Touchdown! the Renovated BC Place Stadium Welcomes the 99Th Annual Grey Cup by Leszek Apouchtine, Jennifer Patterson & Sheri Radford

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Touchdown! The renovated BC Place stadium welcomes the 99th annual Grey Cup by Leszek Apouchtine, Jennifer Patterson & Sheri Radford

roar, you lions, roar! “The Pride of all BC” plans to roar past the competi- tion and play in the 99th Grey Cup this month at BC Place. The BC Lions, Vancouver’s professional football team, have called BC Place home ever since the stadium opened in 1983. They were forced to relocate for more than a season while the stadium was renovated, but returned to their home turf at the end of Septem- ber to a near-capacity crowd of more than 50,000 screaming fans. The BC Lions are part of the Canadian Football League (CFL), which started in 1958. The CFL continues a long tradition of Canadian football, and includes the Toronto Argonauts, a team that started back in 1873, making the Argos the oldest professional football team in North America. NFL fans will notice a few dif- ferences in the way Canadians play the game, including the larger CFL field, an extra player per team in the action and one less down. Many friendly debates can be heard at local bars and pubs when Americans dare to claim that their style of play is better. The BC Lions date back to 1954, but are currently the youngest franchise in the CFL. They have played in the Grey Cup nine times, won five of those times, and are hoping to pounce on any opponent that stands in their way of winning the championship on home turf. The Lions are wrapping up a great year, which saw them clinch a spot in the play-offs with a few games still left to play in the regular season. This will be the 15th straight play-off run for the Lions—a team record and tied for the fourth longest run of play-off appear- ances in CFL history. Not many people would have predicted they could pull it off after starting the season with five straight losses. As the season winds down and the play-offs get underway, the Lions have never looked better under the new roof of BC Place. So, to quote the Lions’ catchy fight song, “C’mon and roar, you Lions, roar!”—L.A.

photo courtesy BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo)

10 where.ca // November 2011 November 2011 // where.ca 11 bc place When open, BC Place's 2011 GREY CUP FESTIVAL EVENTS After 17 months and $563 new retractable roof million in renovations, BC reveals more than 100 m Thursday, November 24 Place reopened in September. (325 ft) of blue sky Gibson’s Finest Player CFL Awards VCC 7 pm-8:30 pm Gone was the much-maligned Blakes After-Party VCC 8:30 pm-12 am air-supported dome roof (critics compared it to a large Friday, November 25 marshmallow), replaced by the world’s largest cable- Telus StreetFest TFP 11 am-10:30 pm supported retractable roof, PlayNow.com Main Stage TFP 11 am-10:30 pm which takes just 20 minutes to CN Field TFP 11 am-10:30 pm open or close. The eco-friendly building also boasts new Scotiabank Football Experience VCC 11 am-9 pm scoreboards, brighter lighting, Molson Canadian House VCC 12 pm-1 am a new sound system, wider Vanier Cup Championship BCP 6 pm seats and better air circulation. BC Place has hosted count- get gear Nissan Family Zone JPP 11 am-6 pm less huge events over the Looking to buy official CFL Canadian Direct Stage JPP 11 am-6 pm years, from Madonna and jerseys, t-shirts and baseball Michael Jackson concerts to hats while sightseeing down- Saturday, November 26 a royal visit from Queen Eliza- town? Browse through Town Safeway Grey Cup Festival Parade DV 10 am-11:30 am beth II to the opening, closing & City Enterprises (849 Horn- and nightly victory ceremonies by St.), Robson Sports (653 An Ode to Telus StreetFest TFP 11 am-10:30 pm for the 2010 Olympic Winter Robson St.), Granville Sports Terry fox PlayNow.com Main Stage TFP 11 am-10:30 pm Games. It continues to be the Corner (925 Granville St.) or The newly erected CN Field TFP 11 am-10:30 pm home of the BC Lions and now SportChek (777 Dunsmuir St., Terry Fox Memo- also serves as home base for in Pacific Centre) to find the rial, designed by Scotiabank Football Experience VCC 11 am-5 pm the Vancouver Whitecaps, the perfect souvenir.—S.R. acclaimed local Molson Canadian House VCC 12 pm-1 am province’s only Major League artist, author and Scotiabank Show Your Colours Gala VCC 6:30 pm-11 pm Soccer club.—S.R. watch Fox family friend Good luck trying to find tickets Douglas Coupland, Nissan Family Zone JPP 11 am-5 pm festival fun to the big game—they sold features four increas- Canadian Direct Stage JPP 11 am-5 pm More than 500,000 football out months ago, and in record ingly larger-than-life Vancouver Sun FanFest JPP 11 am-5 pm fans are expected to descend time, too. Instead, head to one bronze statues of on downtown Vancouver, cel- of the many restaurants and Fox running. The Sunday, November 27 ebrating both the Vanier Cup bars around town filled with significance? Fox’s (Nov. 25) and the Grey Cup enthusiastic fans and giant 1980 Marathon of Telus StreetFest TFP 11 am-3:30 pm (Nov. 27). Fans can choose screens showing the game. A Hope inspired an PlayNow.com Main Stage TFP 11 am-3:30 pm from an abundance of events few of our favourites: annual run each CN Field TFP 11 am-3:30 pm all weekend long (see sidebar • Cactus Club Cafe (page 67). September, now the at left), including a street festi- • Forum (page 53). world’s largest one- Scotiabank Football Experience VCC 11 am-3:30 pm val, a parade with local boy— • G Sports Bar and Grill day fundraiser for Molson Canadian House VCC 11 am-3:30 pm and Glee star—Cory Monteith (page 54). cancer research. Pay Nissan Family Zone JPP 11 am-3:30 pm as grand marshal, and concerts • Phat Sports Bar and respect to this home-

Canadian Direct Stage JPP 11 am-3:30 pm by Said the Whale, Hey Ocean, Restaurant (page 66). town hero and visit Colin James and many oth- • Red Card Sports Bar + Eatery the memorial on the w 99th Grey Cup Championship BCP 3:30 pm ers. For all the details, visit a (page 54). west side of the new y KK L

www.2011greycupfestival.ca or, b • Score on Davie (page 54). BC Place.—J.P.

LEGEND BCP BC Place DV Downtown Vancouver JPP Jack Poole s o

Plaza TFP Terry Fox Plaza VCC Vancouver Convention Centre West for the mobile web app, go to t • Shark Club Bar and Grill

m.2011greycupfestival.ca.—S.R. Pho (page 54).—S.R.

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