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The rivalry between Saskatchewan and Winnipeg will play out on the field today, but the impact of the Labour Day Classic will be felt well beyond Mosaic Stadium.
The annual matchup brings football fans from across Saskatchewan and Manitoba into Regina for the long weekend, boosting hotels, restaurants and other businesses around the city.
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And this year, another rivalry is simmering alongside the football — Winnipeg vs Regina-style pizza.
Spiro Bonis, president of Western Pizza, has watched the Labour Day crowds arrive for years. He said the weekend is one of the busiest of the year as people travel to Regina for one of the Canadian Football League’s biggest traditions.
“Labour Day is one of the best weekends of the year,” Bonis said. “Everybody anticipates it, waits for it, and it’s good because you have so many people coming in from out of town.”
Bonis said some people come to Regina for the long weekend, while others make the trip specifically for the game.
“You get people from all over the province coming home for the long weekend to watch this rivalry that’s been going on for, I guess, 60-plus years,” he said.
That influx doesn’t stop at the gates of Mosaic Stadium.
“They’re filling up the hotels. They’re filling up the restaurants,” Bonis said.
He said out-of-town visitors can be particularly noticeable on game day because many are spending the entire day in the city rather than simply heading to the stadium from home.
“These people come from out of town. They’re coming to the game, they’ve got pockets full of money, and they’re ready to have a good time and have a beer, have a slice of pizza, have a pop,” Bonis said.
Another Labour Day rivalry
While the Roughriders and Blue Bombers prepare to renew their rivalry on the field, the Bombers have also been aiming for something distinctly Regina: the city’s pizza.
Winnipeg has poked fun at Regina-style pizza on social media, something Bonis said isn’t exactly new.
“The Bombers … put out another social media post there and taunted a little bit and said how our pizza isn’t that good,” Bonis said.
He isn’t particularly bothered by the trash talk.
“That’s just how the rivalry goes, and that’s fine,” he said. “But we know what we have here.”
Regina-style pizza is known for its thick crust and heavy layers of toppings, cheese and sauce.
Bonis said the football rivalry doesn’t necessarily carry over when hungry Winnipeg fans are looking for something to eat.
“The Rider fans and the Blue Bomber fans that come back home, that left Regina or come to Regina, they’re enjoying Regina-style pizza all across the city here,” he said.
Inside Mosaic Stadium, that translates into a lot of food.
Bonis couldn’t give an exact number of pizza slices typically served during a game, but said it easily reaches into the thousands.
“I haven’t done the math, but in the thousands for sure,” he said.
Preparing for that demand starts well before kickoff.
Bonis said years of sales data help crews estimate how much food they’ll need. On Labour Day, workers arrive early to begin cooking, with additional supplies kept on hand in case demand exceeds expectations.
“It’s a lot of pre-game prep,” he said. “We have everything pre-prepped, ready to go, and then we’re here early on Labour Day and we start cooking.”
Bonis has seen plenty of Labour Day Classics. Western Pizza has operated concessions at Roughrider games dating back to the team’s days at Taylor Field and has been at Mosaic Stadium since it opened in 2017.
For him, however, the enduring appeal of the weekend still comes down to the people in the stands and the rivalry on the field.
“It’s always sold out. It’s the fans,” Bonis said. “Both sets of fans are there. They’re passionate. They’re dressed up, and they’re green and they’re blue and they’re cheering.”
“The games always seem to be good. The games always seem to be close, and so it’s exciting.”
And while Regina and Winnipeg may continue arguing over football and apparently pizza, Bonis knows which result he wants Sunday.
“Hopefully the Riders come out on top.”
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