Okay, so the off season officially begins now that the Grey Cup is over. Lots of topics for discussion in the months to come with the Bombers & the League. A new CBA needs to be negotiated sooner rather than later.  Will there be an eventual agreement or a lockout? How much will the salary cap go up? Randy Ambrosie is on record that wants the cap to significantly go up so that is a positive.  Will Bo Levi Mitchell sign with an NFL or perhaps another CFL team? What about Mike Reilly & Trevor Harris who are also free agents? There's a new start up league called the  AAFL & there are legit concerns that it'll draw star CFL players away or hamper free agent signings with CFL teams. Coaching changes in BC & Toronto. The continuing evolving story of the expansion Halifax Schooners & possible exhibition games in Mexico. 

Edited November 27, 20187 yr by SpeedFlex27

3 hours ago, Pete Catan's Ghost said:

Honestly last Grey Cup that’s what they had for washrooms for the team parties.

8 hours ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Ole!

"#randycommish.....heading to Mexico to pick up the cheque. Weird how they want to meet in the middle of a desert and told me to come alone, oh well, I guess that's how they do things down there. ..."

6 hours ago, Zontar said:

"#randycommish.....heading to Mexico to pick up the cheque. Weird how they want to meet in the middle of a desert and told me to come alone, oh well, I guess that's how they do things down there. ..."

If you seen 'No Country for Old Men'.....I can see where you could get a little antsy picking up cash in the desert..lol

16 hours ago, Engelwood said:

I heard a report on the news that there is over 900 new hotels rooms in or around Regina since the last grey cup.

Yes, they went from 3000 to 3900 rooms, which is still about 4000 short of what they need for an event of this size.    Winnipeg has 7600 rooms, and it's a challenge here.

and a city like regina can't support enough hotels for Grey Cup when it's not grey cup. Time to just leave the small time city alone and give it to places that can properly host it. 

Their official strategy will be to encourage people to sign up as Air BnB hosts for the week...

9 hours ago, nate007 said:

Their official strategy will be to encourage people to sign up as Air BnB hosts for the week...

In their haylofts - little Grey Cup on the prairie 

I was going to say now that the pre-practice squad is no longer around there should be plenty of rooms. Then I remembered that they would have been long gone before Grey Cup week anyways... 😂

Just came here to further discuss the inadequacies of Regina overall as a host city (town?) for the Grey Cup...but looks like you guys have all the bases covered.

Have to wonder how much hotel space enters into it as this is Regina's third hosting.

I've read that Regina only has something like 3900 hotel rooms and that such an event generally requires roughly double that. Its a joke that people have to stay in Estevan, Moosejaw or Yorkton. Its like hosting it in Winnipeg and people booking hotels in Portage La Prairie, Selkirk and Stienbach.

48 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I've read that Regina only has something like 3900 hotel rooms and that such an event generally requires roughly double that. Its a joke that people have to stay in Estevan, Moosejaw or Yorkton. Its like hosting it in Winnipeg and people booking hotels in Portage La Prairie, Selkirk and Stienbach.

More like Brandon, Kenora & Gimli. Heck, Selkirk is only 35 minutes north of Winnipeg. Like the driving time from Island Lakes to Westwood.

Edited February 24, 20196 yr by SpeedFlex27

43 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

More like Brandon, Kenora & Gimli. Heck, Selkirk is only 35 minutes north of Winnipeg. Like the driving time from Island Lakes to Westwood.

Less than an hour’s drive from the Canalta  Hotel (North -West Selkirk) to IGF.  

On 2019-02-22 at 10:54 PM, Jpan85 said:

Honestly last Grey Cup that’s what they had for washrooms for the team parties.

I know at the time I was working at Great West Life and all the parties were right outside the door.

Good news for CFL Grey Cup attendees: the Cup will be played another week earlier in 2021. Nov 21. Watch for more possible movement when the CFL and TSN get together to discuss, after their TV agreement ends soon after that..

6 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

Good news for CFL Grey Cup attendees: the Cup will be played another week earlier in 2021. Nov 21. Watch for more possible movement when the CFL and TSN get together to discuss, after their TV agreement ends soon after that..

Can they bump it up and have it in late October instead.  I think attendances later in the year would be much higher if the season were to move up.

6 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

Good news for CFL Grey Cup attendees: the Cup will be played another week earlier in 2021. Nov 21. Watch for more possible movement when the CFL and TSN get together to discuss, after their TV agreement ends soon after that..

