Discussions continue for NFL pre-season game at Mosaic Stadium

The possibility of an NFL pre-season game coming to Regina’s Mosaic Stadium this year isn’t dead in the water yet.

According to Mayor Michael Fougere, the venue and promoter for the game now have shifted the focus of discussions to Thursday, Aug. 22. Initial reports said the Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders would play in Regina on Friday, Aug. 23.

On Tuesday, the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders — who are to play host to the Ottawa Redblacks on Aug. 24 — aired some concerns about the quick turnaround. The Roughriders’ biggest issue was whether there would be enough time between the NFL game and the CFL game to reconfigure the field.

Fougere said changing the day should alleviate some of those concerns.

The mayor also pointed out that Mosaic Stadium is a City of Regina facility.

“And at the end of the day, the City of Regina determines what events go into the stadium,” he said. “The Riders are an important tenant, but they are a tenant of the building.”

Fougere is pushing for the game to come to the Queen City, saying this kind of big event is why the city built the stadium.

Still no contract

Time is still running down for a deal to be done, though.

“There comes a point where we need to make sure that we represent ourselves, our city, and our province to the highest of standards and I think if we go beyond this week without a contract in place, we’ll be jeopardizing our ability to be successful,” said Tim Reid, president and CEO of REAL.

Reid said there have been conversations about it, but REAL shared a contract with the promoter in early March and hasn’t heard back. Reid said that’s a problem because, without a contract, the venue can’t start planning.

“That’s really where this becomes such a complex issue, because without a contract currently in place for this game to be hosted, we don’t actually have the specifications and technical needs to host the NFL side,” explained Reid.

REAL has bits and pieces at the moment. Reid says his organization knows a few things about the security requirements, in-game production and a bit about the fan experience.

There are some things REAL knows would need to happen for the NFL game, including changes to the field lines and sponsor logos, and to the space around the field.

Reid explained there are some advantages to changing from the NFL field to that of the CFL. For example, the CFL lines are sewn into the turf so they could just be painted over with green for the NFL game, then cleaned off for the CFL game.

Reid said any changes needed to the locker rooms could pose a challenge, as the Roughriders did a lot to develop their own locker room.

“We need to respect the fact that the Riders are in season, and we want to do everything that we can for them to be successful,” Reid said. “But at the same time, we want to bring events (to Mosaic Stadium).”

Reid said concerns raised around turnaround times earlier this week are legitimate, but he also said REAL officials don’t know how long a changeover would take since — again — they don’t have the details of the NFL’s needs.

But Reid pointed to the NHL Heritage Classic happening at Mosaic Stadium in October to show the flexibility of the stadium.

“We have a moment where we’re going to be converting to a hockey rink to be able to play a football game a week later, and so I think if we can do that we can certainly convert from an NFL field to a CFL field,” said Reid.

Reid finished by saying that the main thing is to be positive: Just because an NFL game doesn’t happen in Regina this year doesn’t mean it can’t happen next year or the year after.