REGINA’S NEW STADIUM REVEALED!
Today, the Saskatchewan Roughriders joined the City of Regina and the Province of Saskatchewan to unveil, the final design of the future home of the Roughriders, which will carry the name Mosaic Stadium. The Riders announced today that their current partnership with The Mosaic Company will be renewed in a 20-year stadium naming rights agreement between the two organizations.
Teaming up with Mosaic to secure the first naming rights partnership of Mosaic Stadium in 2006 was a defining time for the Riders, and for the community. With the new Mosaic Stadium, and renewed naming partnership, the two organizations will come together in support of the Regina Revitalization Initiative, ushering in a new and exciting era for the Roughriders, the Province, City of Regina and all of Rider Nation.
The new Mosaic Stadium will be a state of the art 33,000 seat facility that can be expanded to accommodate 40,000 fans for special events such as the Grey Cup Championship Game. The stadium will deliver an incredible game day experience with wider individual seats, a sunken bowl to ease spectator access, expansive concourses, concession and hospitality offerings as well as premium options that include 38 suites for corporate partners. Located three blocks west of the current Mosaic Stadium, this iconic new stadium will stand out as one of the premier facilities of its kind in Canada and will become a centerpiece for the province.
“We could not be happier with this announcement and the long term extension of what has been a terrific relationship between the Roughriders and Mosaic, said Jim Hopson, President and CEO of the Roughriders Football Club. “Beyond our shared love for this game and the league, is a shared commitment to the community. This relationship has contributed to some great achievements for Riders and this new agreement will set the stage for what we expect will be many years of success, both on and off the field.”
“Strong partnerships champion successful organizations and help build healthy and vibrant communities,” said Walt Precourt, Mosaic’s Senior Vice President of Potash. “Our sponsorship of Mosaic Stadium, and relationship with the Roughriders, represents the foundation for our continued investments in this province. Together, we’re proud to recognize our community’s rich past and are excited about a new and prosperous future.”
New Mosaic Stadium will host its first Rider game in June of 2017.
he Riders also announced a new stadium website, www.newmosaicstadium.com where fans can access new stadium design images, videos and factual information.
MORE COVERAGE
REGINA (CP) – The Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders are getting a new stadium that is being described as iconic and bold.
The team, the city of Regina and the province on Thursday unveiled the design for a 33,000-seat facility that can be expanded to hold 40,000 fans for special events.
The stadium is to have wider seats, a sunken bowl for easier spectator access and expansive concourses. Although it is open-air, it features a translucent spectators roof that extends over the seats to provide protection from the elements.
Snow loads and sun angles were considered in determining the shape and extent of the overhang. It provides coverage for half the spectators and some protection across all permanent seating.
The venue is being described as “roof ready,” meaning a full roof could be added at a later date.
The current stadium near downtown Regina originally started as a rugby field in 1910 and is known for its old wooden-bench seating and exposure to wind that will knock your socks off.
“Once we get into this stadium, people are going to say ‘I love it,”’ predicted Rider president and CEO Jim Hopson. “I love the fact that it is outdoors still, but we’re getting some protection from the wind, from the driving rain and so on.
“Wind is a huge factor here in terms of comfort and the design reflects that.”
Rider board chairman Roger Branvold agreed the $278-million stadium will make for a better game-day experience for fans.
The stadium will be located on the grounds of Evraz Place, an arena and convention centre complex northwest of downtown. Construction is to begin in June with a completion target of August 2016.
Mark Williams of HKS Sports and Entertainment, a U.S.-based architectural firm that designed the stadium, said it will be one of the jewels in his company’s portfolio.
“We have opened the last three very successful stadiums in the NFL and I will put this design pound for pound with anything that we have done in the past,” he said.
Regina Mayor Michael Fougere suggested the new stadium is just the beginning of a revitalized city.
“We are at the leading edge of growth, not just for Saskatchewan, but for the whole country,” he said. “This is such a dynamic time to be in Regina. We’re going to see so much more investment and job opportunities and things happening.
