Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe may have just called his shot — twice.
Moe clearly wants the wheat province to be a hub for the CFL in 2020, if games can be played safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If the CFL is considering something along the lines of a hub city that Saskatchewan would be the place to have the western CFL hub, just due to the strength of our organization and what we represent in the league. I won’t go any deeper than that with my loyalty to our beloved Roughriders,” Moe said.
“We are very hopeful that we would be able to move forward with some type of CFL season here, not just in Regina or in Saskatchewan but in general. For many, many years that has been our only professional team in this province and it is a team that is very beloved to all of us. We are hopeful that we’ll be able to move forward with some type of a league games this year, whatever that would look like.”
For any sports including the CFL to play in a hub city model, strict guidelines would have to be followed. According to Sportsnet reporter Arash Madani: What got the CFL committee’s interest spiked was Dr. Lawrence Steinman’s suggestion of a particular antibody test that is FDA-registered and takes only 15 minutes to provide a result. Stringent testing would help create a safe inner bubble.
“It would have to be safe for all involved — safe for the players, safe for all the associated team members that would be involved — and likely wouldn’t include fans in the near future. There are discussions that do continue more at the health level than the political level. The CFL would be considered a workplace,” Moe said.
Commissioner Randy Ambrosie stated the earliest the CFL might return to play – for a shortened but meaningful season — is September due to COVID-19. Regina and Winnipeg, which have the lowest case counts in cities with CFL teams, are being considered as bubble homes for the league.
“If the proper and appropriate precautions are put in place, it’s quite likely that our Saskatchewan Roughriders would not only be able to host the Grey Cup in 2022 but if we’re able to be in a win-and-host scenario this year, it’s quite likely that if we were able to play a few games that we would likely host this year in Regina as well,” Moe said.
“That’s a real positive for not only the CFL but our winning Saskatchewan Roughriders.”
Moe just called a Riders Grey Cup on home soil. The Riders better start practising.
