Regina's 2020 Grey Cup festivities to include $50K esports tournament, $25K awards for 6 Sask. communities

The next Grey Cup is still nine months away, but details aboutfestivities planned for next November in Reginaare starting to be unveiled.

The Canadian Football Leagueannounced Friday that the Grey Cup Festival will be hosted at Evraz Placefrom Nov. 17 to Nov. 22, marking the first time the championship game and the festival will be hosted at the same location.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie called the idea to host everything at one location innovative.

"The bid that this team put in you could have won an Olympics on the strength of the bid they put in," Ambrosie said.

"The innovation, the energy, the whole idea of this one-destination Grey Cupwas so powerful."

Another innovative idea Ambrosie praised was the idea to include esports in festivities. A $50,000 tournament focused on the multiplayer gameLeague of Legendswill be hosted during the festival, with help from Saskatchewan-based SKL Esports.

League of Legends is described as a five-versus-five online multiplayer game, where players work to destroy the core structure of their opponents' bases. Teams from across Canada will participate in qualifying tournaments in the lead-up to the Grey Cup Festival tournament.

The $50,000 purse is the largest in Canadian history for a League of Legends tournament, according to a Saskatchewan Roughridersnews release.

"Esports is growing all over the world. It's a way to engage a younger group of fans," Ambrosie said. "Credit to this community, credit to the Riders, for thinking of something totally different. "

Push for provincial support includes $25Kawards

Garnering the support of the entire province, not just the city of Regina, is also an objective for the event, Friday's news release said.

In order to meet that objective, the festival planners and agriculture company Richardson Pioneer are creating six $25,000 awards "to help with an asset or infrastructure need in their hometown aligned with health, wellness and active living."

Communities can apply for awards from Feb. 29 until March 27.

Applications must include an essay about why their community should be chosen, a description of a fundraising event that would be hosted with the support of the festival, a plan for how the money would be spent, a budget for the $25,000, and photos or videos showcasing the community's support for the initiative.

"A committee of Saskatchewan business leaders will review all applications and create a final list of the top eight communities," the news release said. "Those top eight communities will then move through a public online vote to determine the final six winners."

The top eight will be announced on April 1 and the final six will be announced on April 15.

The 108th Grey Cup game will be played at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 22.

The Roughriders play their first pre-season game in Calgary on May 30. Their first home game is a pre-season match on June 5 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.