Lions QB Mike Reilly and his teammates will prepare for a 2021 CFL season starting July 10 at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

CFL RETURN

Lions to start training camp in Kamloops July 10, hoping for full capacity at BC Place in September

Jun 14, 2021 | 4:38 PM

KAMLOOPS — The CFL’s official approval of a 14-game season means the Lions will be arriving in Kamloops on July 3 to begin a week-long quarantine. Training camp then gets underway at Hillside Stadium a week later, Saturday, July 10.

“We’ve applied for an exemption from the federal government for the seven days of quarantine versus the 14, just like the NHL,” said Lions President Rick Lelacheur. “They’ll have to quarantine for that, then it’ll be in a tight bubble at training camp. That’s only going to be the players and the coaches and football operation staff.”

An official league schedule will be released on Tuesday (June 15). There will be fans in the stands — a necessity for the gate-driven CFL — and depending on the province, some stadiums could be at full capacity.

The Lions are hoping for a full B.C. Place beyond Sept. 7 when the B.C. government plans to open the province completely. In the meantime, the team will start with a few spectators — roughly 5,000 people — when their home schedule kicks off in August.

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“That was our initial layout of a plan where we could social-distance two metres in aisles and seats, and it was about 5,000 in the lower bowl we could get in,” said Lelacheur. “We still have some time where the plan has been presented to Dr. Henry and her team.”

Lelacheur says teams will be losing money for the first part of the season — nothing new for the CFL — but the feeling internally was there needed to be season regardless of the financial hit.

“The first priority in my mind was we get on the field and play,” he said. “Financially, it’s not going to be for the faint of heart. We know that. It’s going to be expensive, but we just had to get back on the field. It’s been tough on everybody, and I know how hard it’s been on the players for the last year. We all know they don’t collect a paycheque if they don’t play.”

Lelacheur is hopeful that crowds can increase into the fall and people will choose BC Place as an outing, as the pent-up demand to get out and back to normal is alive.