Bids being sought to raze venerable Mosaic Stadium
By this same time next year, all that will be left of the stadium at Taylor Field in Regina will be a 20-acre vacant lot and with it, 81 years of familiarity will be gone.
“We will put the lights on at the new stadium and when everyone moves in we are going to turn the lights out at the old stadium,” said Jill Hargrove, director of facility management services for the City of Regina.
However, there is still some work to do before the city reaches that stage. On Thursday, the city released a request for pre-qualifications for the stadium deconstruction at Taylor Field.
The old stadium will be available for community programming until mid-July. But once the new stadium is officially opened and the Saskatchewan Roughriders play their first game at their new home, all current programming will be transitioned over to Mosaic Stadium.
“Once that happens, we will start doing some preparation and expect decommissioning to start in September,” said Hargrove. “With our estimated timelines it will take us until about April to get the site to where it needs to be.”
Those feeling nostalgic will have an opportunity to get their own keepsake of the building because the city is planning to sell off surplus assets and host a memorabilia sale by the end of August.
Above-grade elements are to be deconstructed and removed by Dec. 15.
Once old Mosaic Stadium is gone, planning will begin on the new Taylor Field residential neighbourhood. The community consultations likely won’t take place until around 2020.
“It is part of the whole Regina Revitalization Initiative or the RRI project and there are three pieces to it — build a new stadium, redevelop the rail yard and the third and final stage would be to rebuild the Taylor Field neighbourhood,” said Hargrove.
Residents won’t see this new neighbourhood until 2027 or 2028 according to city estimates.
The deconstruction of the facility will require a detailed work plan, safety and security management plan and risk management plan to ensure minimal impact on the surrounding community. A waste minimization strategy will also anchor the deconstruction process to help reduce the effect on the landfill.
The city is looking for a contractor who can meet the city’s specifications for the decommissioning and deconstruction of the old stadium. All materials, including those that can be recycled or repurposed, will be the responsibility of the contractor. The respondents are expected to demonstrate how the value of these products will offset the cost of deconstruction.