New obsidian green Roughriders jersey in high demand

The Saskatchewan Roughriders will have a new look Friday night, as the team debuts its newest alternate jersey.

Instead of wearing the typical Rider green, the players will be showing off their new obsidian green uniform trimmed with black, as they take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Mark Habicht, director of retail operations for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, said on The Evan Bray Show Friday that the new jerseys have been received very well by fans.

“(The feedback) has been fantastic. I wish I had the numbers, (but) I’ve been here 16 years now, it’s certainly been one of the fastest (selling) jerseys I’ve been a part of,” he explained.

The new jerseys will be worn for two games in the 2024 season.

Habicht said it’s not just the jersey which has been received well, but also all the other merchandise with the new colour scheme.

“All the clothing, headware, (we’re) having trouble keeping it in stock. It’s a good problem to have,” he said.

“A lot of that stuff you would’ve seen opening day is gone. We’ve got a whole new line of product in and we’ve brought in some things with the emerald as well – which is the lighter green on the jersey that people also seem to like. It’s a bright fun kind of summer green, so it’s working really well,” Habicht said.

“We’ve got everything from flags to coffee mugs. We’ve got you covered.”

He said the process of making the jersey was five and a half years long

“We wanted to do something that we’ve never done before, and I remember having lots of conversation with New Era about doing this really dark green that almost looks black, and they almost kept telling us it couldn’t be done,” he explained.

“We painted the helmet which was one of the first things we did and paint is a little bit easier because you can mix it and adjust the colours, but it’s really hard with fabric,” Habicht said.

“The jersey uses three or four different kinds of fabric, so you have to actually dye a bunch of fabrics and put them together. We’re very excited about how it turned out.”

When it comes to which jerseys are selling the best – Habicht said Kian Schaffer-Baker and A.J. Ouellette have been the top names for fans.