Saskatchewan Roughriders fans will have the opportunity to tailgate five hours before kickoff for the Riders' season opener on against the B.C. Lions on Saturday. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)

What to know before tailgating at the Roughriders’ season opener at Mosaic Stadium

By Scott Roblin Jun 12, 2026 | 7:25 AM

The grills will be fired up, the music will be blaring and more than a few beers will be consumed outside of Mosaic Stadium on Saturday afternoon for a historic pre-game party.

Ahead of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ highly anticipated season opener against the B.C. Lions, when the team will celebrate its Grey Cup championship from last November, Rider fans will be taking part in a legal tailgating event for the first time ever.

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The party comes after the provincial government passed the The Tailgating Act last fall, which paved the way for tailgating to be allowed on the grounds surrounding Mosaic Stadium, in consultation with the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.

“There’s been a lot of fans who have been waiting a long time for this,” said Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds. “(They’ve) been building tailgate plans in their head, and they finally get to execute on them.”

A dedicated parking lot south of the Brandt Centre has been chosen as the location for this year’s inaugural tailgating setup, following a lottery held by the Roughriders earlier this year to decide who would secure spots.

Reynolds said the interest in participating this summer was immediate from the team’s fan base.

“There was tons of demand from our season ticket members,” Reynolds said.

“Ultimately there’s 400 spaces, 200 spots, because everybody has a spot to park their car and tailgate. The real beauty of it is it’s a huge space and pedestrians can come in.”

The tailgating space will be open and accessible to walk through ahead of game day, with the space opening at noon for those looking to get their barbecues going.

Along with checking out what will be on the menu at tailgating spaces on Saturday, Reynolds said he’s also been hearing about some unique designs that fans will be bringing their spaces.

“That’s the one thing I’m looking the most forward to,” Reynolds said. “Who put some design work in on this and are ready to go here? I think we’re going to see a fair bit of that.”

Reynolds said the team didn’t want to overextend itself for the first year of tailgating in 2026, but if this season goes well more spots could be added next year.

“There’s lots of room to expand,” Reynolds said.

“We just wanted to start manageable, and certainly we’ll potentially look to expand next year, because I’m very confident it’s going to be very successful.”

Along with the tailgating lot, the Roughriders will be running a beer garden nearby beginning at 3 p.m.

While Reynolds said happy hour pricing will continue this year, the price of a pre-game beer will be rising from $5 to $6.

“We’ve done some benchmarking here across the country,” Reynolds said.

“As you know, costs continue to escalate. There will be happy hour pricing, but, unfortunately, it’s one of those things where the happy hour pricing might have a slight increase.”

Pre-game festivities will lead to the Roughriders unveiling their 2025 championship banner just prior to kickoff, the fifth such ceremony in the franchise’s history.

Marking the final celebration of the Grey Cup win, Reynolds said it’s a game his team has spent months preparing for, with the chance to bask in the glow of being champions one final time.

“I’m super excited about that,” Reynolds said. “It’s going to be a very special moment.”

Following an aerial flyover and the unveiling of the Grey Cup banner, the Roughriders will hit the field against the Lions, with kickoff set for 5 p.m.