Roughriders plan fun, fond farewell to their old home
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are ready to say goodbye to an old friend.
Mosaic Stadium will be decommissioned after the 2016 CFL season and eventually demolished. The Roughriders will move into new Mosaic Stadium in 2017, giving them several months to bid a fond farewell to their current home.
“Celebrating the last season at Mosaic is going to be special because that place has meant so much to so many,” says Craig Reynolds, the Roughriders’ president and chief executive officer.
“It’s an opportunity for our fans to say goodbye over the course of the season and to talk about the great moments at Mosaic Stadium — our games and concerts and other events that have been held there. It’s exciting to look back and be nostalgic.”
The Roughriders have plans to celebrate different eras during home games this season as well as great moments in franchise history.
The 1966, 1989, 2007 and 2013 Grey Cup-winning teams will be feted, as will legendary players from the Roughriders’ past.
“Growing up in this province, everybody has their own memories of Mosaic,” says Reynolds, a product of Foam Lake.
“Some of my most vivid memories are my dad taking me to Rider games. Then, working with the organization, I have a lot of memories of that stadium and our games there.
“I’ll never forget that 2013 Grey Cup championship on home turf. I’ll never forget seeing the clock hit zero, being on that field and celebrating with that team. That was pretty special.”
New Mosaic Stadium is expected to be pretty special, too.
The $278-million facility is just down the road from its predecessor, so Reynolds and other Roughriders employees regularly visit the new place to see how the construction is going.
Not only will the team’s business office — which currently is in a different building — finally be under the same roof as the football office again, but the team itself also will have spiffy new amenities at Mosaic Stadium 2.0.
But the team’s employees have to rein themselves in, since they’re not moving just yet.
“Everybody’s excited but you have to temper that a little bit because we want to say goodbye to Mosaic and do that the right way,” Reynolds says. “In our lifetime, we’re only going to move stadiums once, so you want to do it the right way.
“You want to remember the good times at the old stadium while you’re also really excited about moving to the new stadium. It’s a constant balancing act.”
The Roughriders’ final regularseason game at Mosaic Stadium is set for Oct. 29, when the B.C. Lions are to visit. Saskatchewan could get a home playoff game, but that’s uncertain.
Whenever the last home game is, Reynolds is certain it will be an event.
“You see footage from the 2013 Grey Cup of fans crying, just because it’s such an emotional moment to win the Grey Cup at home,” he says.
“I think you’ll see a lot of that this year — especially that last game, when people know there will never be another Roughrider football game in that stadium.”