Roughriders to hold 2020 training camp in Regina

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are staying in Regina for training camp in 2020.

Camp has been held in Saskatoon for the past seven seasons, but the CFL team announced Tuesday that Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan campus won’t be available in 2020 because it’s having its artificial turf replaced.

That work is to start in late April; camp is to open May 17.

“The artificial turf is over 13 years old and is past its useful life,” Wade Epp, the U of S’s associate vice-president services, said in a media release. “It is the most heavily used outdoor athletics facility on campus and it was certainly time for an upgrade.”

In Regina, the Roughriders will practise at Mosaic Stadium.

“The facilities at Griffiths Stadium have served us well over the last several years we’ve run training camp out of Saskatoon, but we are excited to see what’s to come at the stadium after the upgrades are complete,” Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds said in a media release.

While camp won’t be in the Bridge City, the Roughriders will travel to Saskatoon for Green and White Day on May 23. That event, which also includes the State of Rider Nation question-and-answer session with team officials, is to be staged at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

The Griffiths Stadium project, which is expected to cost about $3 million, is expected to be finished in time by the fall. The turf is being upgraded to improve shock absorption to lessen the chance of injury and an anti-microbial treatment will be added to safeguard against infectious bacterial.

The field also will be expanded to be regulation size, and the stadium’s lighting will be updated.