If the deal went through, it would be great for the Lions and the league as attendance has dropped dramatically. However, Braley's opinion of what the team is worth is drastically different from nearly everyone else in BC. Sound familiar?

The B.C. Lions’ brand needs a major overhaul. Their owner, David Braley, saved this franchise in the mid-’90s and helped restore its former glory. But Braley, who turns 76 in May, has been trying to sell the team for the last handful of years and the uncertainty over the Lions’ future has contributed to the perception this is a deteriorating business.
Since the 2011 Grey Cup, attendance has been in steady decline. Team president Dennis Skulsky has also taken on a reduced role in the organization and football overlord Wally Buono is in the last year of his contract.
Add it all up and it seems like the perfect time for a change in direction.
As it happens, the Aquilini family is interested in buying the Lions. The Aquilinis own the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and have experience in the operation and marketing of a professional sports franchise. They also look at the model provided by the Calgary Stampeders and their majority owners, the NHL’s Flames, and believe they can turn the Lions into a profitable venture. ...

True, they’re not football people but they’ve talked to former CFL player Dave Sidoo, a successful Vancouver businessman who helped build the UBC football program into a national power, about being involved in their group.
So, again, add it all up and there would seem to be a fit. Braley has always maintained he wants to sell the Lions to a local ownership group and can be confident that the Lions will have deep-pocketed owners who’ll invest in the franchise. In Sidoo, he’ll also have a football man whose name carries some weight in the community. ...

The Aquilinis, for their part, will have another asset in their business empire and can trade on the synergies created by the Canucks and the Lions. ...

Braley has suggested there have been up to four groups interested in buying the Leos but the names connected with the transaction — real-estate developer Robert Bosa, a consortium led by longtime Lions loyalist Moray Keith — have reportedly lost interest, leaving the Aquilinis as the last men standing.
According to one source, the Canucks’ owners have made an offer which, depending on who you talk to, was either rejected or is being considered.
Braley could not be reached for comment on Thursday but the long-held view is his idea of the Lions’ worth isn’t necessarily shared by potential buyers. From Braley’s perspective, the CFL’s TV contracts runs through 2021 and pays the Lions $4-million-plus annually. The potential for growth at B.C. Place is also a consideration.
As for the buyers, they see a team struggling at the turnstiles which doesn’t share in the concession or parking revenue at The Dome. Back in 2012, the Stampeders were valued at $17 million when the Flames purchased a majority interest in the franchise and participation in the revenues generated at McMahon Stadium. That deal led one source to ask how the Lions could be worth north of $30 million if that was the price tag on the Flames.
http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...-the-b-c-lions