Regina's new football stadium 'on time, on budget': Mayor Fougere

"On time and on budget" is once again the message from the City of Regina when it comes to the new football stadium.

City officials provided a progress report on the $278-million facility on Monday. The future home of the Roughriders in Evraz Place is now 60 per cent complete.

The new Mosaic Stadium is expected to be substantially complete in August 2016, with the first Roughriders game to be played in June 2017.

"I have no issues whatsoever. Things are going on schedule," Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said. "On time, on budget and for the moment and foreseeable future I see no issues whatsoever."

Fougere checked out a sample of the new seats himself, which are wider, with cup holders and the rows are five inches farther apart than at the current stadium.

"Good slope, so unless you have a giant melon, you should be OK," Fougere said, laughing.

The man in charge of the project, Sean Hamelin, said they are prepared for anything Saskatchewan's winter can dish out.

"If we're trying to put seats in and it snows, we have more people shoveling the risers off so we can get that work done," Hamelin said. "So really what it impacts is probably that ebb and flow and the manpower and some of the exterior work is a little harder to get at."

The project has taken over a huge portion of Evraz Place, including shutting down a road on the grounds and limiting parking for guests. Regina's deputy manager Brent Sjoberg said the city is aware of the impact on people in the area.

"[There are] various inconveniences, but we're making good progress and really hope to obviously have those things minimized as much as possible," Sjoberg said.

The existing football stadium, which is about half a kilometre to the east, will be demolished.