CFL B.C. Lions President & CEO Dennis Skulsky "guaranteed a Lions win" on Sunday against the Roughriders, saying that the club would "give fans a ticket of equal value to a future regular-season game if the result doesn’t go his way," according to Lowell Ullrich of the Vancouver PROVINCE. The move is a "calculated attempt to take advantage of the fact that Riders annually are the Lions’ top home draw of the season; the Lions are attempting to retain a portion of the fan base that lives in the Lower Mainland who won’t go to another game at BC Place Stadium." Attendance at home games this year is "tracking a 10-year low, meaning it will be a struggle just to match the crowd count of 37,312 fans for the Riders’ only visit last year" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 8/22). In Vancouver, Mike Beamish notes the Lions have "yet to attract an audience in excess of 26,000 this season, but that should change" with Sunday's game. Skulsky said, "Ticket sales are tracking well -- let’s put it that way. Nobody gives those kind of numbers out. Let’s just say, they’re going as expected" (VANCOUVER SUN, 8/22). The CP noted the Riders "put up a billboard outside BC Place which reads 'Green is the new Orange.'" Skulsky in a statement said, "The Saskatchewan Roughriders have challenged this community. They have purchased billboards promoting their team and they’re hosting a ‘Rider fan party and rally in our backyard" (CP, 8/22).
BLUE EYES CRYING IN THE RAIN: In Winnipeg, Kirk Penton noted the Blue Bombers unveiled "mostly blue" Reebok jerseys Tuesday. But there is "no gold" in the uniform, and fans "quickly took to social media to lambaste the look, ripping it for making it appear too much like what" the Argonauts would wear. The Bombers, along with the rest of the CFL, will "wear the new uniforms twice this season and next year as well" (WINNIPEG SUN, 8/20).
A HORSE, OF COURSE: The CALGARY HERALD noted the Stampeders have "revealed the bold new helmets that will be part of the team's so-called Signature Look uniform." The team said that the "rest of the new uniforms will be revealed at the Labour Day Classic on Sept. 1, when the Stamps will don the new threads for the first time." The Stampeders' horse logo is "featured in reflective chrome, rather than its traditional white," and "the Latin slogan 'quid quid requiritur' is stamped on the rear bumper" (CALGARYHERALD.com, 8/20).
