Mosaic Stadium to offer only pre-packaged products during West final

It will be all cans and bottles at the CFL’s West Division final Sunday at Mosaic Stadium.

The venue’s beer and pop lines have been emptied out and closed off as part of its winterization plans.

That means football fans won’t be able to get fountain drinks or beer from taps when the Saskatchewan Roughriders play host to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Real Exhibition Association Limited (REAL), the entity that operates the stadium, said in an emailed statement that winterization “involves the removal of any services due to OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) concerns or that will result in an equipment failure due to cold weather.”

That happened in 2017, REAL communications person Sabeen Ahmad said in the email.

“In the inaugural season some of the Pepsi lines did freeze resulting in $50,000 worth of damages. It was at that time that Pepsi devised a cold weather plan,” she said.

For Sunday’s game, Ahmad said the winterization plan will remain in place.

“Only pre-packaged products will be served,” she said.

That will include food items as well, according to the plan.

The plan includes a “reduction of inventory items, thus menu options, with a goal of less than one per cent wastage or spoilage at the end of the season …,” Ahmad said. “Prior to a major ‘cold snap’ and to prevent unnecessary damage as a result of being unprepared, the beer and soda lines are cleared of product and delivery of beverages converts to pre-packaged.”