Touchdown Pacific game in Victoria sells out in under an hour

Vancouver Island is ready for CFL football, as tickets for the league’s Touchdown Pacific game have sold out in less than one hour.

Royal Athletic Park in Victoria is expected to host a capacity crowd of over 14,000 for the Labour Day weekend matchup between the Ottawa Redblacks and B.C. Lions. A potential capacity increase is already being explored according to the team, with fans unable to get a ticket in the first wave encouraged to sign up for the waitlist.

“It’s an outstanding day for our organization. It’s official: Touchdown Pacific is truly a national event with fans joining us from coast to coast, with ticket buyers coming in from every province,” Lions’ president Duane Vienneau said in a statement.

“We can’t wait to celebrate in our Provincial capital with our season ticket holders and local Vancouver Islanders for what will be an incredible weekend of events.”

Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, 115 kilometres south of Vancouver and accessible by ferry. The Greater Victoria Region has a population of approximately 400,000.

The CFL has hosted seven previous Touchdown events in the Maritimes with the first taking place at Huskies Stadium in 2005. The six subsequent events have taken place in Moncton, N.B., Wolfville, N.S. or back in Halifax.

This year’s game will be the first on the West Coast and will take place Saturday, August 31. The event will be preceded by a two-day festival at downtown Victoria’s Ship Point Inner Harbour, featuring food, beverages, and musical entertainment.