It has been eventful week for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and it looks like it will now end with a game on Sunday.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts game that was originally scheduled for Saturday to Sunday after the Roughriders experienced a COVID outbreak this week that forced the cancellation of practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.
President and C.E.O. Craig Reynolds spoke about the the situation on Thursday.
He said that they wanted the game to be played on Saturday, but added Sunday was the best alternative.
“It allows us to keep the family day theme and have the obvious least amount of impact for both us and the Argos.” Reynolds added “It’s a fluid situation but based on our meetings today, we felt comfortable moving the game to Sunday.”
The Roughriders President and CEO says they have been in contact with the CFL’s Medical Committee when the players began receiving positive tests and the team has been following their guidelines since.
One more Rider tested positive for COVID on Thursday according to Reynolds. He noted the medical experts felt comfortable with the Riders resuming practice on Thursday and going ahead with the game on Sunday.
It’s believed that Saskatchewan now has eleven players in COVID protocols said Reynolds, he added no one was removed from the protocol list on Thursday but they are expected to get a few guys back on Friday.
This week the Riders will struggle to field a competitive team Reynolds admitted, especially with the amount of guys who have been dealing with COVID. But after discussions with General Manager Jeremy O’Day and Head Coach Craig Dickenson, the Riders President & CEO believes that they will be able to field a quality squad.
With the the game now being moved to Sunday, Dickenson sympathizes with Rider fans who now have to rearrange their schedule in order to attend the game, especially the ones who travel from out of town.
“It’s short notice, it’s a situation that’s out of our control but we feel for our fans, we really do. We know that fans plan for Rider games months, in advance, and so many do travel a long way, we are working with our fans and this is an inconvenience and it’s an unfortunate one.”
Reynolds added they are looking at all possibilities including possible refunds or allow tickets for another game for fans who are unable to attend the game on Sunday. He added fans should contact the ticket office to look for further information.
This weekend’s game was trending to be the largest crowd at Mosaic Stadium according to Reynolds.
After resuming practice on Thursday, the Riders are scheduled to practice again on Friday and then go through a walkthrough practice on Friday.
You can catch the game on 620 CKRM on Sunday with Countdown to Kickoff beginning at 2:00 and the Opening kickoff at 5:00.
