The new stadium

I got in a bit of a Twitter battle on the weekend. (Won't be the last I'm sure.) Apparently I missed something. Either that or they handed out crazy pills to the good people of Saskatchewan without telling anyone.

The announcement of a brand new stadium being built in Regina on Saturday had a bit of a mixed response and I initially thought this was due to a couple of things: a. We all knew it was coming. And b. we all know it's needed.

Unfortunately, some of my fellow Saskatchewan-ites disagree. I was gob-smacked. You mean not everyone wants a new stadium for the Roughriders?!

My very next question is... have they been to Mosaic stadium recently? Trust me... right now... if you're of the opinion that we don't need a new stadium then I am telling you before you say another world, buy tickets to the next Rider home game. Once you've walked around that stadium - experienced the parking nightmare, used the facilities (I used the term loosely), then and ONLY THEN will you understand the depth of the need.

[You may also come away with a new-found respect for just how amazing Saskatchewan Roughrider fans are. I mean we trudge out to a hill-billy arena year after year despite the conditions to support our team! Go Ridernation!]

I won't lie. I was on the fence about the new stadium earlier this year. Did I really want to see my kids paying for a stadium for years to come? Then I bought a ticket and went to a game at Mosaic. We sat in the north endzone for the pre-season game against Calgary. Seats were snapping all around us. It was a bit of joke by the end of the game. [Apparently, those problems have since been addressed.]

I came away telling everyone that would listen to me that the state of Mosaic stadium is an embarrassment. Get tickets and see for yourself.

Like Premier Brad Wall said... the status quo is unacceptable.

This is no longer an option. The grandstands were built in 1936. Fast forward 76 years and gee-gosh things are falling apart. There are buckets in the offices to catch water from a leaky roof. The concessions (God bless 'em) are a mess with trucks setting up and running diesel generators for power. There are port-o-potties... I mean there are port-o-potties, people!

And parking! You either agree to park on someone's lawn for the bargain price of $5 and then spend an hour trying to get out of the area through throngs of fans and other vehicles. Or you park five miles away and walk.

Not to mention the fact that a few things have changed in nearly eight decades since the Taylor Field grandstands opened. To bring Mosaic Stadium up to current standards would require a retrofit of mammoth proportions. So huge in fact that it would dwarf the costs of building a brand new stadium. A retro-fit would also hinder what could be accomplished with a new design.

The recent upgrades to Mosaic, while nice, are not a good long term solution. It's like patching your roof when you're 25 year shingles are on year 35. It might buy you some time, but it's not a good long term bet.

One of the objections to the new stadium was the 33,000 stadium will limit Grey Cup hosting. My response. NO. There is no way the CFL would let us build a new stadium if they could not use it for a Grey Cup venue. As soon as our new stadium is open, they will be chomping at the bit to get the big dance to Regina. Any facility built in Saskatchewan will be expandable to hold enough people to host a Grey Cup game. Don't worry your pretty little head about it.

A completely ridiculous objection I heard was: "I'm not a fan of football, why should I be paying for it with my tax dollars?" Puh-lease. I haven't driven through Prince Albert in over a year, yet I don't begrudge their petition to get a new bridge. I haven't had cancer in my life, yet my tax dollars go towards the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency to help others. There are lots of things I pay for with my tax dollars that I either don't agree with or don't benefit me directly. Welcome to living in a democracy.

The biggest and most common objection I hear is it costs too much money. There's no getting around it. It's gonna cost money. But you know? Everything costs money. It's the cost of keeping the CFL in the province. Think of the jobs it creates. Think of the money that goes into our economy from games and tourists. Think of the potential uses for the stadium aside from football. Over the years Mosaic has hosted concerts, lacrosse games, the Regina Rams football and more. Think of this as an opportunity to showcase the ingenuity and creativity of the amazing people in Saskatchewan to the rest of the league/country.

Time to stop the crazy. This is the time to celebrate. We've got a world class organization (who at this point is putting out an entertaining world class product) and now we get to have a world class venue to enjoy it in. What the heck is wrong with that?

Build it and it will get used. Build it and it will serve our team and our fans for decades to come.

Just build it.

Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!