Welcome, welcome, welcome to a very special edition of the Three Down Nation podcast. I'm JC Abbott and I don't say that intro lightly today because I'm joined by BC Lions owner Amar Doman. Thanks for joining us, Amar.
Hey, great to be on here.
You know, hope springs eternal at the start of a new season and that is certainly true on the West Coast after the Lions came so close to reaching a Grey Cup last year. I know a lot of people have them as favorites to reach the Grey Cup this year. How much does last year's West Final loss to Saskatchewan still eat at you?
Yeah, you know, a little bit, but you know, time heals all wounds and you know, in life and business and sports, no rearview mirror. Go forward and let's work on this season and build on what we did last year. We were very close and I know it was painful for some of the players and everyone involved on our side. We were that close, but at the same time, you got to give Saskatchewan their credit. Um, they did a great job, took care of business when they needed to, and finished the job in the Grey Cup. So, good on them. And, hey, let's start fresh and clean here and get after it.
I bring up that loss because you ruffled a few feathers in the aftermath of the game when you indicated on social media that maybe you didn't believe that Tommy Neil's deciding touchdown was actually a catch. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, do you still feel that way, Amar?
Has anyone from the league or the Riders talked to you about that?
Yeah, there's been some chatter about it, but you know, uh, it's late and time, you know, the game's the game, and it shouldn't come down to one play. It's just, uh, I always like to see, uh, you know, calls go the correct way, especially when they're reviewed. And, you know, I think that the league's doing a much better job even than years ago on the reviews. So, all being said, let's move on.
For sure. I mean, I'm sure you got a lot of support from BC Lions fans on that aspect. They're very passionate about their team and they're passionate about you as the leader of this team. Um, you've got a reputation for going the extra mile when it comes to the BC Lions, whether that's the kickoff concert series, whether that's going over the salary cap in 2024 or erecting the temporary facility in Cologne where they're going to play two games this year. Why have you been so willing to stick your neck out and spend as compared to some other owners?
Well, you know, number one, the love for the CFL, you know, runs very, very deep here. So, uh, what we bring to the table out here in BC, we think and hope, you know, translates and moves into other markets as well, where people invest and you know, it's like any other business as well. When you invest in it, good things happen. If you take money out all the time, bad things happen. I believe and you know, we believe in our community here. We believe in youth sport and really, you know, we've helped revitalize such a beautiful brand here in BC. And the fans are building year after year. It doesn't come overnight. There's a lot of competitiveness in our market here for eyeballs for sports. You know, kids have the phones today. There's all sorts of different things, but we're working hard at it here and starting at the ground level. And the fans are showing up. And you know, we're not going to go away. We're just so excited about the BC Lions and what's been happening out here and those investments have been paying off and we also love our football club. So, our management team's just first class here.
When it comes to those two games in Cologne, um, it's a massive undertaking to be able to take a CFL team there. How much is that costing you personally and costing the BC Lions to be forced out because of the FIFA World Cup?
Yeah, we're not going to talk about numbers. Um, but you know, certainly there's a cost involved for sure. We believe that we're going to spread the brand very, very well in Kelowna and we wanted to keep the team in BC and not go to a different CFL stadium. Uh, we just think that is doing the right thing here and putting it in the center of the province or sort of the lower kind of part of the province, but lower center I should say. That area is fantastic and for us to put in two regular season games there, um, the excitement that's already building JC is very cool. So, uh, the vibe, the college field, uh, you know, it's going to be really, really special. We'll be playing on natural grass, the whole thing. It's going to be great.
Your latest investment in the club is the renovation of the team's practice facility, which was officially unveiled on Monday. You've been vocal about your desire to see the team in an entirely new facility in the near future, be that in Surrey or elsewhere, but you made this investment anyway, understanding that it might only be temporary. Why did you feel that was necessary?
You know, a couple of reasons. It's a tired facility. Uh, my players deserve better and you know, frankly, we were looking at all sorts of other options. We were coming close and you know, these are multi-million dollar decisions. So, you know, when you try to, you know, get something going, it doesn't happen. We tried different districts. We've tried all over the place. It's hard to get the right fit to move because eventually that area will be developed. It's being surrounded by condos now. And I think, you know, out there, there's a plan now and an approval for a 10,000 seat arena. Um, you know, for different venues, I guess that goes right over where we are. Having said that, I said, I just cannot do this any longer. I said we just cannot have our players, you know, they need something fresh and new. So we poured a lot of money into that and are really making it a first class facility. We're doing the best we can out there. It looks sharp and the gym's nice. We got a massive tented gym. Uh, the players seem to really like that and um, that's where we are today. Long term we'll be somewhere else and we want to invest in a first class facility when that option comes up and I want to make something special for the BC Lions long term.
