The 99th Grey Cup Championship game in Vancouver sells out in record time
July 21st, 2011
VANCOUVER - The Canadian Football League and the BC Lions Football Club are pleased to announce that tickets for the 99th annual Grey Cup Championship game are sold out. The sellout, occurring 129 days from the big event and only 30 days since tickets went on public sale, surpassed the previous mark for a Vancouver Grey Cup that was set on Oct. 7, 2005.
“The speed of this year’s Grey Cup sellout speaks to three powerful forces: the passion of our fans, the strength of our league and the stature of the Grey Cup itself,” said Mark Cohon, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League. “We’re very excited about celebrating all of these with our fellow Canadians from across the country this November in Vancouver.”
The capacity crowd of 52,511 will cheer on the CFL’s top two teams in Canada’s newest stadium, the renovated BC Place, on Sunday, November 27. As Canada’s largest sporting event, the Grey Cup and Grey Cup Festival are a uniquely Canadian celebration of sport and culture with a storied history and deep traditions.
“The BC Lions Football Club is proud to bring the 99th Grey Cup to Vancouver for the first time since 2005. Having Canada’s biggest championship game played in our amazing new venue will be the ultimate end to an exciting Festival weekend,” said Dennis Skulsky, President & CEO of the BC Lions. “We’ve got great football fans in this community and having the Grey Cup Championship game and Vanier Cup played here is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Canada’s game.”
“We’re thrilled to have sold out the game in record time for Vancouver,” said Scott Ackles, General Manager of the 2011 Grey Cup Festival. “Now we can focus our attention on organizing the best Grey Cup Festival Vancouver has ever seen.”
“In fitting fashion, this year’s Grey Cup theme, Raise the Roof will capture the essence of this great Canadian tradition with numerous festival events and the championship games played in what will be Canada’s premier sports and entertainment venue.” Said Moray Keith, Chairman of the 2011 Grey Cup Festival.
“Congratulations to the entire Vancouver 2011 Grey Cup Committee for selling out BC Place. This is a great way to show off the new BC Place to the entire country,” said David Podmore, Chair, BC Pavilion Corporation.
This year, the Grey Cup Festival will also include the 47th Vanier Cup which comes to British Columbia for first time in its history. This will mark just the third time since 1973 that these prestigious championship games will have been played on the same weekend in the same city. Tickets for the Vanier Cup are currently only available to Grey Cup ticket holders and will go on sale to the general public this fall. The Vanier Cup championship game will be played in BC Place on Friday, November 25th.
Please Note: Scott Ackles, General Manger of the 2011 Grey Cup will be available to the media at the club’s Surrey practice facility at approximately 12:00 pm today.
About the 2011 Grey Cup Festival
Hosted by the BC Lions Football Club, the 2011 Grey Cup Festival is a four-day festival that will take place throughout downtown Vancouver from November 24 through 27, 2011. With events ranging from free family oriented entertainment to ticketed concerts, the more than 25 events of the 2011 Grey Cup Festival aim to welcome Canadians to Vancouver in celebration of Canada’s largest sporting event.
Follow the 2011 Grey Cup Festival on Twitter (@2011GreyCup) and Facebook (Facebook.com/2011GreyCup). Volunteer registration is now open. For more information on the Festival, please visit 2011GreyCupFestival.ca.
About the BC Lions Football Club
The BC Lions Football Club is British Columbia’s most successful professional sports organization with five Grey Cup Championship titles to their credit: 1964, 1985, 1994, 2000 and 2006. Drawing on pride, decades of tradition, passion and a spirit of excellence, the BC Lions Football Club seeks to touch the lives of our community in a positive way and is dedicated to serving partners, sponsors, and the best fans in the CFL.
Follow the Lions daily on Twitter! For more information on the BC Lions Football Club, please visit our website at bclions.com.
-30-
For media requests, please contact:
Randy Clegg
Media Relations Manager
2011 Grey Cup Festival
rclegg@2011greycup.ca
Jamie Cartmell
Director, Media Relations
BC Lions Football Club
jcartmell@bclions.com