But not 2020? Darn, was hoping it would be.

Last time they got a Grey Cup game awarded to them I got roasted on pretty much every forum for standing up to the Pollyannas who proclaimed how Regina "deserves" it.

Wrong, wronger, wrongest.

You only "deserve" it if you can host both the event and the people who go to it in the manner in which it deserves. A GC in a small-time setting is a small-time GC. And the last one held there was like a local event and nothing like a celebration of Canada and Canadian Football. 

17 minutes ago, bluto said:

Last time they got a Grey Cup game awarded to them I got roasted on pretty much every forum for standing up to the Pollyannas who proclaimed how Regina "deserves" it.

Wrong, wronger, wrongest.

You only "deserve" it if you can host both the event and the people who go to it in the manner in which it deserves. A GC in a small-time setting is a small-time GC. And the last one held there was like a local event and nothing like a celebration of Canada and Canadian Football. 

No one can say the Rider fanbase cares if it's a national Grey Cup or not. It's theirs & they'll circle the wagons pushing the Riders onto everyone who is from out of town. You couldn't get me within a hundred miles of Regina in 2020. I remember what the last one was like.

38 minutes ago, bluto said:

Last time they got a Grey Cup game awarded to them I got roasted on pretty much every forum for standing up to the Pollyannas who proclaimed how Regina "deserves" it.

Wrong, wronger, wrongest.

You only "deserve" it if you can host both the event and the people who go to it in the manner in which it deserves. A GC in a small-time setting is a small-time GC. And the last one held there was like a local event and nothing like a celebration of Canada and Canadian Football. 

Of the dozen or so Grey Cups I've been to around Canada, Regina was the only one that I did not enjoy. From the collusion between hotels and bus tours to completely rip people off, to having to walk back to my hotel because I made the mistake thinking that taking a cab was a possibility, to 3 hour waits in line for restaurants it was a complete fiasco from start to finish. NEVER AGAIN REGINA!!!

Edited February 25, 20196 yr by gcn11

Just now, gcn11 said:

Of the dozen or so Grey Cups I've been to around Canada, Regina was the only one that I did not enjoy. From the collusion between hotels and bus tours to completely rip people off, to having to walk back to my hotel because I made the mistake that taking a cab was a possibility, to 3 hour waits in line for restaurants it was a complete fiasco from start to finish. NEVER AGAIN REGINA!!!

This is disappointing to hear. I was hoping to take my oldest son to his first Grey Cup in 2020. Maybe, I'll just take him to Calgary this year instead. 

17 minutes ago, JCon said:

This is disappointing to hear. I was hoping to take my oldest son to his first Grey Cup in 2020. Maybe, I'll just take him to Calgary this year instead. 

I honestly hope that Regina has sorted this stuff out because it was a complete joke. The touring company booked about 75% of the hotel rooms in Regina and then gouged everyone for a room. I even heard stories on our bus trip of some guys being double booked into rooms with strangers.

Edited February 25, 20196 yr by gcn11

18 minutes ago, JCon said:

This is disappointing to hear. I was hoping to take my oldest son to his first Grey Cup in 2020. Maybe, I'll just take him to Calgary this year instead. 

If you book your room direct with the hotel and can somehow get tickets without going through tour operators, and don't mind eating at non peak hours or taking charter buses back to your hotel before events are finished...you should be fine. If any of that doesn't suit you go to Calgary would be my recommendation. Crappy football venue but a very nice city with a lot of amenities and infrastructuire.

Just now, gcn11 said:

If you book your room direct with the hotel and can somehow get tickets without going through tour operators, and don't mind eating at non peak hours or taking charter buses back to your hotel before events are finished...you should be fine. If any of that doesn't suit you go to Calgary would be my recommendation. Crappy football venue but a very nice city with a lot of amenities and infrastructuire.

Stayed downtown during the WSF in Regina and found it really good. We even walked to the stadium. But, that's not the Grey Cup and I don't want to deal with inadequate infrastructure when I've got a 10 year old with me. Just not as much fun. 

27 minutes ago, JCon said:

Stayed downtown during the WSF in Regina and found it really good. We even walked to the stadium. But, that's not the Grey Cup and I don't want to deal with inadequate infrastructure when I've got a 10 year old with me. Just not as much fun. 

You don't want your 10 year old's first Grey Cup memory with his Dad to be Regina, do you???