CFL releases 2016 schedule

The opening of BMO Field, the last game at Mosaic Stadium and a triple-header on the final day of the regular season are among the highlights as the CFL released its 2016 schedule on Thursday.

For a full copy of the schedule, click here.

The season opener takes place on June 23 with Toronto Argonauts hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the first-ever CFL game at BMO Field. The newly-renovated stadium is the new home for the Double Blue and will play host to the 104th Grey Cup in November.

The opening weekend also features the traditional Grey Cup re-match when the 2015 champion Edmonton Eskimos host the Ottawa Redblacks on June 25.  The traditional Labour Day matchups are also intact with Calgary hosting Edmonton and the Argos travelling to Hamilton for a prime-time match up against the Ticats. There is also a double-header on Thanksgiving Monday with Edmonton travelling to Montreal and Toronto hosting Calgary.

Other highlights include:

• The Saskatchewan Roughriders launch their final season at Mosaic on Thursday, June 30 versus the Argonauts, with the final regular season game at the stadium set for Saturday, Oct. 29 against B.C.

• Chris Jones, who led the Eskimos to their Grey Cup victory last November before becoming the head coach of the Riders in the off-season, makes his returns to Edmonton on Friday, July 8.

• New Edmonton head coach Jason Maas makes his first trip back to Ottawa on Aug. 6.

• New Calgary Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson will make his regular season debut against the B.C. Lions on Sat., June 25 and coaches his first home game at McMahon Stadium on Canada Day versus Winnipeg.

To end the regular season, there are home-and-home sets between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Redblacks, as well as the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions, which could have a significant impact of the playoff picture.

The playoffs begin on Nov. 13 with the Grey Cup set to be held on Nov. 27 in Toronto.