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Nuggets From the BC Lions Season Kick-off Event

May 25, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

For a few hours the BC Lions and their fans got to forget about the labour negotiations that could be delaying the start of the game both sides love, and it felt like football season was about to begin. Club management, players and fans came to mingle, see the Grey Cup and get decked out in the latest BC Lions merchandise in preparation for the start of the Lions sixty-first season in the Canadian Football League.

The event was well attended and fans heard from the likes of Dennis Skulsky, Wally Buono and Mike Benevides, who introduced his new coaching staff.

Jamie Taras then hosted the annual fashion show of new Lions gear using the Felions and current Lions players. The players were asked to emulate famous female fashion models and the results were quite comical. Marco Iannuzzi could definitely have a career on the fashion runway when his football days are done.

After a rendition of ‘Roar You Lions Roar’ fans were invited down to the field for autographs and photos with the players in attendance as well as alumni Al Wilson, Brent Johnson, Nick Hebeler and Jim Young. There was also an opportunity to chat with the coaches and have your picture taken with the Grey Cup.

Here are a couple of nuggets from today’s event.

Impressive Tickets

Once again the Lions thought out of the box with their season ticket packages this year, which come a nice cylinder container. The tickets themselves are very well done and are based off of some of the dark grey, highlighted orange posters you’ve seen around the city. The tickets feature star players in front of various Vancouver landmarks.

Also included in this year’s package, two 2 for 1 ticket vouchers, two stickers, two pocket schedules and a nice frame worthy poster of this years ticket designs.

An Apolgogy

Clearly the Lions were caught somewhat off-guard by the amount of fans that showed up today. As a result it took a long time to get everyone into the stadium, have them pick up their tickets and then line up for complimentary concessions items.

To the Lions credit, Dennis Skulksy apologized to the crowd and told the fans that it was the club’s job to deliver to their fans and that they could have done a better job of that on the day.

Credibility starts at the top and it was a classy gesture on the part of Skulsky and the Lions to acknowledge the complications. Part of the slow down was the fact that Skulsky and owner David Braley met and shook the hand of every season ticket holder coming into the building, so indeed their intentions were good.

Can’t Keep Them All Happy

While Paul McCallum was being asked if he prepares any difficulty for training camp today than he did for his first one, he appeared to be heckled from one fan in the crowd. I wasn’t sure what exactly was said, but McCallum replied “Not yet”, with a wry smirk on his face.

Khalif is Back

Khalif Mitchell received one of the loudest ovations of the day and it’s clear that those in attendance were happy he’s back in orange and black. The feeling was definitely mutual as Mitchell spoke about being back in Vancouver with his “friends, team mates and family”.

Survey Coming

The Lions are toying with the idea of using the inner draping system and asked those in attendance by a show of hands if they would approve of such a move. There seemed to more than few who thought it was a good idea. If you’re unfamiliar with the configuration, here it is in place at a Vancouver Whitecaps game:

The Lions would leave one side of the upper bowl open and free of the drapes to accommodate those with tickets in the upper bowl and their family and Gemstone Grill sections. The thought is it would create a more intimate setting in the lower bowl. The club will be sending out a survey to fans and may experiment with the configuration in the pre-season.

Operation Orange

The Lions will continue with their popular Operation Orange fan trips this season with three dates in 2014.:

Saturday July 12th: BC at Saskatchewan – $1,099.00
Friday, September 5th: BC at Ottawa – $1599.00
Saturday, September 27th: BC at Calgary – $1099.00

Packages include:

Travel with the Lions on their team charter.
Stay in the team hotel.
Dinner with the team
Your own operation orange BC Lions jersey
Tickets to the game

All prices are plus GST and based on double occupancy. Call the Lions at 604-589-ROAR (7627).

Review of the “New” BC Lions jerseys and a great deal on a pro-stitched jersey!

May 2, 2012 By Brian Wawryshyn

BC Lions president Dennis Skulsky introduces the BC Lions new Reebok jerseys. Photo: Rebecca Bollwitt: Miss604.com

The BC Lions introduced their new jerseys on Wednesday and in this case the Lions felt it was a case of why change a good thing?

The only real design change to the newest threads is the removal of the black piping that ran from the shoulders, across the chest. The Reebok branding is different with the logo gone and the company’s name on each shoulder over the numbers. The quality is higher end, the material is different and the jersey has a different fit. The BC Lions logo on the shoulders is now a sewn on patch. A big upgrade over the screened only option fans had with previous editions.

When Bob Ackles returned the to Lions in 2002, he felt the team had lost it’s identity. One of the things he wanted to change was to bring back orange as the dominant colour of the team’s uniform. Club president Dennis Skulsky alluded to the fact that the Lions think their look is pretty good, so why mess with it?

