The B.C. Lions may still be fighting for their playoff lives on the field, but their future off of it is very much secure.
New franchise owner Amar Doman, not yet 90 days on the job, has instantly provided stability for the organization, but that doesn’t mean the status quo will be continuing. Eyeing down his first offseason at the helm, Doman is committed to evaluating every aspect of the team, not just the product on the field.
“We’re going to go through everything, tip to tail,” Doman told viewers of CTV Morning Live on Friday. “We’re going to go through the marketing department, sales. We’re going to go through the team, the facilities, we’re going to take a look at long-term things [inaudible] to understand what we can do to make the fan experience better.”
That expansive overview of the organization is set to leave no stone unturned, including something that fans have long taken for granted: the team’s home stadium. While remaining vague, Doman hinted that changes could be on the horizon when it comes to the Lions’ relationship with BC Place.
“Being in B.C. Place is great. It’s also sometimes difficult with the arrangements we have,” Doman alluded. “We’re going to look at everything but number one, we’re going to start with how do we get more fans in and get more fan excitement?”
The team’s home since it opened in 1983, BC Place and its recognizable domed roof have become synonymous with the Lions franchise. However, the team has struggled to approach even half of the provincially-owned facility’s 54,500 seat capacity in recent years.
In the past, complaints have arisen in regards to the lack of additional revenue opportunities that come from the current stadium arrangement, with Crown corporation PavCo controlling food and beverage sales. Other critics have argued that the stadium’s location in downtown Vancouver actually deters some fans from attending games, given the bulk of Lions fans commute in from suburban areas and other cities across the Lower Mainland. This has been particularly attributed to the team’s strong South Asian fan base, a demographic which Doman himself was once a part of.
Not having to brave the traffic and parking costs of the downtown core could convince more fans to switch off their television sets and head to the ticket counter, but the Lower Mainland lacks a viable, ready-made alternative to BC Place. Nevertheless, Doman will be looking at every possibility and is unafraid to have the vital conversations that have long been left by the wayside.
“I’ve already had a bunch of ideas. We’ve been talking to a lot of people locally, the business community, the sports community, and these are conversations, frankly, to your point earlier that have drifted, that haven’t happened in years,” he said.
“No fault to Mr. Braley when you own the team for 25 great years, but local matters and we’re here and we’re not standby owners. We’re going to be involved on the end of the fan experience, not running the team, but certainly getting people excited about the B.C. Lions.”
What role BC Place plays in that effort remains to be seen, but whatever it is will have to start with winning on the field.
