Mosaic Stadium

On July 12, 2012 during a pre-game ceremony, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Regina mayor Pat Fiacco announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the funding of a new stadium to house the Saskatchewan Roughriders, to replace Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. The stadium was slated for construction at Evraz Place, Regina's exhibition grounds, sharing its site with Regina's indoor arena Brandt Centre.[2][3][4] The project was officially approved by the Regina City Council in January 2013.[5]

The new stadium serves as an aspect of the Regina Revitalization Initiative, a redevelopment project which will also see the former site of Taylor Field redeveloped into a residential area, and the re-location of the Canadian Pacific Railway's downtown yard to the Global Transportation Hub project on the west end of Regina to allow for further downtown development.[5][6]

On March 14, 2014, it was announced that PCL Construction had won the bid to lead the construction of the new stadium, and that it would be designed by HKS, Inc.—a firm recently known for their work on AT&T Stadium and Lucas Oil Stadium.[7][8] The official design of the new stadium was unveiled on May 22, 2014. as also announced that The Mosaic Company, which held naming rights to the previous stadium, would renew its naming rights to cover the new stadium under a 20-year deal. As such, the new stadium will also be known as Mosaic Stadium.

Regular season Riders game in 2018.

Preliminary excavation of the stadium site began in April 2014,[9] and an official groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 16, 2014.[10] The new stadium was scheduled to be completed by August 2016, and the Roughriders were to officially move into the facility for the 2017 season.[7] Installation of the stadium's FieldTurf Revolution 360 playing surface began in July 2016; it is the first CFL stadium to feature this iteration of FieldTurf.[11] On August 31, 2016, officials declared Mosaic Stadium to be "substantially complete", with furniture, concessions, and other fixtures still being finished.[12]

The city stated that at least three test events would be held at Mosaic Stadium before the Roughriders' inaugural season at the facility; the first was a Regina Rams/Saskatchewan Huskies university football game on October 1, 2016.[13][14] Only the lower bowl was utilized, capping capacity at 16,500.[15] The second test event, Regina Rocks Mosaic Stadium, was held on May 27, 2017, headlined by Bryan Adams. The stadium was capped at 75% of its capacity for this event.[15] The Riders hosted their first game at the new Mosaic Stadium, a pre-season game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, on June 10, 2017.[16]

In November 2019, a stretch of 10th Avenue along the north end of the stadium was renamed George Reed Way, in honour of retired Roughriders player George Reed. The stadium's official address was also changed to 1734 George Reed Way, in reference to his #34 jersey.[17][18]

Interior and grandstand.

Mosaic Stadium during a soccer game.

The stadium is intended to provide a more modern fan experience in comparison to Taylor Field,[7] utilizing a sunken bowl with a partial roof around much of its rim, designed to shield spectators. The rim's curved design is meant to prevent snow from accumulating on the roof. The stadium was built to support the construction of a full roof in the future. To protect spectators from winds which predominantly come from the north and west, the lower bowl is situated 10 metres (33 ft) below ground level and the upper deck surrounds the entire north end zone. Thirty-eight corporate suites and two levels of luxury seating are also provided. The stadium features an open concourse, circling the entire facility.[2][19]

Below the concourse of the south end zone, which is not covered by either the roof or the upper deck) are five standing-room tiers branded as "Pil Country" (as part of a sponsorship by Pilsner), with bars running across their length. The section is by general admission and limited to attendees of legal drinking age (19 in Saskatchewan). [20]

Statues honouring Roughriders players Ron Lancaster and George Reed were erected at the west end of the stadium site.[18]

Mosaic Stadium was estimated to cost around $278 million to build.[2][4] Funding would be provided by multiple sources; the government of Saskatchewan provided a grant of $80 million, and a $100 million loan being paid off through a $12 surcharges on all Roughriders tickets. The city provided $73 million in funding, which will be subsidized through property tax increases. The remainder of the budget was covered by the Roughriders themselves, primarily through naming rights.[19] In May 2018, the Regina Exhibition Association's president disclosed that additional surcharges may be introduced for concert tickets in the future.[21]

In 2022, the provincial government announced that the existing exemption of the provincial sales tax for sports tickets would be abolished on October 1, effectively adding an additional six per cent charge to tickets for all events at venues in the province including Mosaic Stadium. The government cited the previous funding it had provided to build the stadium among the justifications for this change.

A white bronze statue of a Roughrider receiving a pass, supported by fans at the base, is located on the stadium grounds

Regina Transit offers free shuttle bus and parking service to and from Mosaic Stadium for Roughriders games and other major events, with drop-off points including Northgate Mall, Southland Mall, the University of Regina, two downtown locations and three locations in the Warehouse District. In 2018, Normanview Crossing dropped out of the program, as its businesses objected to the site's parking lots being wasted by its users. The site was replaced by a third downtown pickup location near the former Sears outlet store on Broad Street, which was criticized for removing coverage of the service from the city's northwest neighbourhoods.[22][23] In 2019, Victoria Square Mall was replaced by the University of Regina campus.[24]

• Official website