BC Lions first year players are walking around the facilities at Thompson Rivers University this week.

Players will be in Kamloops for training camp until May 28. Rookie camp gets underway today, May 10, with main camp set to get underway on Sunday, May 14.

“The new guys are always in awe of the facilities,” Lions Director of Communications, Matt Baker, told NL Sports. “We love the city, we love Thompson Rivers University. The facilities as far as the CFL is concerned are really elite, really top-shelf.”

“It’s home for three weeks and we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

The Lions have been coming to Kamloops for training camp since 2010, with the City paying the team $40,000 a year until 2017. They signed a three-year extension through to 2020, with the City paying the Leos $45,000 in 2018, $50,000 in 2019, and $55,000 in 2020.

The two agreed to roll over the final year of the contract to 2021 after the 2020 CFL season was cancelled because of COVID-19. The 2021 camp was also cut short because of wildfire smoke in the Kamloops-area.

Most recently, the City and the Lions signed a two-year deal for 2022 – which was briefly threatened by a CFL strike – and 2023, with an option for 2024. The City will pay the Lions $55,000 a year in 2022 and 2023.

Fans can watch practice from the stands at Hillside Stadium. A list of practice times can be found here, with the ever-popular FanFest scheduled for Saturday, May 20.