Provincial government ‘not interested’ in selling BC Place, open to Lions’ involvement in operations: report

Photo courtesy: Mason Bennett/B.C. Lions.

The government of British Columbia says that BC Place Stadium is not for sale, despite reported interest from the Vancouver Whitecaps and B.C. Lions owner Amar Doman.

Minister for jobs and economic growth Ravi Kahlon shut down the speculation in an interview published by CityNews on Wednesday.

“We did get a letter from the B.C. Lions saying they would be interested, but we’re not interested,” Kahlon said. “To be clear, no one has put a [formal] bid in to buy it.”

It was Kahlon himself who appeared to open the door to a sale of the stadium in an interview with Postmedia last week, in which he indicated that the government had discussed that option with the Whitecaps.

“We’re open to the conversation if the parameters are there,” Kahlon said at the time.

Later that same day, news broke that Doman had formally expressed his interest in purchasing the stadium if it was available. The building supplies magnate had been passively considering acquiring the venue for several years, but did not believe it was a realistic possibility until those comments were made public.

That has now prompted Kahlon to publicly backtrack. The union representing BC Place workers, BCGEU, also voiced their public opposition to a potential sale in an interview with Postmedia published on Thursday.

“We are (surprised), because we understood the government’s position to not be selling the asset,” BCGEU president Paul Finch told the outlet. “The reality is that neither the Whitecaps nor the Lions use the stadium enough where it would justify majority ownership.”

Conversations around ownership of the stadium come amid efforts to keep the Whitecaps in Vancouver. The MLS franchise, which is in search of new owners, reportedly lost $45 million last season and believes their current agreement with BC Place to be untenable. That has led to speculation that the team could be relocated to Las Vegas.

The provincial government remains committed to preventing that result and has already signed a one-year deal with the team for 2026 that will give them back approximately $1.5 million in game-day profits. The Whitecaps would like to see that go even further and take over management of the venue, giving them access to all game-day revenue streams.

Kahlon told CityNews that the province has requested a detailed proposal for that idea, which would have to include no new net costs to taxpayers and keep the stadium available for major public events. It would seem that the province is open to a similar arrangement with the Lions, with the minister indicating they could be involved in operations in a “different way” without a sale.

“We look forward to seeing what that proposal would be,” Kahlon said.

BC Place has been the home of the Lions since its construction in 1983 and has also hosted the Whitecaps since they entered the MLS in 2011. The venue recently underwent several upgrades in advance of the FIFA World Cup, most notably the addition of new premium seating options, and a brand-new artificial field turf has also been installed.

PavCo, the Crown corporation which operates the venue, values the stadium at roughly $300 million. It is reportedly close to breaking even, after years of being unprofitable.

The Lions will remain in BC Place for the foreseeable future regardless of how the management questions evolve, as they signed a new three-year lease on July 24. Details of that agreement have not been made public, though team president Duane Vienneau told 3DownNation that the terms are more favourable than the previous lease.