“[The CFL] came to us last year but we said ‘we like our jerseys,'” said club president Dennis Skulsky. “To be honest we lost our way as an organization for a little because we had a whole bunch of different designs for awhile. This is the design.”

The team will be looking at redesigning their popular black third jersey with an eye for a 2013 debut.

Overall as a fan I’m happy that the look didn’t change drastically. I think the Lions uniforms are clean and sharp. The numbers are easy to read and the colour scheme works. These are clearly an upgrade in quality, so I will definitely buy one. And boy do we have a deal for you!

Our friends at Sports in Stuff in Chilliwack are taking pre-orders for the new jerseys and are offering a price of $179.99 for a pro-stitched jersey if you order and mention BCLionsDen.ca.

Jerseys will take about 10 days to get customized once they’re in stock. Give them a call at 604-858-2614 or email them at rickandwendy@shaw.ca! Of course you can always drop in and see them at the store, located at the Chilliwack Mall, 45610 Luckakuck Way, in Chilliwack.

Highlights from the BC Lions season preview conference call and three signings.

May 17, 2011 By Brian Wawryshyn

Highlights from the BC Lions season preview conference call that took place today:

Team is 10% ahead of last year in season tickets sales thanks in part to excitement over 99th Grey Cup
Dennis Skulsky says renovated BC Place will be one of the best facilities in North America.
Wally Buono says that defensively, the Lions will go with a three-man front much of the upcoming season.
Buono confirms that the Lions are has signed QB Matt Johnson from Bethune-Cookman University.
Buono says the club may sign a 6th QB before camp…likely Cal’s Kevin Riley, who impressed at the recent Portland free-agent camp.
The club will announce their new defensive line coach on June 1st.
Buono on the improvement of the offensive line: ‘We have the best left tackle in the league (Archibald) & that should help us a lot’.
Buono on QB Matt Johnson: ‘A lot like a young Damon Allen bc of athleticism…Danny Barrett speaks highly of him’.
Buono not worried about replacing Davis /Arceneaux; cites Moore, Harris, Black, Gore, Iannuzzi as guys who can step up.
Buono: ‘Elimimian reminds me of Alondra Johnson’.
Buono confident that 2011 bc offensive line will be a lot stronger and the team will get more consistent play at quarterback.
Buono says the team is still investigating non-import WR Kamau Peterson’s medical situation. “If we weren’t thorough in that situation we wouldn’t be doing our job”.

In addition to the signing of Matt Johnson, the Lions also announced the signings of running back / kicj return candidates Michael Smith (Arkansas) and Tim Brown (Temple).

Thanks to Mark Masters of the National Post for his live tweets that made this blog possible, as well as the TEAM 1040.

Mark Masters on Twitter.

Team 1040 on Twitter.

Skulsky To Be Made Official Thursday

April 7, 2010 By Brian Wawryshyn

As we posted a few weeks back, Dennis Skulsky will be the President of the BC Lions. The announcement will be made Thursday morning at a 9:00am press conference.

Skulsky is a successful business man with strong ties to the Lions. He’s a life long fan, was a good friend of the late Bob Ackles, and is a founding member of the Waterboys, the group of local business leaders Ackles formed to help promote the club in the business community.

For more details make sure to visit BCLions.com on Thursday.

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Report: Dennis Skulsky To Be Named Lions New President & CEO

March 13, 2010 By Brian Wawryshyn

The TEAM 1040 reported Friday that Canwest Publishing CEO, Dennis Skulsky, resigned his position and will soon be named the new President and CEO of the BC Lions. No official announcement has come from the team, but now that Skulsky is no longer employed with CanWest it’s expected an announcement will be forthcoming regarding the Lions. Skulsky will remain with CanWest until the end of April.

“This was a very personal decision and one that I made with my closest advisors–my family,” wrote Skulsky in a note to Canwest employees. “My dear wife, our daughters and son-in-law, our precious new granddaughter and my elderly parents, all of whom live out West, are what I treasure most in my life and this decision was driven primarily so that I could spend more time with them. It will also allow me to pursue other opportunities closer to home.”

Skulsky is a founding member of the Waterboys, a group of business leaders formed by the late Bob Ackles to help with attracting business support for the club and to help in the community. He and Ackles were great friends, and he’s been a long time CFL fan. He was chair of the hugely successful 2005 Grey Cup in Vancouver, and will also lead up the 2011 event for the city.

His hugely successful career and local ties to the city will give the Lions instant credibility from a business point of view and put them on solid ground in that community. The Lions have been without an official President and CEO since the passing of Ackles in July of 2008.