‘A pretty monumental day’: Riders’ Reynolds excited about CFL return

“It was a pretty monumental day for the CFL.”

That’s how Saskatchewan Roughriders president-CEO Craig Reynolds described Monday, when the league’s board of governors voted unanimously to have the league return to play on Aug. 5.

“(The meeting) felt different and it was different — I think people understood how important it was that we get back on the field,” Reynolds said.

To everyone involved in making this morning feel like Christmas morning thank you! To the fans thank you for your patience & support during this long delay. I hope to see CFL viewership & engagement skyrocket as it has been greatly missed. It’s time to play some @CFL football 😆 https://t.co/oaOQe5dEsf

— Cody Fajardo (@CodyFajardo17) June 14, 2021

The CFL hasn’t played a game since the Grey Cup game on Nov. 24, 2019. The 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19.

While the Aug. 5 date has always been a target date for the CFL, Monday’s meeting was the first time the league fully committed to once again starting that day.

But returning to the field for a shortened season will have an effect on teams’ chequebooks, with fewer home games played.

“The reality is that the club will sustain significant financial losses to play the 2021 season,” Reynolds said. “Having said that, our board recognized that it was completely vital that we get back to playing football in front of our fans.”

He said season-ticket holders will be given a credit for the games being missed out on with the shortened schedule, which can be used next season.

Reynolds said the Roughriders are still working towards what game day and practices will look like this season.

“We certainly want to open the stadium in a safe and responsible manner but we also said all along that we’re going to follow the health guidance and we want to get as many members of Rider Nation into that stadium as possible,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds said the one thing that needs to occur to get fans in the stands is Saskatchewan reaching 70 per cent of people 12 and older vaccinated. At that point, the province is expected to lift all restrictions surrounding large gatherings.

Reynolds said players and football operations staff will have strict protocols when it comes to masking and restrictions. As for fans, the team will follow public health guidelines — meaning if there is no longer a required mask mandate in the province, one won’t be required at the stadium.

“Our goal is to get as many people safely into Mosaic Stadium as fast as we can,” Reynolds said.

And Reynolds believes that will be a special day in the country.

“When you are able to gather as large groups, that’s sort of the last frontier in terms of reopening and starting to feel like things are back to normal, especially here with the symbolism of the Roughriders in Saskatchewan. It’s a uniting force,” Reynolds said.

“I think the ability to gather on a warm August night in Saskatchewan and gathering in large numbers and just sort of celebrate being back and celebrating being on the other side of this pandemic is going to be very, very meaningful.”

Training camp is set to begin on July 10 in Regina. Camp has been in Saskatoon in previous years.

Chamber CEO also glad to see CFL return

John Hopkims, the CEO of the Regina Chamber of Commerce, said the CFL’s return will be a big boost for the economy.

“It’ll be great for the local economy, the hotel and restaurant industry,” Hopkins said. “The fans have got to be excited to have the Riders back on the field, and we look forward to it.

“It’s a big signal that we’re reopening Saskatchewan and we’re working to get back to normal into the new sort of post-COVID era.”

With COVID still at large, Hopkins is curious how many fans will attend the games, but nonetheless, he sees the CFL return as an exciting step forward.

“It’s exciting we’re moving towards post-pandemic and reopening Saskatchewan. That’s the key thing,” he said. “People just need to get vaccinated and practise social distancing, masking and sanitization.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Mattea Columpsi