“This is a beginning of a new way of investment and development.”
The current stadium will eventually be decommissioned and a 700-unit housing development built, the mayor said.
The team also announced that its future home will continue to carry the name Mosaic Stadium when it hosts its first CFL game in June 2017.
– With files from CKRM
It should be a dome, and it should be in the rail yards north of downtown. Call me a whiner or whatever, but every time I go into this place I'm going to think the same thing. We settled for less.
Not an engineer, so can someone describe how this design is roof ready?
Ohhhhh baaabbby, I can't wait. Feel like a kid at Chrisrmas. Looks awesome
I'm now against it! It's a modern day Taylor field! Previous design was almost a dome. Keep Taylor field if that's what it's going to be. Winnipegs twin sister!
Mosaic laid off how many people this year, but has the money to name stadiums.
Nice to know where the priorities are.
How do the Riders (who do NOT own the stadium ) get the right to sell the naming. Should that money not go to the Exibition Assoc. or the City of Regina???
I am sure if your neighbour put a sign on the side of your car you would want the cash.
without the riders the naming rights substantially fall in value.
Who's paying for this? fix my roads!!! etc etc etc
This would have been KIBOSHED if taken to a public vote. Just plain and simply stupid. And I live and breathe the Riders and I love sports.
leibel field with a flimsy canopy on each side. joke !!
fix my roads:
Help Roddy clean up the city and use the trash to fill the pot holes.
I love the pics and can't wait to visit and go to the games… Not sure about the money that was spent with the previous consultation though… All that talk about wind and climate control seems to have been money down the drain. It is a nice outdoors stadium – even if you can only use it for so many months per year and you will have to weather proof things for the harsh winters. Likely could have saved a lot of money by having a year round facility with no annual weather resulted maintenance. I can also imagine some… Read more »
This design is unreal! I LOVE it!!! It looks way better than the concept released last year.
I think the design is great, I couldn't be happier with it!
The Anon above who made the comment about Mosaic is on point though. How many layoffs could have been avoided if the company didn't renew the stadium naming rights?
TR
Nicestadium BUT…
Why is this 33,000 same as current stadium, our fanbase is growing and population expanding, why not 40K seats to start, and expandable to 45-50 for big events?
This stadium is so open design, it is not roof ready like last concept? Dallas Cowboys stadium is roof ready. Are we taken for a fool here? To put roof would mean more bracing around stadium like BC Place. The architect should show us how it would look like when roof is on with this design and at what additional cost estimate? Just a thought.
Would be nice to have a game-day-only rail transit station used to get fans in and out of town to the East and West of Regina at a park 'n ride. This would free up a lot of vehicle traffic to get a maximum # of people out to the highway in a hurry.
Opening up Sask Drive to go further west than Lewvan out to Courtney St. or Pinkie Road would be something the Regina design team for traffic should consider as well.
Get over it people it will never have a roof, capacity is 33,000 and it's located at Evraz. These are all facts now so there's no point complaining anymore. I like the design, I like the idea of the sunken bowl/roof design to cut down on the wind and the main concorse that goes around the entire stadium. Some people just aren't happy unless they're complaining!
Probably best not to overbuild in terms of seats. Look at NASCAR… put in tons of seats when it was really popular (mid-late 2000s) and now they are taking seats back out at most tracks because they can't fill them.
A smaller seating capacity creates demand for tickets which is good for the club. Sadly – for the fans – that may mean higher ticket prices too, though
A roof would be a complete waste of money, check into other city's with a roof see how much business they get to make it a viable option. This design is great and just wait till you step inside it will be amazing. There will always be complainers that we have to live with. This is great for our city and province no matter how you look at it. Great job by everyone involved in it
Yup get over it….as soon as all that private funding fiacco promised comes thru then life will be good again….hahaha selling naming rights to something you don't own and trying to sell that as your "contribution" to the project is just perfect, fits right in with the rest of this fiasco.
What a beautiful stadium. It doesn't get much better than this. Great work to all that were involved in making this happen.