The B.C. Lions square off with the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday at 4 p.m. at a revamped Apple Bowl as part of their 10-day Touchdown Kelowna stint. They will finish the doubleheader by hosting the Edmonton Elks on July 4. Coach Buck Pierce's club travelled to the Okanagan on Thursday, as their usual B.C. Place home digs are currently tied up with World Cup action.
Capacity and Venue Upgrades
Club president Duane Vienneau said earlier this week that they were still tinkering with capacity at the Apple Bowl, trying to fit in as many people as possible. The venue normally seats about 2,300, and Vienneau is hoping they can get it up to 20,000 by Saturday. They have brought in several temporary grandstands. “If we don’t get it there we’ll be damn close,” he said.
These neutral site games are in Vienneau’s wheelhouse. He was lead organizer for the league when they were doing Touchdown Atlantic games as part of looking into the possibility of Maritime expansion. He was at the helm for the Lions when they did Touchdown Pacific in 2024, converting baseball-specific Royal Athletic Park in Victoria for a matchup with the Ottawa Redblacks. The Victoria HarbourCats are a summer collegiate all-star baseball team who are the main tenant at Royal Athletic and they list their game capacity at 5,280. The Lions’ announced crowd for their game there was 14,727.
“The field looks awesome,” Vienneau said of the Apple Bowl, which is normally home to the junior football powerhouse Okanagan Sun. “We had to convert a baseball stadium to a football stadium in Victoria and they did a great, great job. This is football to football, and they’ve also done a great, great job. Every one of these is a bit a different. It’s like renovating houses, I think. There’s always a little bit of a difference. But this one really seems to work.”
Festival and Community Events
The Lions are hosting a festival in Kelowna throughout their stay. It includes a concert by Great Big Sea frontman Alan Doyle on Friday, breakfast with the Lions on Sunday, a CFL-like scouting combine sessions for 13-18 year olds on Sunday, a clinic for ages 6-13 on Monday, a women’s flag football clinic on Tuesday, and a Boots on the Beach concert featuring the Road Hammers on July 3. There are also post-game concerts after both the Stampeder and Elks games.
Homecoming for Players
Saturday’s game is a homecoming for Lions fullback Jacob Bond, who played with the Okanagan Sun. Bond was a league all-star at linebacker in 2024 as part of an Okanagan team that fell 37-22 to the St. Clair Saints of Windsor, Ont., in the Canadian Bowl. Okanagan was the runner-up team in the country last season as well, falling 21-18 to the Saskatoon Hilltops in the national finale. They won the Canadian Bowl in 2022, edging the Regina Thunder 21-19 in the title game for their third national title. Stampeders defensive lineman Kelon Thomas is a former member of the Okanagan Sun as well.
Injury Report and Roster Moves
The Lions (0-2-0) come into Saturday’s matchup with Calgary (0-2-0) decidedly banged up, particularly at the receiver spot. Their Thursday injury report listed pass catchers Keon Hatcher (thigh), Justin McInnis (ankle), and Kieran Poissant (hip) all as questionable to play Saturday. Hatcher was a late scratch for last Friday’s 41-26 loss in Hamilton, while Poissant left that game midway through. B.C.’s six-game injured list already features receivers Seven McGee (foot), Nate DeMontagnac (shoulder), Stanley Berryhill (thigh), and Jevon Cottoy (thigh). On Monday, the Lions added receivers Michael Fitzgerald II and Hergy Mayala to their practice roster. They had both been with the team at training camp. It is a third stint with the Lions for Mayala, a veteran of 72 CFL games and a former first round pick of Calgary.
Defensive Struggles
An inability to defend the long pass has played a role in B.C.’s first 0-2 start since 2019. They have given up six passes for 30 or more yards, which ties them for league worst. Trevor Harris of Saskatchewan and Bo Levi Mitchell of Hamilton combined to connect on 83.3 per cent (45-of-54) of their pass attempts in the two games. The league average is 69.5 per cent. B.C. defensive coordinator Mike Benevides shouldered the blame for the early stumble in a conversation with 3DownNation. “We’ve just got to play better football right now. The last two games are inexcusable. It’s not good enough; we’ve got to be better,” Benevides said. “At the end of the day, the performance relies on me. It’s all about me; it’s my responsibility to make sure we perform, and we haven’t. That’s me, not the players.” Former Lions pivot Vernon Adams Jr. has completed 37-of-57 (64.9 per cent) for 493 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions, in a 30-28 loss to Winnipeg and a 40-37 defeat against Saskatchewan.
