Gearing up for football: REAL CEO, food vendors react to Riders’ green light

It’s not just typical fans who flock into Mosaic Stadium who are excited for CFL football to be coming back.

Vendors who serve food in the facility are ecstatic to be returning in August as well.

June Kovacs with Coney Island Poutine says the return of football comes as great news after a challenging year.

“This is huge for our business, Mosaic Stadium is a big part of Coney Island Poutine,” Kovacs said. “We rely on Mosaic Stadium for a lot of our revenue.

“We are very excited to go ahead with the season.”

Tim Reid, the CEO of Regina Exhibition Association Limited, spoke with Greg Morgan on Tuesday morning and gave some insight into what new things people could expect when the Roughriders’ season kicks off at Mosaic Stadium on Aug. 6.

“If you’re used to bringing your $20 or $40 with you to the game, now just bring your credit or debit card. You will see a lot more cashless options,” Reid said. “We’re going to install grab-and-go. It’s a convenient-style location where you walk in and grab your own food.

“When it comes to tickets, we are going to use phones, we’re going to be more digital and we are going to use clear bag policies to make sure that we know what folks are bringing in.”

Reid hopes once August rolls around, fans will be able to sit side by side with fellow fans in the stands at maximum capacity.

“I really hope that we’re going to be at a full house. Obviously, it depends on the vaccination rate, which is why we all have a role to play in bringing back regular CFL games,” Reid said.

“We want to be a little bit cautious. I know we’re going to try a few trial events between now and our first game. This is as much as a training camp for us as a venue as it will be for the Riders in some ways as a football team.”

When it comes to vaccinations, Reid says there are no plans at the moment to make them mandatory to attend football games.

“We recognize that vaccinations are a personal choice,” he said. “At this point, we’re not considering vaccine passports or proof of vaccination. We just want to have over 70 per cent of everybody 12 and over that are vaccinated for the greater health of our community.”

More details regarding the Roughriders’ season going ahead can be found by clicking here.