The B.C. Lions have opened the upper bowl at BC Place Stadium for the West Semi-Final against the Calgary Stampeders.
A club spokesperson has previously told 3DownNation that the lower bowl at BC Place Stadium seats approximately 25,500 fans, so it appears the team is expecting a crowd substantially larger than that on Saturday. The club drew 30,114 fans for last year’s West Semi-Final, which was their first home playoff game in six years.
B.C. won two of three games against the Stampeders this season, though they lost the most recent matchup by a score of 41-16 on Oct. 20. The Lions won six of their first seven home games this year but ended the season on a two-game home losing skid.
Attendance in B.C. rose by 13.8 percent this season, reaching an average of 23,208 per game. This figure was the club’s best since 2014, marking a 30.4 percent increase from 2019, the final season during which David Braley owned the team.
“You can’t beat November football in Vancouver. As we saw first-hand in last year’s playoff game and some of the bigger regular season nights in 2023, our stadium has proven to be one of the best in-game experiences across the CFL,” said team president Duane Vienneau in a statement. “Our players and coaches can’t say enough great things about the privilege of playing in front of our great Lions fans. We can’t wait to see what Saturday brings.”
The Lions (12-6) will host Calgary (6-12) on Saturday, Nov. 4 with kickoff slated for 4:30 p.m. EDT.
