The Saskatchewan Roughriders will play host to the Grey Cup in 2020.
The Canadian Football League made the announcement on Thursday evening.
“It’s amazing to see the energy in this room and the excitement for it,” Riders President and CEO Craig Reynolds said from the team’s viewing party at the AGT Lounge at Mosaic Stadium. “It just gets you really excited.”
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes also put forward bids for the cup next year. It’s the first time the championship will take place at Regina’s new Mosaic Stadium, which hosted its first CFL game in 2017.
This will be the fourth time the Grey Cup has been played in Saskatchewan. The Riders first hosted in 1995, again in 2003, and won the Grey Cup on home turf in 2013.
“The last time we hosted a Grey Cup, it went pretty well, because 2013 was certainly a celebration for all of us to remember,” Premier Scott Moe said in a Facebook post. “Whether you were in the stands at old Mosaic Stadium, whether you were watching from your home, or celebrating in Riderville, or walking the Green Mile, our province hosted a great celebration that day.”
“Now we have a new stadium, and we’re ready to host another Grey Cup. For all of the CFL’s extraordinary fans: we are ready to host the nation, here in the heart of Rider Nation.”
Regina has certain attributes that made the bid stand out, including the new stadium.
“Everything is going to be right here on site,” Mayor Michael Fougere said. “A village concept where we’re all compact together is a unique way to show the Grey Cup celebrations. I think that’s part of what we want, but we won because we’re the best stadium in Canada.”
“The stadium’s world class, it’s accessible, it’s social, it’s going to present so well on television and we really want to showcase it to the nation,” Reynolds said.
It will also mark the third consecutive year the Grey Cup is played on the Prairies. Edmonton hosted in 2018 and the 2019 Grey Cup will be played at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.
The CFL also announced Hamilton will host in 2021.
With files from CTV's Claire Hanna