New statue at Mosaic Stadium a tribute to community, Rider fans, Indigenous heritage

The football players inside Mosaic Stadium might be tall, but they are teeny compared with the one that will stand outside of it.

On Thursday, a 5-metre statue of a white bronze footballer was unveiled on the northeast commons area of Regina's stadium.

It has three walls adjacent that are a tribute to Regina's community, Saskatchewan Roughriders fans and the Indigenous heritage in the area, which sits on Treaty 4 territory.

Each wall is more than six metres in length and weighs up to 14 tonnes. They feature the names of hundreds of people who have donated to the stadium.

"The white bronze statue celebrates football and athletic achievement while recognizing the community that supports the Riders and other teams that call Mosaic Stadium home," the Roughriders said in a press release.

The statue was created by theFine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany of Highwood, Ill.

The community fan wall has historic and contemporary images etched into it. The Indigenous wall displaysa buffalo. Local artistLionel Peyachewwill be completing the painting of the Indigenous wall.