Plans for ‘dramatic’ collapse of Taylor Field grandstand

The stadium that has held thousands of Rider fans for decades will now be the focus of spectators as it comes tumbling down.

The west grandstand at the old Mosaic Stadium is scheduled for a controlled collapse on Friday at 1 p.m.

Ian Bartels is the president of Budget Demolition, the company tasked with tearing down the stadium. He joined the 980 CJME Morning Show on Wednesday to talk about the plan for the collapse.

A map of where spectators can view the demolition of the historic Taylor Field west side grandstand on Oct. 27, 2017. (City of Regina)

An engineering firm was hired to figure out the safest way to bring down the grandstand that has stood since 1978.

“They came up with a very technical way of collapsing the stadium and there’s a lot of 3D modelling that goes into the process,” Bartels said. “It will be pretty dramatic.”

He explained that the demolition company doesn’t have equipment tall enough to reach the top of the grandstand to pull it down safely piece by piece. So the plan is to pull out the bottom of the structure.

“We’re pulling it with a big excavator from the side – so basically the front row of columns closest to the field will buckle and collapse, and then the whole structure will tilt forward towards the field,” Bartel described.

People who want to see the last big show at the stadium can watch from a designated safe zone along Retallack Street and 9th Avenue.