BC Place Stadium will always hold special significance for Glen Ringdal. He was on the stadium floor when the teflon roof was first inflated in 1983. In 1999 Glen married his second wife Sherry in the BC Lions team suite before a game at BC Place, among many other Lions and Grey Cup memories. And now this year Glen takes his place in the BC Sports Hall of Fame as the 26th recipient of the prestigious W.A.C. Bennett Award.
Born in Vancouver and raised in Delta, from a young age Glen showed a knack for managing team sports. At age ten, he organized a baseball team complete with coaches, umpires, and even acquired a uniform sponsor. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Glen became well known in Vancouver for his public relations work with Doug Smith & Co. and later Vrlak Robinson Advertising. With the latter, one of his accounts was the BC Lions, which began over 35 years working in sports management, public relations, business development, and promotion in BC sport.
Glen is one of the few individuals to work in high positions for each of the ‘Big Three’ Vancouver professional sport franchises. From 1986-95, Glen served as the Vancouver Canucks vice-president and director of marketing/communications, helping owner Arthur Griffiths and general manager Pat Quinn turn the struggling franchise around. In that time, Glen contributed to the creation of Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and secured General Motors as the title sponsor of the Canucks’ new downtown arena, GM Place.
When new owner David Braley saved the financially floundering BC Lions, Glen served as team president from 1997-2001, increasing ticket sales three-fold, helping organize the 1999 Grey Cup at BC Place, and contributing to the club’s 2000 Grey Cup championship. At the same time, Glen also served as president of the Vancouver 86ers/Whitecaps from 1998-2001, keeping the struggling franchise operating, bringing back Bobby Lenarduzzi as general manager, and overseeing the club’s transition back to the Whitecaps name.
From 2008-11 Glen served as general manager of the Langley Events Centre overseeing its opening. Later he worked as president of both the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs and Prospera Centre from 2011-18, which included hosting and winning the 2018 Royal Bank Cup, Canada’s national Junior A hockey championship.
Written and researched by Jason Beck, Curator of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.