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“We know (ratings) have been down this year. We can talk about FIFA (Women’s World Cup) we can talk about the Blue Jays, a whole bunch of things: the reality is, you play those up when your numbers are up,” Lions’ president Dennis Skulsky said.

“We’re getting together as a board, obviously, in Winnipeg next week and we’ll have a better understanding of where we’re down, what parts of the country, the demographics and all that. But you can guess.”

You can guess attendance is excellent in Ottawa and Hamilton because of new stadiums and quality teams. It’s skewed in Toronto by home games played in places like Fort McMurray and Hamilton that drew flies.

Maybe in Calgary, fans are spoiled the way they once were in Edmonton, by winning seasons and championships.

B.C. has had stable ownership from David Braley and stable management, but the Lions’ on-field product has steadily declined since the 2011 Grey Cup win.

“I can tell you this franchise is still very strong,” said Skulsky. “You want to talk about ownership? There’s a pretty good lineup of people interested in buying this club. That’s real. And these are not tire-kickers.”

Braley has said he plans to be out of the football business by the time he turns 75, which is next year.

But even at 21,000-plus fans a game, Skulsky said, the Lions are profitable.

“Certainly not as profitable as we’d like,” he said, “but the CFL model today will allow most of our teams in that range to be profitable, thanks to sponsorship numbers, thanks to the television deal.”