Estimates through the roof for covered version of Regina stadium

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere says it may be a difficult sell to put a roof on the city's new football stadium, considering the estimated costs for such a feature.

During an event Thursday when the design of the new stadium was revealed, city officials said adding a fixed roof would cost an estimated $200 million. A retractable version would cost an additional $350 million.

That's a lot of money.- Regina Mayor Michael Fougere

"The issue of course is the financing," Fougere said Thursday when asked about the roof option. "That's a lot of money. So, can we afford that? That's the issue."

Regina's $278 million stadium, which is supposed to be built in time for the 2017 football season is already drawing comparisons to Winnipeg's new football venue, Investors Group Field.

The Winnipeg facility, which has about the same number of seats as Regina's, was built for for $203.5 million.

Mike Clynes, senior project manager for the Winnipeg stadium, said inflation is one of the reasons Regina's stadium is costing more.

"Regina right now is going through somewhat of a construction boom," Clynes said. "As companies find themselves full, their plates are full, cost of construction in general goes up."

Clynes noted the architect working on Regina's stadium is one of the top in the industry.

"They know how to design a stadium to enhance the fan experience," he said.

Officials from the company, HKS Sports and Entertainment, said Thursday they are proud of their design.

"I'll stack this stadium up against anything that we've ever done," Mark Williams said. "It's a tough task to design these buildings. They're very complicated buildings."