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VANCOUVER — The CFL has announced that the B.C. Lions will host the 2024 Grey Cup in Vancouver. 

"The Lions’ bid was very strong," commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a release Thursday. "And it was buoyed by the tremendous excitement the team is generating across the province and the country."

Lions owner Amar Doman said it's an honour and a privilege to host one of Canada's biggest and most important events. 

“We know we’ll have some very tough acts to follow," he said in a release. "But we’re determined to deliver the greatest Grey Cup festival and, working with the CFL, the greatest game day in the history of the CFL, come 2024."

Vancouver has hosted the league's championship game 16 times before, most recently in 2014 when the Calgary Stampeders downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 20-16.

The 111th Grey Cup will be played at the Lions' home venue, B.C. Place, in November 20124. 

The downtown stadium has a capacity of about 54,000 and has previously hosted events such as the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2010 Olympics, and the final game of the 2015 Women's World Cup. 

Thursday's news comes as the league gets set to begin playoffs Sunday, including a western semifinal matchup between the Lions (12-6) and Calgary Stampeders (12-6) in Vancouver.  The winner will face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the west final on Nov. 13. 

This year's Grey Cup will be held in Regina on Nov. 20. Hamilton is set to host the championship game in 2023. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2022. 

The Canadian Press