Lions owner Amar Doman’s desire to purchase BC Place unshaken by government refusals

Photo courtesy: Shelly Fey/B.C. Lions

Amar Doman has not given up on his ambition to purchase BC Place Stadium, despite the provincial government’s insistence that they won’t sell the venue.

The B.C. Lions owner reaffirmed his commitment to pursuing the asset on Friday during an interview on local sports program Donnie and Dhali.

“We’re still trying to get into a dialogue with the government. The Premier has come out, and the minister has said now that the asset isn’t for sale. We’d like to still continue those discussions, and we just believe it shouldn’t be in the Crown’s hands,” Doman said.

“We think that we ourselves could manage it well under ownership and really give it a little bit more direction. I think that a lot of these (stadium) assets, in fact, probably 95 percent of them, are private, and we’re in kind of the five percent club. We just think we can enhance it and do better with the asset with a different focus. We’d love that opportunity, and we’re still trying for that opportunity to see if we can at least get to a conversation that’s more meaningful on it, because we’d like to own it for the long term and run it for the right reasons. Really build something special and be a home for the Lions forever. I’d love that.”

Doman formally expressed his interest in purchasing the stadium on July 24, sending a letter of interest to the Government of British Columbia. That move came after B.C. minister of jobs and economic growth Ravi Kahlon stated that the province would consider a sale of BC Place to the MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps as part of their efforts to keep the team from relocating. The NDP government was later forced to backtrack, stating that the venue was not for sale to anyone, and Kahlon was subsequently shuffled to a different portfolio.

That has not dissuaded Doman, who had been passively considering acquiring the venue for several years. In addition to the possible new revenue streams that purchasing the stadium would provide, including income from concerts and naming rights, it would solve logistical challenges that the Lions currently endure due to their practice facility being in Surrey.

“We could organize our practices inside there. Every time we do a game, it’s a road game. We have to pack everything up out of Surrey, bring it out, and it’s a lot,” Doman remarked. “They’ve been doing it for 40 years, so it is what it is, but it would be so nice to have that there. We could upgrade a lot of things and really have our home, put our offices in there.”

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 its 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. 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 is unclear where the Lions would fit into such an arrangement, though the government has indicated the CFL franchise could be involved in operations in a “different way” without a sale. However, Doman believes he has just as strong a case for control as the Whitecaps do and that the MLS franchise could continue to use the facility under his ownership.

“If the ‘Caps end up hanging around too, that could work out well,” he said. “I just think there’s something here to be discussed, and we really hope that we can get the government’s ear to get into a deep dialogue on it.”

Ultimately, the Whitecaps’ efforts to control BC Place are in lieu of their true desire, which is the construction of a new stadium that is more appropriately sized for their purposes. Doman, who has acknowledged that the venue’s 54,500-seat capacity is too large for the CFL, says he would be open to partnering on such a project, but appears skeptical that it will ever happen.

“There’s been a lot of talk over the years. I think it makes sense. The issue is land and where, and it keeps going around in a circle,” he said.

“I think we keep coming back to BC Place, which is a hell of a stadium. FIFA upgrades are killer. It is unbelievable how sharp and modern it is now. They’ve done a lot of work, so to just kind of pack up and leave after all of that, I’m not a fan of that either. I think a new stadium anywhere — your guess is as good as mine where it would be. We’ve tried hard. How long it would take to build it, zoning, parking. It’s got to be on transit. We’re landlocked. I think it’s going to be difficult to build a new one anywhere.”

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 renovations 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 signed a new three-year lease with BC Place on July 24, the same day that Doman made his intent to purchase public. Details of that agreement have not been shared, though team president Duane Vienneau told 3DownNation that the terms are more favourable than the previous lease.