It's like a 'major league' venue: Test run of new Mosaic Stadium wins praise

Regina's new $278-million football stadium held its first significant event a testrun with a 50 per cent capacitycrowd Saturday when it hosted a university football game with 16,500 in the lower stands.

Many people in the crowd shared positive impression on social media accounts.

The stadium "has the feel of a major league sports stadium," said one on Twitter.

"What a blast," enthused another.

"It's absolutely amazing," Kelly Oliver, a long-time Roughriders fan at the game, said. "We sat on hemorrhoidhill when I was a little kid, in the old Mosaic. So, to be here in this place I never thought that would happen."

Oliver's father, Mike Patterson, was also impressed.

"Spectacular," Patterson said. A season-ticket holder, Patterson said he has checked out the location for his seats for when the Roughriders begin playin 2017. "This is beautiful. I'm happy with this."

Another football fan, Roman Korpus, said everyone he encountered has a smile on their face.

"It's pretty impressive," he said. "Everyone's having a good time from what I can see."

1st touchdown scored by Regina Rams

While many people in the stadium were clearly fascinated by the building, there was also a football game on the field, where the University of Regina Rams faced off against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

For those interested in sports trivia, a future question about the first-ever touchdown at the stadium was answered when Rams quarterback Noah Picton made a successful pass to Ryan Schienbein.

"Pretty crazy," Schienbein said, in a post-catch sideline interview with the television crew covering the game. "Right now it's just another touchdown, but a couple of years from now it'll be special."

Another footnote for history will be the fact that the Rams won the game, with a final score of 37-29 over the Huskies.

• Regina Rams beat Saskatchewan Huskies 37-28 at new Mosaic Stadium

While the play on the field met expectations, questions lingered about the how Evraz Place managed crowd control and parking for the event. There was no on-site parking provided Saturday and people were encouraged to use a free shuttle bus service.

Long lines of cars into the exhibition grounds were notedSaturday, as the site was also hosting a number of other events in other buildings.