Riders looking to expand provincial exposure in new partnership

By Brady Lang

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and NexGen Energy announced a partnership Tuesday afternoon.

The new partnership gives the CFL team exposure in the north, as it includes a joint community event in La Loche, along with an in-game promotion, jersey patch and on-field logo sponsorships with the company.

Roughriders president-CEO Craig Reynolds said this is the first step in getting the franchise more involved in all areas of the province.

“We want to do more in the north, we want to be more active in the north, and that aligns quite nicely with NexGen,” Reynolds said.

The team ran a football camp two weeks ago in La Loche and ran an anti-bullying campaign along with Red Cross in the community in the past. The three-year commitment was important on both sides of the agreement, NexGen Energy CEO Leigh Curyer said.

“It’s really just a part of our overall community focus, and it couldn’t be a better platform with the Riders in term of broadening that exposure,” Curyer said.

Curyer said the Riders would be going to local schools in La Loche during the year to run training sessions.

The sides didn’t give a number on the agreement, but Curyer said it was an “incredibly good value, given the benefits.”

The Riders continue training camp in Saskatoon this week. They’re to be on the field at 9 a.m. at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon on Wednesday.