BC Lions president Dennis Skulsky introduces the BC Lions new Reebok jerseys. Photo: Rebecca Bollwitt: Miss604.com

The BC Lions introduced their new jerseys on Wednesday and in this case the Lions felt it was a case of why change a good thing?

The only real design change to the newest threads is the removal of the black piping that ran from the shoulders, across the chest. The Reebok branding is different with the logo gone and the company’s name on each shoulder over the numbers. The quality is higher end, the material is different and the jersey has a different fit. The BC Lions logo on the shoulders is now a sewn on patch. A big upgrade over the screened only option fans had with previous editions.

When Bob Ackles returned the to Lions in 2002, he felt the team had lost it’s identity. One of the things he wanted to change was to bring back orange as the dominant colour of the team’s uniform. Club president Dennis Skulsky alluded to the fact that the Lions think their look is pretty good, so why mess with it?

“[The CFL] came to us last year but we said ‘we like our jerseys,’” said club president Dennis Skulsky. “To be honest we lost our way as an organization for a little because we had a whole bunch of different designs for awhile. This is the design.”

The team will be looking at redesigning their popular black third jersey with an eye for a 2013 debut.

Overall as a fan I’m happy that the look didn’t change drastically. I think the Lions uniforms are clean and sharp. The numbers are easy to read and the colour scheme works. These are clearly an upgrade in quality, so I will definitely buy one. And boy do we have a deal for you!

Our friends at Sports in Stuff in Chilliwack are taking pre-orders for the new jerseys and are offering a  price of $179.99 for a pro-stitched jersey if you order and mention BCLionsDen.ca.

Jerseys will take about 10 days to get customized once they’re in stock. Give them a call at 604-858-2614 or email them at rickandwendy@shaw.ca! Of course you can always drop in and see them at the store, located at the Chilliwack Mall, 45610 Luckakuck Way, in Chilliwack.

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Highlights from the BC Lions season preview conference call that took place today:

• Team is 10% ahead of last year in season tickets sales thanks in part to excitement over 99th Grey Cup
• Dennis Skulsky says renovated BC Place will be one of the best facilities in North America.
• Wally Buono says that defensively, the Lions will go with a three-man front much of the upcoming season.
• Buono confirms that the Lions are has signed QB Matt Johnson from Bethune-Cookman University.
• Buono says the club may sign a 6th QB before camp…likely Cal’s Kevin Riley, who impressed at the recent Portland free-agent camp.
• The club will announce their new defensive line coach on June 1st.
• Buono on the improvement of the offensive line: ‘We have the best left tackle in the league (Archibald) & that should help us a lot’.
• Buono on QB Matt Johnson: ‘A lot like a young Damon Allen bc of athleticism…Danny Barrett speaks highly of him’.
• Buono not worried about replacing Davis /Arceneaux; cites Moore, Harris, Black, Gore, Iannuzzi as guys who can step up.
• Buono: ‘Elimimian reminds me of Alondra Johnson’.
• Buono confident that 2011 bc offensive line will be a lot stronger and the team will get more consistent play at quarterback.
• Buono says the team is still investigating non-import WR Kamau Peterson’s medical situation. ”If we weren’t thorough in that situation we wouldn’t be doing our job”.

In addition to the signing of Matt Johnson, the Lions also announced the signings of running back / kicj return candidates Michael Smith (Arkansas) and Tim Brown (Temple).

Thanks to Mark Masters of the National Post for his live tweets that made this blog possible, as well as the TEAM 1040.

Mark Masters on Twitter.

Team 1040 on Twitter.

As we posted a few weeks back, Dennis Skulsky will be the President of the BC Lions. The announcement will be made Thursday morning at a 9:00am press conference.

Skulsky is a successful business man with strong ties to the Lions. He’s a life long fan, was a good friend of the late Bob Ackles, and is a founding member of the Waterboys, the group of local business leaders Ackles formed to help promote the club in the business community.

For more details make sure to visit BCLions.com on Thursday.

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The TEAM 1040 reported Friday that Canwest Publishing CEO, Dennis Skulsky, resigned his position and will soon be named the new President and CEO of the BC Lions. No official announcement has come from the team, but now that Skulsky is no longer employed with CanWest it’s expected an announcement will be forthcoming regarding the Lions. Skulsky will remain with CanWest until the end of April.

“This was a very personal decision and one that I made with my closest advisors–my family,” wrote Skulsky in a note to Canwest employees. “My dear wife, our daughters and son-in-law, our precious new granddaughter and my elderly parents, all of whom live out West, are what I treasure most in my life and this decision was driven primarily so that I could spend more time with them. It will also allow me to pursue other opportunities closer to home.”

Skulsky is a founding member of the Waterboys, a group of business leaders formed by the late Bob Ackles to help with attracting business support for the club and to help in the community. He and Ackles were great friends, and he’s been a long time CFL fan. He was chair of the hugely successful 2005 Grey Cup in Vancouver, and will also lead up the 2011 event for the city.

His hugely successful career and local ties to the city will give the Lions instant credibility from a business point of view and put them on solid ground in that community. The Lions have been without an official President and CEO since the passing of Ackles in July of 2008.

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