park in Guildford late in the season after the artificial turf at Tom Binnie Park failed CFL quality tests due to persistent rain.
Owner Amar Doman has been vocal about his desire to fund the construction of a new practice facility somewhere in the Lower Mainland. 3DownNation reported in May 2025 that there were active conversations ongoing regarding several different possibilities. The team is undertaking these proposed renovations with the understanding that they may not be in their current building for long.
“Amar Doman is fully committed to providing the club with the necessary resources for these important facility upgrades. Mr. Doman is making these investments while knowing we are in a short-term lease situation, and this shows his commitment at the ownership level,” Vienneau said. “Every initiative taken is done with the goal of being a first-class organization, and we are continually working to create an environment the players deserve.”
Two years remain on the five-year lease extension that the club signed with the City of Surrey in 2022, which included a 33 percent discount on rent thanks to a partnering agreement for community involvement. The team owes $285,376 in rent for 2026 and $292,510 in 2027 as part of the deal, which will have cost more than $1.39 million by its conclusion.
Either side can sever the existing agreement with a 12-month written notice, but that requires a viable alternative. Doman’s investment in the facility will ensure it meets modern standards for as long as required.
