Roughriders make ‘competitive bid’ to be CFL hub city

If there’s going to be CFL football in 2020, the Saskatchewan Roughriders want it to take place at Mosaic Stadium.

The club announced it submitted what it describes as a “competitive bid” to be a hub city for the 2020 season.

“We are proud of the package that we put together with help from public health, our provincial government, the City of Regina and the Regina Hotel Association and for the potential economic activity a winning bid could bring to our province and to Regina,” the Roughriders said in a news release Monday.

“We are excited about the opportunity of potentially being a hub city, but whether we win the bid or not we support the CFL and are hopeful that we can get back on the field and play football in 2020.”

Earlier in the day, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Province of Manitoba also announced they would be making a bid to be a hub city with the province committing $2.5 million.

Provincial Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Gene Makowsky said the Saskatchewan government is committing $3 million to the hub city bid provided Regina is chosen and the hub city model is approved by the league and health officials.

“Regina is an exceptional choice to be the host for the one-city hub model for many reasons. The new Mosaic Stadium and other facilities are state of the art and are well-suited to accommodate all the needs required in a hub city model,” Makowsky said in an emailed statement.

“The Riders have worked closely with Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer and health officials to develop a responsible plan to ensure proper protocols are in place for this unique season. Selecting Regina as the hub city also offers an excellent opportunity as a starting point in building momentum as we prepare to host the 2022 Grey Cup. We are ready to welcome the league to Saskatchewan and be a part of the league’s recovery.”

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said the bid was submitted last week.

“We’re really proud of the package, it’s a very strong one,” Fougere said. “We have the best stadium in Canada. We have great facilities (to use as) practice fields like Leibel Field and the University of Regina where we can have practices done. (The city has) great hotels that are here.

“We have the best fans in Canada. We just have a really good, sound foundation for putting a bid together at the best of times and this is a really good opportunity for us.”

Fougere said there was always support to bring the CFL to Saskatchewan in 2020.

“Why not? It’s natural (for the CFL) to come to Regina,” he said.

Fougere said the top priority is the safety of the residents in Saskatchewan and the CFL players.

“The chief medical officer (Dr. Saqib Shahab) will ensure that the plan in place is sound and can provide the best possible protection,” Fougere said. “There’s a lot of protocols that would be in place to ensure the protection of the players in the event COVID is found and how that’s dealt with is really important as well as protecting the residents of the city of Regina as well.”

Fougere said one of the main points of the bid is ensuring hotel space and financial support is available to the CFL to do this. He wouldn’t go into details about the contributions the city would make in the bid but noted industries in the city would be positively impacted from having the CFL play its games in Saskatchewan in 2020.

The status of the 2020 CFL season continues to remain up in the air, with no deal to return to play in place at this point. The season was supposed to begin on June 11.