BC Lions to stay at college
Photo: Cindy White
A giant BC Lions logo was set up outside the Trades building at Okanagan College ahead of an announcement OC will be the presenting sponsor for Touchdown Kelowna.
The student residences at Okanagan College will be home away from home for the BC Lions later this year.
The CFL team has announced that OC will be the presenting sponsor and will be putting up the players and their families during Touchdown Kelowna, when the Lions play the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Elks at the Apple Bowl on June 27 and July 4.
As part of the in-kind agreement, the players will be put up for 10 days, practicing at the Kelowna Secondary School fields between games, while the college gets national exposure.
“Our guys are coming. They’re going to be in the community all 10 days long. They’re going to be eating in the restaurants, they’re going to be walking in the streets, they’re going to be attending events, and that’s really a special thing,” said Lions president Duane Vienneau.
Okanagan College president Dr. Neil Fassina calls this an incredible opportunity to have the college profiled across the country.
“We’ll have branding exposure throughout the entire process,” said Fassina. “In the lead-up as well as the first game, the second game and the festival throughout.
“So, our brand will appear on Touchdown Kelowna. Anytime you see that brand, our brand will be with it.”
Fassina, who grew up in Calgary and lived in Edmonton, also notes that it’s an opportunity to expose Stampeders and Elks fans to the learning opportunities at OC.
“This is absolutely an opportunity to have students understand how cool it would be to work in the Okanagan, and potentially come out and stay in the student housing that the Lions are actually going to be calling home.”
Photo: Cindy White
Left to right: Dr. Neil Fassina, Okanagan College president, Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas, BC Lions president Duane Vienneau, city councillors, Gord Lovegrove, Maxine DeHart and Loyal Wooldridge.
One of the legacies of this event that Vienneau is most proud of is what it has done for Kelowna’s junior football team, the Okanagan Sun.
“They told me today they’ve sold triple the amount of season seats they normally would sell because we have the ability to help them guarantee tickets to these games through becoming season seat holders of the Sun.
“That to us is helping to build the sport of football and that alone is a small part that we want to try to contribute,” said Vienneau.
Tickets for both games go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 26. Vienneau expects they will be snapped up very quickly. Lions, Stampeders and Elks season ticket holders and Lions partners have already had access to tickets.
Due to the high volume of pre-sale ticket movement and demand for the event, the Lions also announced the addition of a sideline Party Zone. Party zone tickets will go on sale at a later date. More details on the Touchdown Kelowna festival, including live music, will also be announced as we count down to kickoff.
This is the latest in a series of major events Kelowna has attracted in the past few years, including the 2025 Brier, the 2025 CCMAs and this year’s Memorial Cup. Mayor Tom Dyas said it’s estimated the pair of CFL games will inject $70 million into the region’s economy.
“There is a huge benefit,” he said. “From an employment standpoint, from just economic prosperity for our community.”
Photo: Contributed
The new Touchdown Kelowna logo was unveiled during Monday’s news conference.