Last week provided more proof to me that even when I'm supposed to have a weekend off, the job of a reporter never ends.
July 14 I was in Regina, in the stands at a Saskatchewan Roughriders home game against the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium. I was primed for a day of rest and relaxation as I enjoyed a respite from covering all the usual mayors and provincial politicians.
So guess who showed up? That's right - the usual mayors and provincial politicians.
This time it was Premier Brad Wall and Regina mayor Pat Fiacco, who marched onto the field and announced before 32,000 fans that Regina was getting a new stadium for the Roughriders.
Here I was expecting a football game, and instead it turned out to be yet another media event. If I wanted to hear an announcement from politicians, I could have just as easily stayed home and covered it in my job.
It just goes to show that I cannot get away from the news, no matter how hard I try.
Beyond those opening comments, I have a few encouraging words to say about the announcement of the proposed new 33,000-seat open-air stadium in Regina that will be ready by 2017.
I have been on record as supporting a new facility, so obviously I was pleased with the announcement, despite the fact I was there to see a game.
The evidence it was time for a new stadium was easy to see. I was in the main grandstand and saw for myself the recent patchwork "renovation" job that was completed at Mosaic Stadium in the offseason.
Some run-down stands near the end zones had been replaced and there was a fancy new video scoreboard, but at my end of the stadium it was cramped, the bench seating and the washrooms were still terrible and the action on the field was far, far away.
I compare it to when I was in Minneapolis to see the Minnesota Twins play at their new baseball stadium Target Field in 2010. That stadium had fresh seats, felt far less crowded in the concourse areas and had a big store near the entrance with a lot of merchandise. This was an outdoor stadium, too - no roof, except for the one covering the grandstand.
I was one of those who wanted a retractable roof for the new Riders stadium, but I can understand the financial reasons why a roof isn't going ahead. There's only so much money available to be spent.
The province is paying $80 million and the City of Regina will be on the hook for $73 million. The Riders will be responsible for raising $25 million and a portion of the cost will be paid back with an increase in the facility fee from $8 up to $12.
Sadly, a reduced price tag of $278 million for the project has not stopped the complaining by opponents.
They sound like a broken record, saying a new stadium is a waste of taxpayers' money that could be spent on other priorities like health care and roads. They don't seem to take into account that, as mayor Fiacco said on the radio, the hospitals and roads are still being built.
They also don't take into account the quality of life in a community and a province - and likely, property values as well - are more likely to go up when you have business and tourism attracted to the province with a new stadium.
There is also now grumbling about the fact Riders tickets will go up to pay for a stadium.
I'm not thrilled either, but it could have been worse. At least Rider fans won't have to fork over thousands of dollars for seat licenses.
Seat licenses are the way NFL football fans in the States have to pay for stadiums in places like Baltimore, Pittsburgh and the New Jersey Meadowlands.
When people complain, "the Riders should pay for a stadium themselves," they fail to take this into account. Most of these teams that foot the bill for their own football stadiums end up sticking it to their fans with ridiculous, unaffordable seat licenses.
Don't expect farmers and blue-collar fans in Saskatchewan to be supportive of that idea.
With all this grumbling over the new stadium, there is one thing people aren't taking into account. That is the downside in forcing a team to put up with an old, out of date facility.
That downside is the team will leave.
Don't think it's an outlandish thought. Nobody thought the Brooklyn Dodgers or Baltimore Colts or Winnipeg Jets or Quebec Nordiques, or a host of other teams, would end up moved or sold to other cities. The main reason they all left was because new arenas or stadiums didn't get built.
Ask your friends in Winnipeg what life was like during the 15 years they didn't have the Jets. They will tell you losing your favorite team just isn't worth it.
Don't think it could never happen to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, a franchise bailed out twice by telethons on TV.
Just the idea of a "Nova Scotia Roughriders," "Quebec Roughriders" or worst of all, "Ottawa Roughriders" ought to turn the stomachs of everyone in the province of Saskatchewan.
Fortunately, we're going to be spared that fate, because civic and provincial leaders have the foresight to know a new state-of-the-art stadium in 2017 is exactly what the team and the province need.
Besides, it's time. B.C. just recently totally remade its own stadium, and Winnipeg and Hamilton are getting new football stadiums soon. It's about time Saskatchewan got a new stadium.