Do you have a timeline for when that facility might come about and a location in mind?
Right now, we're trying all over the place and we've got a lot of live discussions happening. It's hard to get the right field and then a permit and there's just a lot of complications. The lower mainland is so crowded. That's why there's no new stadium here, right? It's there. Where do you put it? Whitecaps, same issue. You know, we need a right size stadium. The problem is there's no land and there's no land available for it. So it's just very difficult in the lower mainland of BC to do a lot of things that require space.
On the other side of things, I understand the team is very close to reaching a new lease agreement with BC Place. We've heard a lot about that stadium in recent weeks because of the Vancouver White Caps situation and Pavco and the government have been very willing to do whatever it takes to keep the White Caps in Vancouver. Are you expecting that the Lions will be receiving a similar offer in terms of some of the financial incentives that they've been offering to the White Caps?
Yeah, we hope so. And you know, we tend to negotiate a little bit more quietly. So, we're deep into our negotiations. We don't see any issues with BC Place. And they've been great with us over the years since we've got involved. And, you know, they're doing the best they can with certain things. And um, you know, being a crown corporation, there's certain things they can do, certain things they can't do. We understand that. It's owned by the taxpayers. Uh, it's just a difficult situation for a private business like ours to be in there and not enjoy other revenue sources like concessions and parking and different things like that. Um, so it's a tough arrangement. It's been there a long time. Um, we're doing the best we can in the arrangement. And what I really like is what has happened in BC Place. And if you haven't seen it, JC, for the World Cup, the 200 million that's gone in there is very visible. The concourses and these areas, there's a great zone to run through for the players, much like Dallas when they come out to the field. So, you know, we really like the new and improved BC Place. So, we're going to be really excited when we go in there in late July for I think it's week eight where we come home to play here. So, um, it's looking sharp, looking good, and we'll end up with the best arrangement we can. And I want to thank Pavco. They've been working well with us.
If you are able to make revenue from concession or parking or even naming rights potentially under a new lease agreement, how impactful would that be for the BC Lions' bottom line?
Game changer, JC. It'd be a game changer overnight. And you know, we're doing a lot of investment and it would be nice to have some of those revenues and margins from those opportunities like virtually every other sports team and us and the White Caps. Uh, it's been difficult and I think that's been public for a long time. It's just tough and they've got their costs and they've got their problems at BC Place they have to deal with and again it's just a tough arrangement. If there was, you know, somewhere where there was a magic wand where we could do something somewhere else, I think everyone would be happier. But, um, you know, and it's just too big for us, too. You know, you put in 30,000, it still looks empty. That's a good crowd for the CFL.
You know, it's often been said that there's only two of the CFL's nine franchises that are profitable, referring to Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. I know you've done a ton of work on that front since taking over the BC Lions and you're reticent to talk about numbers which I understand, but how close are the Lions to reaching the benchmark of profitability?
You know, I think you could look at profitabilities on all the clubs and you know what's what gets put into a private company and what doesn't can vary wildly due to tax reasons. So when you read two out of seven, you know, who knows exactly what those true numbers are. Um, you know, a lot of things happen for tax reasons and things like that. So you know, for our standpoint, we're happy we're trending in the right way and we'll just continue to build on what we had started, you know, now coming on 5 years ago. So we're on track.
On a related note, the CFL announced a massive new TV deal last week with some reports have valued at close to half a billion dollars over its six-year duration. How impactful will that deal be to moving all nine clubs towards profitability?
Yeah, I think it's, you know, very impactful for the CFL, the confidence in the CFL, not only with TSN but to DAZN, you know, moving forward and you know, you get some people saying oh now we're going to have to pay for a game, you're paying for a game anyway if you subscribe to TSN, some people just don't understand, but everybody's on subscription now, we're moving forward. I think it's very, very monumental for the CFL. Confidence that's been shown here on a massive deal like that is just excellent for all owners in the league and in the stability of the league. So, uh, you know, hey, Three Down Nation, you're not going anywhere for a long time. So, uh, this is very good. And Stewart did a hell of a job negotiating that. That's his world and he knows everybody in that game and it was negotiated fairly on both sides and everybody left happy and I think that's a sign of a good negotiation.
