STADIUM QUESTIONS
Group seeks more public input
About a dozen people were at Mosaic Stadium on Friday night to push for a referendum on a city plan to construct a new stadium.
The group set up placards just outside the practice field on the west side of the stadium. They encouraged people headed in to watch the University of Regina Rams take on the University of Manitoba Bison to sign
“I HOPE THAT CITY COUNCIL REALIZES THAT PEOPLE WANT A SAY ...”
DAWN THOMAS
a petition calling on Regina City Council to put the stadium issue to a vote by the public.
“I hope that city council realizes that people want a say in how this three-quarters of a billion dollars are spent,” said Dawn Thomas, stadium petition organizer and a candidate for Ward 9 in the upcoming civic election.
The group needs about 20,000 signatures on its petition to force a referendum. Thomas said that part of the reason for the protest this weekend was simply to raise awareness of the petition itself.
This was because some people interested in signing had told her it was difficult to find.
“Businesses don’t want to host it, it’s a controversial issue.”
Friday night’s event was the beginning of Occupy the Stadium, a plan by the group to maintain a presence at Mosaic Stadium throughout the weekend.
Protesters will be set up just outside the Mosaic Stadium practice field all day today including during tonight’s game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions. Normal pre-game activities that take place on the practice field will go ahead as always.
Thomas’ group worked with the Roughriders and the City of Regina to find a space where it would be visible but would not disrupt game day activities.
The city also forbade the group from camping overnight at the stadium.
“Actually, they’ve been really good,” said Thomas, noting that city and stadium officials reached out to her and her supporters early on as they were setting up the event.
The lease agreement between the team and the city states that the practice field, the surrounding parking lot and the plaza on the west side of the stadium all belong to the Riders on game days.
While many of those outside Mosaic Stadium will be thinking about the possibility of a new stadium as the protest group sets up camp, some of those working on the field inside have allowed themselves only fleeting thoughts about playing in a new facility by 2017.
“Not really, because that’s so far away,” said Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant.
“We’re realists, and we know that the average career in football is 2 1/2 or three years, so a lot of us won’t even be here.
“At the same time, for someone like myself who would love an opportunity to change history and be the longest-tenured quarterback here and to make a statement myself in this organization, I think about it — because I would love to be the first quarterback to start in that new stadium.
“I think about it a little bit, but not anything that takes over because it’s so far away.’’
Veteran linebacker Mike McCullough, who has spent seasons playing in Mosaic Stadium, hasn’t given much thought to the prospect at all. “I don’t follow it,” he said. “I really don’t follow what’s going on, so I don’t know much about what’s going on. It’s going to happen whether you like it or not.
“You can’t do much about it.’’