Roughriders bidding to host 2020 Grey Cup

The Roughriders are looking to host the 2020 Grey Cup game at its new Mosaic Stadium, which would coincide with the club's 110th anniversary.

Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds confirmed on Monday the club would be bidding on the championship game.

Final bids must be submitted to the Canadian Football League in early November, and the CFL is expected to make the announcement on the host after the 2018 season.

The Riders have hosted the Grey Cup game three times, in 1995, 2003 and 2013, with the last game seeing the team complete a dream season by becoming the West Division champion and defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 to win the cup before a crowd of 44,710 spectators.

Jim Hopson, who was the president and CEO for the Riders in 2013, described it as Grey Cup fever. The city, the province and even the country seems to love the combination of the Grey Cup and Regina, he said.

I think we're in a great place to make the bid, along with the province, the chamber of commerce, the city.- Jim Hopson, Roughriders' former president and CEO

"They love the atmosphere and how it consumes the city and everyone. It doesn't matter where you go, restaurants, shopping, wherever, everyone's talking Grey Cup, Grey Cup," he said.

With operations atthe new stadium running smoothly now, he said he felt Mosaic Stadium is well-placed to host the game.

"I think we're in a great place to make the bid, along with the province, the chamber of commerce, the city," he said.

There's no word on which other teams may be interested in hosting the 2020 Grey Cup. The Riders are expecting to hear an announcement on the winning bid later this year.

The 2018 Grey Cup will be held in Edmonton, with the 2019 Grey Cup event set for Calgary.