My parents, aunts and uncles were all Rider fans. Growing up in Regina, I went to all the games and sat in the children's section. I won't say I remember 1957, which would have made me 10 years old, but that's the year I became a fan. FYI, the game was a sellout with the attendance that day at 11,500.
It was announced Feb. 24, 2012, that Mosaic Stadium would be undergoing a series of renovations and upgrades to increase capacity to host the Grey Cup. Seating capacity was increased by adding temporary seats in the end zones. Corporate boxes, concessions and washroom facilities were also added. A new 60-foot wide digital LED screen and scoreboard was located in the northeast end zone while another new 55-foot wide digital LED screen and scoreboard was attached to the west grandstand.
The Grey Cup is the name of both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is contested between the winners of the CFL's East and West divisional playoffs and is one of Canadian television's largest annual sporting events.
The Toronto Argonauts have 16 championships, more than any other team, and were the defending champions. The 101st Grey Cup was played Nov. 24, 2013 in Regina, where the Saskatchewan Roughriders hosted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The trophy was commissioned in 1909 by the Earl Grey, then Canada's governor general, who originally hoped to donate it for the country's senior amateur hockey championship. After the Allan Cup was donated for that purpose, Grey made his trophy available as the national championship of Canadian football.
The trophy has a silver chalice attached to a large base on which the names of all winning teams, players and executives are engraved.
The Grey Cup has been broken on several occasions, stolen twice and held for ransom. It survived a 1947 fire that destroyed numerous artifacts housed in the same building.
Taylor Field, owned by the City of Regina, was built in 1927 and had a dirt surface until 1945, grass from 1946 to 1976, 3M Tartan Turf from 1979 to 1987, Omni Turf from 1988 to1999, Astro Turf from 2000-2006 and has been Field Turf since 2007. The original cost of construction is unknown but the stadium was 100 per cent publicly financed.
Taylor Field was originally known as Park de Young, becoming Taylor Field in 1947. In 2006, the Mosaic company announced a 10-year, $3.75 million naming rights deal June 23, 2006. The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been tenants since 1928. Other tenants are the Regina Rams, Regina Prairie Thunder and Regina High School Football. Field hockey was played at Taylor Field during the 2005 Canada Games.
You did us proud, Riders!
This will be my last article for a while. Sorry to all those who look forward to reading my articles. I will have the odd thing in every now and then, so keep looking.
