Riderville Report
By Greg Urbanoski
Well, the announcement of a plan to revitalize downtown Regina with an entertainment complex including a domed stadium was somewhat anticlimatic, considering it was nothing new and no new money or plans to raise money came out.
The lack of a substantial plan for a stadium is not something that inspires confidence and the urging of posters on various Rider fan boards to “just get 'er done” reveals a certain lack of connection to reality. The truth of the matter is for this plan to work, they need major corporate sponsorship to make up for the lack of federal funding. Without the corporate sponsorship, the province will not get involved, and people are concerned about their property taxes going up i case nothing comes from the corporate sector.
The Riders do need a new facility, but I think the fact of the matter is they are overstating the concerts and other events needed to make this thing viable. Taylor Field does one major concert a year, ever since the Rolling Stones broke the ice, but really, how many stadium acts are there?