In an ironic twist, the announcement that Regina was getting a new football stadium was made at Regina’s old football stadium.

On July 14, 2012, Premier Brad Wall and then-Mayor Pat Fiacco were among those on hand for the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ CFL game against the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium.

Wall and Fiacco were joined on the field by then-Roughriders president-CEO Jim Hopson, then-team chairman Roger Brandvold, then-CFL commissioner Mark Cohon and other dignitaries to announce an agreement had been reached to build a new $278-million stadium.

The structure was to be built at Evraz Place, just down the street from Mosaic Stadium — which had been the Roughriders’ home for 80 years.

Five years later, the Roughriders have moved into the new facility. It too is known as Mosaic Stadium.

Construction started in June of 2014, when the removal began of more than 300,000 cubic metres of soil — enough material to fill more than 110 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The stadium’s lower bowl, where more than 65 per cent of the facility’s seats are situated, is below ground level.

The stadium’s design includes a wide concourse that circles the entire building, a translucent partial roof, individual seats with cup holders, a general-admission lounge, loge seating, a two-level premier lounge, and 38 corporate suites.

The south end zone features a standing-room-only area known as “Pil Country” that offers patrons more of a relaxed atmosphere.

The seating capacity of the stadium is 33,000, although it can be expanded to 40,000.

Mosaic Stadium has an area of nearly 522,000 square feet, more than twice the area of its predecessor (250,108).

The Roughriders’ area in the new stadium covers roughly 67,360 square feet, which includes approximately 48,000 square feet for the football operations department.

The team’s space features a 120-seat auditorium, individual meeting rooms for each position group, a 5,400-square-foot training facility, a hydrotherapy room with three tubs, a one-chair barber shop, and a spectacular 4,450-square-foot locker room.

The stadium played host to its first game on Oct. 1, 2016, when the University of Regina Rams entertained the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in a Canada West contest. That game served as the first test event for the building.

The Roughriders’ first game at the facility is a CFL pre-season encounter with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 10. Saskatchewan’s first regular-season game at Mosaic Stadium is set for July 1, with Winnipeg again providing the opposition.