The Queen City Ex will feature a day made for Saskatchewan’s football fans.
REAL and the Roughriders have teamed up for “Thursday Night Football Meets Queen City Ex” and will allow those with tickets to Aug. 1’s Roughriders game to use their ticket as admission to the Ex’s opening day.
The Riders will face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a late game beginning at 7:30. It’s the first time a game will overlap with the fair.
“In the past, sometimes we would actually avoid this but we thought about this differently this year,” said Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds.
This year’s partnership with the Riders, along with a rodeo, the inclusion of SKL E-sports, and other entertainment, is meant to boost attendance.
“This year, we’ve made a considerable investment in making our fair a true tourist opportunity,” said president and CEO of Evraz Place, Tim Reid.
The cost for the Ex’s events, which span from July 31 to Aug. 4 is $600,000, according to Reid.
“We’ve made a real shift in the value proposition around this and that’s what this fair’s all about,” he said. “It’s a very affordable option for all families.”
Reynolds said this partnership was “too good of an opportunity to pass up,” when approached by Tim, who also said, “It just made sense.”
Having two large events going on in the same area could make one wonder about parking, and Reynolds said they’ve thought about that.
“We are actually able to accommodate all paid parking on site. There will be more information coming out later this week, and a follow-up next week, he explained.
For more information about scheduling and tickets, people can visit Evraz Place’s website.
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