Riders rent reduction a 'contractual matter', no legal threat: Reynolds
12h ago
The $1.33M rent reduction comes from what the club owed during seasons impacted by the pandemic.
With a turnout no one could have predicted Monday at Mosaic Stadium, Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) is planning for an even bigger party Thursday night.
The stadium’s screens are to show a double feature, with broadcasts of the opening game of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ CFL regular season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (at 5 p.m.) and Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors (at 7 p.m.).
REAL is preparing to have 20,000 people in the stands.
“We’re going to be ready for anything that you can throw at us but more importantly we’re going to challenge the public to do this again,” Tim Reid, REAL’s president and CEO, said Tuesday. “Let’s make sure that we send a real strong voice to the sporting community about how great Regina is.”
On Monday, 13,858 Reginans gathered at the stadium to watch Game 5 of the Raptors-Warriors series for free.
“(Monday) night was a real special night, probably one of the more memorable nights we’ve ever had in the stadium,” Reid said. “The energy was fantastic (and) the crowd was great. Everybody came together to pull off something that (no one could have predicted) with 14,000 people showing up.”
The Raptors had a chance to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy, but fell short and now lead the best-of-seven series 3-2.
The chance to see NBA history was enough to attract a crowd that completely toppled REAL’s projection of 5,000 people.
“What I thought was so special was the look on the faces of people who had never been in that stadium before,” Reid said. “I think the impact of this is that it doesn’t matter whether you can afford to buy a ticket or not. The gates are open, it’s free and you’re welcome to be here and celebrate with your friends and neighbours.”
It was so busy that additional vendors needed to be set up. Reid himself had to step in to help serve fans some beers.
“When we were looking to open up some new vendor locations and they said they needed a hand, I said, ‘Yeah, I’d be thrilled to actually help out,’ ” Reid said. “I think everybody looked at me (to find out) if I was being serious but I had a ton of fun. I got to talk to a whole bunch of people and we got to help out a little bit with sales.”
Reid doesn’t expect the association to be surprised on Thursday; it’s planning for that event to be similar to a large concert or a Roughriders home game.
“We will make sure that all the resources are there to support that,” Reid said.
Gates 2 and 3 are to open at 4:30 p.m. The Roughriders’ game will be played on the MaxTron until tipoff of the NBA game. The Raptors game will then be put onto the MaxTron while the CFL game is moved to the secondary screen in the northeast corner of the stadium and into one of the lounges on the concourse.
“There’s some regulations that we have to follow related to broadcasting the (NBA) game and part of it is that we have to show it in full,” Reid said.
“The nice thing is that you’re going to be able to watch the Roughriders game (and) watch the Raptors game on two of the biggest screens that exist in Western Canada and hopefully if we get a ton of people out on what looks like is going to be a beautiful night, it could be a pretty fun time.”
As of Tuesday night, Environment Canada’s forecast for Thursday is sunshine with a high of 30 C.
Parking space will be limited on the Evraz Place grounds due to the Farm Progress Show being set up, so REAL is encouraging people to take public transit. The City of Regina will be providing a park-and-ride option to get to the stadium.