Photo Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards
The Saskatchewan Roughriders will be a team with a theme for all 10 of their scheduled home games in 2023.
The themes, which appeal to a wide array of audiences and interests, were unveiled Wednesday after several months of exhaustive preparations.
“We’ve worked hard and will continue to work even harder to make Rider games the envy of every other sports team in Canada,” says Anthony Partipilo, the Roughriders’ Chief Brand Officer.
“Bring ’Em Out is already one of the most exhilarating moments in live sports. We’ve got Rider Nation behind us and taking our whole game-day experience, from the moment you arrive to after the game is over, to even greater heights is what we live for.
“That’s what we do. That’s why we do it — and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The “we” includes by Partipilo, Seth Strankman (Manager, Game Entertainment and Events), Anthony Partipilo (Chief Brand Officer), Eva Fletcher (Event Co-ordinator) and countless colleagues who have been integrally involved in the preparations for everything that complements and enhances the X’s and O’s of football.
“It really is a full game day,” Strankman says. “It’s not just what happens in the stadium, although that is the core piece of what we’re doing. There are all the other things, too, on game day.”
Things such as Coors Light Party in the Park, which commences three hours before the opening kickoff.
Things such as in-game entertainment, including halftime shows and myriad fan-friendly features.
Things such as opportunities for members of Rider Nation to set foot on the Mosaic Stadium playing surface following select games.
Things such as rings — replica bling that will be distributed, free of charge, to the first 5,000 fans who enter the stadium when the 2013 Grey Cup champions are honoured on Legends Night (Oct. 7).
“We’re giving people the option to spend the full day with us,” Strankman says. “If they just want to get their 2013 championship replica ring, for example, they can show up at the gates. I’m not sure how early they’ll have to be there, because that’ll be popular.
“There will be a full-day experience if you want it. If you’re just there for the football, then obviously that’s going to happen, too.”
The objective is to turn each game into a happening, beginning May 27 when the B.C. Lions visit Mosaic Stadium for a CFL pre-season contest. The theme: Community Culture Night.
The regular-season home opener — June 16 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — has a Dad’s Night Out theme. The game is being played on Father’s Day weekend.
Thematically, the Roughriders will also roll out Throwback Thursday (July 6 versus the Edmonton Elks), the kisiskâciwan Game (a celebration of Indigenous culture that coincides with a July 15 matchup against the Calgary Stampeders), Country Roots Night (Aug. 6, Ottawa Redblacks), Family Day (Aug. 20, B.C.), the 58th Labour Day Classic (Sept. 3, Winnipeg), Lights Out (Sept. 15, Edmonton), the aforementioned Legends Night (Oct. 7, Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and the 13th Fan Appreciation game (Oct. 21, Toronto Argonauts).
The 13th fan — the figurative extra player — has been an ally of the Roughriders as long as they have fielded units of 12.
“We know Riders fans are passionate, and that passion kicks into high gear when the multiplying effect of thousands of fans in the stands happens,” Partipilo says.
“Going to a Rider game is a social experience. There are unique magical moments we all experience in the stadium when we come together to cheer on our Riders.
“The players hear it, they feel it, and they are energized by it. It’s what drives them even harder and it’s what we as sports fans live for. “
Fans of music can also revel in the festivities.
Overall, the 2023 Roughriders’ game-day plans will include four major concerts, beginning with a June 16 halftime show by renowned Canadian rocker Kim Mitchell.
“We’ve also got seven games with music in Party in the Park,” Strankman says. “Last year, we just tried it with one — on Labour Day weekend — and it was great, so we’ve built that out.
“Your kids can get their faces painted and go see Gainer and see the Cheer Team roll through.”
That is all in adherence to a family-focused approach.
“Families are very important and very special to our club and our communities,” Partipilo says. “The ritual of getting your Rider gear on and going to Mosaic Stadium for Rider games is about families building lasting memories and passing along our tradition.
“Our games are and will remain the cornerstone of the best fun-filled entertainment in national sports.”
The entertainment options have changed and broadened from the era in which the halftime show would typically feature a marching band.
“It’s not that long ago that there wasn’t even a video board,” says Strankman, alluding to the period that preceded the June 25, 2005 unveiling of the first MaxTron, at Taylor Field. “That was less than 20 years ago.
“Everything has evolved, including the halftime shows. The halftimes are the big, glorious, golden nugget, but there are so many more little things that go into a full game.
“The music has evolved. The public-address system has evolved. There are so many things that have changed, even in five years.”
And what about, say, the next five years?
“There’s cool new software, like being able to take a fan’s live video feed from their phone as a selfie in a seat and show it on the MaxTron, so that you’ve got an actual fan-cam,” Strankman says. “Those are the kinds of things that are on our radar going forward.”
Fans won’t have to wait very long to marvel at one new feature in particular.
“This year, one thing that I’m really excited about is that we’re going to be the first football team in North America to have what is called a Dactylcam in our stadium for a full season,” Strankman says.
“It’s like a two-dimensional cable-cam, except it only goes from point to point. What’s cool about it is it lends itself to a horizontal game like football.
“Fans have traditionally seen a broadcast of our game with a camera overlooking centre field and a camera on each 25-yard line.
“But that means that unless the football is right on those lines, the camera is at an angle looking down to the line of scrimmage — which is fine, and fans have become accustomed to that.”
However, Strankman fancied the notion of moving the needle — and, in turn, the Dactylcam, which can be stationed via remote control so that it is parallel to the line of scrimmage regardless of where the ball is situated.
“We had them come in and do a test run at our last game last October and it was amazing,” Strankman says.
“We’re excited this year because it’s going to be here for every game. We’re going to go down the sideline with it. In theory, you’ll have an angle of the line of scrimmage right down the middle, wherever they are on the field.
“We’re hoping to create some new, cool camera angles that sort of change the way that fans can watch the game.”
These options, and so many more, became possible when the team moved into new Mosaic Stadium in 2017.
“Being able to share those moments with family and friends and other Rider fans in the most spectacular football stadium in Canada, right here in Saskatchewan, is something we are and should be immensely proud of and we will never take for granted,” Partipilo says.
“That’s why we are so driven to exceed expectations, every season, with our game-day experiences.”
Partipilo’s experience in the sporting industry includes nearly 13 years with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was the Major League Baseball team’s Managing Director, Merchandising, before being promoted to the role of Vice-President, Marketing and Merchandising. He joined the Roughriders’ organization in April of 2018.
Strankman brought his expertise and inventiveness to the Green and White just over a year ago. He previously worked with the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (which owns five sports properties, including the NHL’s Flames and CFL’s Stampeders) and the Tiger-Cats.
“I jumped in at the end of March last year,” Strankman recalls. “We were about to get out into the market with all of our themes to ‘start the rocket,’ as Anthony calls it, with that marketing campaign.
“The smart marketing minds long before me figured out that you have an opportunity to enhance the fan experience in ways off the field.
“I often see our job as kind of riding the energy waves — not getting too high and not getting too low — and trying to make the games different and fun regardless of what happens on the field.
“We want to give fans a reason to look forward to coming back.”
