B.C. Lions ticket sales ‘going beserk’ after LL Cool J announcement

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Owners of sports teams can be domineering, meddlesome and intrusive, or mythical ghosts; ethereal spectres who are never actually seen in real life, only talked about anecdotally. Vancouver fans don’t have to cast their eyes very far to find examples of this.

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When Amar Doman came on the scene with his 2021 purchase of the B.C. Lions, he was another type: a smooth-talking, promise filled businessman, a charismatic figure that left the team’s fans — still scarred by the Nelson Skalbania era — wary of his vows.

But then he popped up at youth football games around the Lower Mainland, handing out swag, merchandise and tickets. He’s since sponsored the North Shore flag football league and has ridden to the rescue of Simon Fraser University football, pledging his financial support to the beleaguered squad.

NEXT GAMES

Season-opener

Lions vs. Calgary Stampeders

6 p.m. PT, Thursday, June 8, McMahon Stadium

TV: TSN. Radio: AM730

Home-opener

Edmonton Elks vs. B.C. Lions

4 p.m., Saturday, June 17, B.C. Place

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TV: TSN. Radio: AM730

He’s even coaching his sons’ flag football team.

“I’m coaching now. I’m all in,” he said Friday morning.

“And oh my God. I thought my office job was tough. But coaching is a different animal. Thirteen-year-olds, just trying to get their attention to run a play … I mean, jeez. What did I sign up for?” he added, laughing.

“But it is so rewarding. So much fun. We’ve got all CFL teams now represented in flag football, every single one of them, now those jerseys have not been seen on the North Shore in over 20 years. We’ve got the Lions’ logo on jerseys. We’re all over the place. So we’re coming at this at all angles and we’re not going to go away.”

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Face-to-face involvement in the grassroots didn’t just plant the seed, it blossomed. The Lions’ attendance jumped to an average of 20,387 last year, and the 34,082 who packed B.C. Place’s upper and lower bowls for their home-opener was the biggest crowd in the league in 2022.

A One Republic concert kicked off the Lions’ season last year, and when the curtain raises on 2023 on Saturday, June 17, LL Cool J will be the showcase act.

“We wanted to go with a really cool hip-hop vibe … and we’re so fortunate that we got it wrapped up and he agreed to do it,” said Doman. “This guy’s a living legend and to have him come up here and kick some of these great songs he’s got, the energy he’s gonna bring, it’s exactly what we’re looking for.

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“The reaction on social (media) has been super-strong. Ticket sales have gone berserk this morning.”

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Doman said he’s doubled his season ticket sales from last year and expects to open up the upper bowl for a third time in the past 12 months for the Lions’ home-opener against the Edmonton Elks.

He pushed hard to get some earlier kickoff times this year, and was rewarded with getting 4 p.m. starts for their first six home games, with the final three in late September and October reverting to the 7/7:30 p.m. start times. The earlier kickoffs mean its easier for families to attend, out-of-town fans or even locals who don’t want to dedicate their entire summer evening to just football.

The club has maintained a strong provincewide presence, instead of a myopic Lower Mainland following, keeping that flame alive with initiatives like running shuttles from the Interior and Vancouver Island to the games, the cost including the game ticket.

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“The greatest thing is just seeing the fans re-engaged, cheering for something again, and (re-energizing) something that just needed some horsepower and love,” said Doman. “We’ve invested in the team, investing in these events around the games, but really seeing the fans happy and talking in a very positive manner about the B.C. Lions again, that just makes me go to sleep at night satisfied, saying, ‘Hey, we’re doing our job for the community.’ ”

The Lions are doing the job on the field as well. Nathan Rourke’s electric 2022 season was national news, and B.C. hosted a playoff game for the first time in seven years, beating the Calgary Stampeders before falling to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West final.

A crowd of 30,114 came out for the playoff game against Calgary; the concert-boosted home opening crowd was the first time since 2014 that the Lions had opened the upper bowl.

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“That playoff game we had against Calgary in the Western semifinals, B.C. Place was rocking,” said Doman. “It was cold in there, but man, it was rocking again. Just to have that feeling of the fans getting re-engaged … that’s what makes me happy.

“We want to have that vibe going here again. It doesn’t happen overnight, but year-by-year-by-year is gonna get stronger-and-stronger-and-stronger. … What we’ve done in a couple of years … is pretty amazing. Winning games helped, the Nathan Rourke thing helped. It just brought attention back to the B.C. Lions.

“My big thing is going after the kids, the youth, getting them involved to become Lions fans for life. (We’re) breeding a generation of young guys that want to come to these games and they’re excited about it again. And already in a couple of years the B.C. Lions are very relevant again in the sports scene in Canada.

“One fan at a time, to use the old line. One strategy at a time … It’s just kind of a nice rebirth here.”

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