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Sparked by 50 Cent’s pre-game show, the Lions announced a crowd of 53,788 for their matchup with the Calgary Stampeders, which was their best total since the 1990s
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Published Jun 16, 2024 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 5 minute read
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Fans cheer and sing along as 50 Cent performs before the B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders play a CFL football game on Saturday, June 15, 2024. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS
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B.C. Lions president Duane Vienneau was having a conversation in the concourse at B.C. Place during Saturday’s home opener when legendary kicker Lui Passaglia walked by.
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Passaglia, with a grin from ear and ear, gave Vienneau a “thank you” and “great job” before heading off to where ever he was going.
Happy sentiments were understandable for those who are most deeply invested in the team. Buoyed by a pre-game concert by rapper 50 Cent, the Lions announced a crowd of 53,788 for their matchup with the Calgary Stampeders. It’s the seventh-highest crowd total for a regular season game in franchise history. The rest of the Top 10 were recorded in the 1980s and 1990s, which is when Passaglia, now 70, was in the heyday of his 25-year career.
The Lions hadn’t been anywhere near that vicinity in attendance in the regular season since announcing 50,213 for a matchup against the Edmonton Eskimos on Sept. 30, 2011, which was the first game for B.C. Place since its refurbishing. Last year’s biggest announced crowd came in at 33,103, which was for the home opener against Edmonton on June 17. LL Cool J had a pre-game concert before that one.
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According to the Lions, Saturday also set a club home opener attendance record, with the previous high-water mark coming July 6, 1984, when the curtain raiser against Edmonton attracted 43,501.
“The momentum is going in the right direction,” Vienneau said. “I’ve noticed bars and restaurants with signs saying ‘Come in and watch the Lions.’ I hadn’t seen that before.
“I look out in the crowd today and I see a lot of orange and black (Lions merchandise). I don’t know if they’re buying it today or if they’re fans from before and we’ve re-energized them to come. I don’t care. It’s just one step closer for us to where we want to be.
“We want to be here all the time. We want to have our upper bowl open all the time. We want this to be the regular. We want to be 40,000 or 45,000 or 50,000 every game. We think it can be done.”
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READ MORE: B.C. Lions schedule: Why these are the five must-see home games this season
B.C. wound up winning 26-17 and the crowd did thin out as the game wore on. When B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. punched the ball into the end zone from one yard out with 10:32 remaining in the fourth quarter to break a 17-17 deadlock, there weren’t nearly as many people in the stands as there were when 50 Cent was belting out his signature tune In Da Club.
That said, Saturday has to be considered something to build on in the big picture, particularly with B.C. Place hosting the Grey Cup on Nov. 17.
“I’m super proud of the whole business side, the ticket guys and marketing and all that stuff who really busted their butts to try to get people out here,” Lions coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell said post game. “It’s cool to see that happened and I think it’s good for the CFL, too. Anyone across this league is going to be happy that we had that crowd today.”
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Gatekeeping and a lack of business knowledge.
I went to the game with a group of seven. 4 of those people had never been to a game, were mostly there for 50 Cent, but now want to go another game.
Not to mention all 53,788 paid to get in, the only thing that actually matters. https://t.co/SSZyTCj6LM
— David Quadrelli (@QuadrelliD) June 16, 2024
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There were complaints on X — the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — about delays to get into the building. Kyle Shanks, 37, a fan who usually goes to two or three games a season, was among them.
Via direct message he added: “There was no real direction from staff. Everyone was just lining up for the sake of lining up with no direction. After about 25 minutes, staff told people to start walking to other gates where it was less busy. A better job could’ve been done.”
Both Vienneau and B.C. Place general manager Chris May said that part of the issue is that fans were enjoying the pre-game festivities outdoors and then there was a major push to get into the stadium at 2:45 p.m.
50 Cent was advertised as starting at 3 p.m. He hit the stage closer to 3:20 p.m.
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May said that B.C. Place opened its gates for fans at 1:30 p.m., and that was a half-hour earlier than initially planned in a bid to spread things out and make the crowd flow easier to handle.
May believes that more fans would have entered the building earlier if B.C. Place had its roof open, but the early rains on Saturday nixed that.
“It was the right decision (then) but now it’s gotten nice,” May said.
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Vienneau talked about how the B.C. place staff tried to fast track as best they could to get people into the building
“I commend them,” he continued. “I think they handled the situation well.”
50 Cent had a convoy of Escalades behind the stage and left with his team immediately after the performance. He also had a show Saturday night in Las Vegas.
He received good reviews across social media from the B.C. Place crowd, and there was praise for Lions owner Amar Doman bringing him in.
50 Cent was on stage for about 45 minutes and Shanks, for one, called it “a fantastic pre-game concert,” adding that “we were thinking he was only going to sing a handful of songs.”
May explained: “I think what we’re continuing to learn is that what Amar is doing for the Lions is what the CFL needs. They need owners who are willing to put the dollars in to develop great game experience and treat the league and the teams and the game with the kind of cachet that they deserve.”
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The Lions’ next home game is June 27, when Edmonton provides the opposition.
The Lions’ record for regular season attendance is 59,478, which was set Oct. 11, 1985, in a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and then equalled Sept. 19, 1986, for a matchup with Edmonton. The reconfiguring of B.C. Place will make it difficult to ever top that total.
@SteveEwen
SEwen@postmedia.com
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Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/football/cfl/bc-lions/bc-place-attendance-home-opener-50-cent-calgary-stampeders