The B.C. Lions have secured yet another A-list act to perform at their home opener, and according to team president Duane Vienneau, fans have only one person to thank: owner Amar Doman.
“It’s all Amar. I say this every year, people ask me, ‘How did it happen?’ And I say, ‘It’s Amar.’ He takes this one, it’s his baby. It’s been since the day he bought the team. I’m usually the first to know outside of himself and the person he works on this with and I like it because I feel like a fan,” Vienneau recently told the media.
“He’s outdone himself again. We sold 10,000 tickets the first day that (Snoop Dogg’s performance) was announced. … We’re probably close to 45,000, maybe even more than that right now. Last year, we sold out 50 Cent — we finally sold those last couple of thousand tickets on game day. I predict we’ll be sold out here in about a week.”
Some have criticized B.C.’s approach, pointing to the droves of people who leave at halftime. Whether or not fans stay until the end of the game, the concert series actually appears to be slightly profitable, though there’s a caveat: Doman doesn’t use club revenue to cover the cost of the performance, instead choosing to fund it personally.
“Amar (pays for the concert) all on his own and it doesn’t hit the finances of the club, so from a B.C. Lions perspective, it’s a win,” said Vienneau. “We’re not losing money. Are we making a lot of money off of those games? No, but what we are doing is we’re setting the tone for the whole year, and it continues to grow.
“A couple of years ago when Amar first did this, we had OneRepublic and you had to educate the public on what it was. It wasn’t a halftime show, it’s this free concert before the game. Then the next year, it started to grow (with LL Cool J), but we still had to work really, really hard. Then last year with 50 Cent, we had 30,000 tickets sold before we even announced (the act) because people just now know it’s going to be a big game.”
In 2019, the last full CFL season before Doman purchased the Lions in 2021, the team averaged only 17,803 fans per game. Attendance has improved dramatically since then, checking in at 26,883 in 2024. Even if you take out the season opener, which drew a sold-out crowd of 53,788 thanks to a performance from 50 Cent, B.C. still averaged 24,776 fans over the other seven regular-season games at BC Place Stadium.
“What Amar has done over the last four years with his home openers has been spectacular,” said new CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston. “His commitment to this team and the community in and around B.C. … has been remarkable and the fans know that. You can see the build-up of ticket sales towards that home opener. I think it’s a fantastic event that he’s putting on.”
Though the concert kickoff series has certainly helped boost the profile of his team, it doesn’t appear as though Doman views it as a financial tool. Instead, he sees it as a way of giving back to the community.
“Amar, from his personal perspective — he said this when he first bought the club — he said, ‘I am going to do this and this is my gift to the province,’ and that’s why it’s not a halftime show, it is a free concert. You buy a Lions ticket, you get this concert as a part of it. If you don’t want to go to the concert or whatever, you don’t have to — they’re not necessarily tied,” said Vienneau.
“I think over time, (B.C.’s concert kickoff series is) going to be just one of those things like a Labour Day in Edmonton or Calgary — it is a featured pillar game.”
Snoop Dogg will take to the stage on Saturday, June 7 before the Lions take on the Edmonton Elks.
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