Romanow looks back to ’95 Grey Cup ahead of ’20 announcement

Thursday night, football fans across the country will be looking ahead to 2020, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders may not have had such a strong bid for the Grey Cup, if it weren’t for its success in 1995.

Roy Romanow was the Premier at the time, and he was a part of the campaign to get the championship game to Regina.

He said it was decided to go for the game, and eventually he ended up on a plane to California where the CFL governors’ meeting was being held. The presentation was given — Romanow said they had some stiff competition from Winnipeg — and afterward then-Stampeders owner Larry Ryckman came up to Romanow.

“‘Premier Romanow’, he said, ‘if you can top it up by an extra few hundred thousand dollars’ — I forget the number but it was high — ‘we’ll give the Roughriders the Grey Cup.'”

Romanow said he didn’t have time to consult with his people, so he made the decision right there.

And that was a big decision, because he said the provincial government was not in good financial shape. “We were virtually broke.”

Besides the wind picking up in the second half and threatening the temporary seating at Taylor Field, Romanow said the 1995 championship game went well.

“The Grey Cup being brought to Saskatchewan by itself, but being brought to Saskatchewan for the first time, really captured the imagination of Saskatchewan people. It ignited that old Saskatchewan can-do attitude,” he said.

The game ended up selling out as the Calgary Stampeders battled the Baltimore Stallions.

Romanow said he thinks that Grey Cup played a small part in helping get the Roughriders team back on its feet, and it played a part in the later games that were awarded to Saskatchewan.

“For sure it consolidated, I think, the reputation of Saskatchewan, not only Regina but of Saskatchewan, of being a real football town, and (it showed we) could really put on a tremendous show and were great hosts.”

There’s been talk that one of the reasons the Riders’ bid for 2020 was attractive to the CFL is the new stadium and Evraz Place, which would allow any pavilions and cabarets to be held nearby.

Romanow said no one back in 1995 could have envisioned the “magnificence” of the new stadium today, especially as both the province and the Roughriders were pretty strapped for cash.

He said he thinks the Green and White’s chances are good to be awarded the 2020 Grey Cup, and if they are…

“I’m biased of course, but I think it will be the best Grey Cup in recent memory”