Public costs for Kelowna’s CFL games still up in the air | News

Some predictions were confidently made Monday about next spring’s two CFL games in Kelowna. 

They will be a lot of fun. They will be quick sell-outs. They will provide a big economic boost to the city, with the Lions hosting the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Elks on back-to-back Saturdays in late June and early July. 

But although the games were first announced two months ago, there is still no public information available on how much the event will cost, or how the expense will be shared between the City of Kelowna and the Lions. 

Asked these questions by The Kelowna Courier after a press conference at the Kelowna Yacht Club promoting the two games, CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston suggested the finances are still being worked out. 

“That’s a relationship between the BC Lions and the City of Kelowna, and looking forward to what they can bring to the table,” Johnston said. 

Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas also said the financial arrangement was still being worked out. “That’s what we’re doing right now,” Dyas said. 

Asked if it wasn’t unusual to heavily promote the two games without confirming and releasing the public costs associated with the event, Dyas responded: “Not really, because the BC Lions and the CFL have done similar events like this throughout the country.

“So from a baseline standpoint, we have an idea of what it’ll cost. But what you’re looking for is, who’s responsible for what, and we haven’t worked that out yet. So it’s not like we’re throwing a dart at a board and don’t know. They have an idea of what it is, but we need to work through the mechanics and then we’ll be more than willing to share that, once we do that.”

Costs associated with the two CFL games in Kelowna are certain to be considerable, as plans are to temporarily boost the capacity of the Apple Bowl from its current 3,000 seats to between 17,500 and 20,000 seats. 

“You won’t recognize it. It’s going to be a very, very cool stadium to be in,” said Lions president Duane  Vienneau. 

Given Kelowna’s proximity roughly midway between Vancouver and Calgary and Edmonton, Vienneau predicted many CFL fans from across B.C. and Alberta will come to Kelowna to watch the games. 

“Rest assured, it will be a very, very quick sell-out,” he said. The 2024 Touchdown Pacific game held in Victoria between the Lions and the Ottawa Redblacks sold out in 56 minutes, he said. 

Kelowna tourism officials predict the two Kelowna games could have an economic impact of as much as $60 million. 

Largely on the basis of such estimates, Kelowna under Dyas’ leadership has invested heavily in recent years to support the staging of national-profile events in the city. This year alone, the city has provided more than $1.3 million in cash and in-kind support for the hosting of the Montana’s Brier and the Canadian Country Music Awards.

Those events also attracted considerable financial support from the provincial government, and a similar contribution is likely for Kelowna’s two CFL games. Last year, the government provided $700,000 to stage Touchdown Pacific in Victoria. 

Temporary conversion of Kelowna’s Apple Bowl to a stadium with about 20,000 seats will make for an intimate playing atmosphere likely to be similar to those experienced at college football games in the U.S., Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke said. 

“Touchdown Pacific in Victoria had an environment the players still talk about,” Rourke, 27, said. “It was a very close environment, with the crowd on either side, running out slapping hands, and after the game meeting people who might never have seen a CFL game or met CFL players before. 

“The fans were right on top of us, which was a cool feeling. It felt like a college game,” said the Victoria-born Rourke, who played his college ball at Ohio University. 

His first season for the Lions was in 2021 and he won the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 2022. He had stints in the National Football League, where salaries are much higher, with the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, New York Jets, and Atlanta Falcons.

He returned to the Lions in 2024, signing a three-year contract that reportedly pays him $600,000 annually. He was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player this year. 

He threw for a career-high 5,290 yards and 31 touchdowns and led the league in rushing yards for a quarterback with 564 yards and 10 touchdowns. 

The Lions finished second in the CFL’s West Division, and defeated the Calgary Stampeders in the semi-final before losing to the eventual Grey Cup champions Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Western Final.