Making a stop in Ottawa on Saturday during his tour of opening nights in each CFL city, commissioner Jeffrey Orridge made the city sound like a perfect destination for a Grey Cup.

The first-year league boss sung the praises of the TD Place stadium itself and all that surrounds it at Lansdowne Park but was all non-committal smiles when pressed on Ottawa's chances of landing the championship game in 2017, the year the city will celebrate its 150th birthday.

"This is a great place for a Grey Cup game, absolutely," Orridge said.

But really, what else is he going to say?

Yes, it's a perfect spot for a Grey Cup and in a nine-team league, Ottawa will surely host one at some point.

But in 2017?

Hard to say and Orridge isn't tipping his hat one way or another, reverting to his go-to answer on the subject that the league doesn't announce Grey Cup hosts until the year before, with Winnipeg hosting it this season.

But passing over Ottawa for 2017 would be a tough one for many to swallow.

"We haven't even announced next year," Orridge said.

There should be some wiggle room here.

Various Ottawa 150th events are expected to take over much of the city in 2017 and a CFL championship would be the kind of marquee event that anchors that type of celebration.

Another reporter tried one more time for some kind of olive branch from the media-savvy commissioner.

"We have no idea when Ottawa will get one but it's certainly the right environment for it," Orridge said.

"The facilities are here, the ownership group is impeccable. Certainly, this would be a great location to host a Grey Cup."

Orridge then preached patience.

"I think that all things come to those who wait and it will come (to Ottawa) at the right time," he said.

The right time, Mr. Commissioner, is fall 2017.

Between the sticks

Nice touch by the RedBlacks to mark Independence Day with a performance of the Star Spangled Banner before the playing of O Canada. But while much of both team's rosters are made up of American players, RedBlacks quarterback Henry Burris, an Oklahoma native, described Saturday's opener as more of a continuation of Canada Day celebrations. We'll drink to that! ... RedBlacks fans who had been counting down the days to seeing live football this season were at TD Place early and wound up by the time Ottawa received the opening kick. The RedBlacks looked at first like they were going to reach the end zone with relative ease until a tight pass by Burris hit Maurice Price in the hands, with the receiver bobbling it a couple times and keeping it in the air long enough for Lions' linebacker Solomon Elimiman to pick it off ... Tough break for the RedBlacks and defensive back Brandon McDonald who was called for illegal contact late in the first quarter, negating an Ottawa touchdown after a long kickoff return by Chris Williams. The Lions would have a touchdown of their own called back in the third quarter, also on a long run that resulted in a flag on the play ... Like the RedBlacks' opener in Montreal, Burris wasn't exactly putting on a passing clinic in the first half. But holding onto the ball was working pretty well for the veteran QB early on as Burris scrambled for two big first downs, the second of which set Ottawa to take the lead on a Burris to Brad Sinopoli completion for the touchdown. The passing game again improved in the second half... After a couple questionable calls went against the RedBlacks, the home team got some momentum late in the first half when officials put 0.5 seconds back on the clock, giving Ottawa just enough time to kick a field goal and take the lead heading into the intermission.

Here and there

It's not a huge sample size, but Orridge was giving an early thumbs up to the rule changes this year aiming to increase scoring, among other things, while also removing the gimme factor when it comes to kicking for the extra point.

"I think it's pretty exciting, the games typically have been shorter in duration," the commissioner said.

"The pace of the game has picked up. It's not just about scoring, it's about unpredictability. The first game we had two missed converts, last year we had two all year. That changes the dynamics." ... Fresh off development camp, a group of Ottawa Senators prospects were at TD Place to take in Saturday's game. Among them was forward Nick Paul, goalie Matt O'Connor and Tobias Lindberg, fresh off a 78-point season that was capped off with a Memorial Cup Championship ... The Lions' challenge of a third-quarter play that resulted in a B.C. safety had the crowd chanting something that sounded liked "bull spit" ... A brief and very unscientific poll conducted by the Sun yielded very few RedBlacks fans angry about parking or transit issues. Like during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup games held here, the reviews were positive, with the official shuttle, free OC Transpo fares and good, old fashioned walking getting folks where they needed to be ... You could hear a pin drop in the stadium when Austin Collie pulled down a pass in the endzone to give the Lions a 16-13 third-quarter lead ... Good break for the RedBlacks when a Lions' interception was negated thanks to an illegal contact call against B.C., giving Ottawa a do-over.

Twitter: @chrishofley