111th Grey Cup exemplifies British Columbia’s status as Canada’s leading hub for special and marquee events

November 12, 2024

BY TOM MAYENKNECHT

The Grey Cup is not only the Canadian Football League championship, it is the single biggest sports event held on Canadian soil each year and the second largest annual single day sport television broadcast in Canada, behind only the Super Bowl; the NFL championship south of the border. Hosted by the BC Lions, the City of Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia, the 111th Grey Cup clearly reflects the power of partnership that goes into such marquee events.

Without the significant investments of time and money made by Amar Doman – the governor and owner of the BC Lions — the province and the host city, the iconic and historic event simply wouldn’t carry the same clout as it does when it’s backed by a sport hosting, tourism and festival strategy that brings these key partners together, filling BC Place in the heart of the city’s sports and entertainment district.

Hosting successful Grey Cups has become a west coast tradition. This year’s 111th Grey Cup marks the 17th time it has been held in Vancouver and the 10th hosting by BC Place, which opened to the public as a domed stadium in 1983 and then as a retractable roof stadium for the first time in 2011, when the hometown Leos overcame a slow start to the season by winning the Grey Cup that November. Next week marks the first time Vancouver has hosted since 2014; 10 years ago.

Led by our CEO Michelle Kitchen, curator Jason Beck and our dedicated management team, the BC Sports Hall of Fame is proud to be involved in the 111th Grey Cup. We’re inspired and energized to be a go-to part of the celebrations and storytelling associated with three-down football and the CFL these next two and a half weeks.

Thanks to the Lions, City of Vancouver and Province of British Columbia, our province will have yet another proud piece of BC sport history, heritage and culture to celebrate, build upon and pass along to future generations. Sure, we would prefer our hometown Lions to be in the Grey Cup, but make no mistake, beauty shots of Vancouver and BC Place will be front stage centre across the country November 17th.

That’s true, of course, of not only every chance we get to host a marquee event such as the Grey Cup. It’s true of any and all of the special events that come to British Columbia.

We’ve been so blessed as a host of major national and international events over the course of the 58-year history of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

It’s unfathomable that it’s already been more than 14 years since BC Place hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, a transformative event for the province and the country.

Vancouver in general – and BC Place in particular – has become Canada’s leading special event hub, with international soccer friendlies, the World Rugby Sevens and the upcoming 2025 Invictus Games and 2026 FIFA World Cup moving into the spotlight. Throw in the XV Commonwealth Games in Victoria in 1994 – not to mention the 1954 Empire Games in Vancouver -and multiple hosting assignments held by Kamloops, Canada’s Tournament Capital, along with a strong track record in hosting the North American Indigenous Games, and BC is prominently on the map of sport tourism, heritage and culture.

These special events are often directly associated with the game-changing inspiration of Honoured Members of the BC Sports Hall of Fame – both individuals and teams – and are certainly among the Defining Moments of BC sport history.

Buoyed by the impressive sport hosting, tourism and festival infrastructure that comes with marquee celebrations such as the Grey Cup, special events will continue to play an essential role in the continued growth of BC as a national leader in the sport sector, most notably as an athlete development, sport development and active living catalyst that will help inspire, engage and energize the next generation of young British Columbians and Canadians.

Tom Mayenknecht

Chair, BC Sports Hall of Fame

 

Tom Mayenknecht is the Chair of the BC Sports Hall of Fame. A principal at Emblematica Brand Builders in Vancouver and a nationally-recognized sport business commentator and founder and host of The Sport Market on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network, he is a strong advocate for KidSport, Right To Play and other children’s charities, including the Sports Hall’s own Hero in You programs. He is also a member of the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame as a builder and founding Chair of the Paul Carson Sports Broadcast & Media Awards.