Battlefords-Lloydminster MP Gerry Ritz has waded in on the proposed new stadium for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Ritz, who is the Stephen Harper government's top political minister for Saskatchewan, made it clear Friday the federal government will not be contributing to the stadium portion of the project.
The City of Regina is backing a $1 billion stadium and inner-city revitalization plan. As part of the plan there would be a new open-air football stadium to be built at the Evraz Place site. The new stadium is estimated at $348.3 million.
The latest plans were outlined in a news conference in Regina Friday, where it was suggested provincial and some federal dollars might be sought for the project.
However, in a statement, Ritz threw cold water over any idea that the feds will chip in with stadium costs.
"Canadians gave us a mandate to get back to balanced budgets and continue to focus on jobs and the economy," Ritz said in a news release issued late Friday.
"Our most recent election platform stated that we will not fund professional sports facilities. We will continue to apply this policy uniformly across the country."
