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Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press Bomber game-goers this season might have to watch a few contests at the new U of M digs while construction is still ongoing. This photo was taken on Thursday.

The 2012 CFL regular season schedule moved into the light and saw its shadow Friday, giving the Blue Bombers four more weeks to get their new home ready.

Winnipeg opens defence of its East Division title with a Grey Cup rematch Friday, June 29, taking on the defending champion B.C. Lions at BC Place. The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Blue and Gold, with the next three games at Montreal (July 6); at Edmonton (July 13); at Toronto (July 18).

That's four straight games away from the Manitoba capital to open the season.

The Bombers open the home portion of the workload July 26 when they welcome the Eskimos to town, the start of a four-game homestand.

That game is locked in on the CFL schedule. There is no changing it.

Where it will take place, though, has yet to be determined.

The league granted the club's wish to play the first month of the season on the road so that they would have a bigger construction window for their new $190-million facility, Investors Group Field.

Despite best efforts from work crews, though, construction is behind schedule at the 33,500-seat stadium at the University of Manitoba by roughly two months, according to informed opinions from the trades.

That means the facility might not be fully operational when the Bombers are wearing the home navy blues.

Team officials have said they will be able to play games at the facility as construction continues, but that puts the club is in a tight spot: They want a lasting, pleasant first impression for fans when they first swing open the doors to Investors Group Field, not patrons grumbling over sawdust in their beers or the video screens not being hooked up.

The Bombers were hush-hush when asked about the regular-season home opener, saying an update on the situation is coming.

"Right now we are in the process of reviewing our construction timelines and will be in a much better position to update everyone further in the next short while," a club spokesman said Friday.

If the Bombers can't get into Investors Group Field for the July 26 game, they will be forced to return to Canad Inns Stadium -- something incoming CEO Garth Buchko told the Free Press a few weeks back wouldn't happen.

"We will not play a game in the old stadium," he said. "We have a plan and we're sticking to it. We plan to play a pre-season game at Investors Group Field and we'll work with the challenges that result with not having some of the esthetics done."

As this newspaper reported days ago, the Bombers have determined the June 20 pre-season game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats is now likely to take place at Canad Inns Stadium, though no formal announcement from the team has surfaced yet.

To complicate matters for the club, a season-ticket changeover is in effect and the Bombers are in the process of renewing 20,000-plus season tickets (at an increased price point) to fans and corporations on the promise of a 10-game home schedule (one pre-season, nine regular season). By having at least one game at the old stadium, the Bombers will have to re-assign seats to people and determine how refunds for missed games at the new facility will be handed out.

Requests to the CFL office for comment regarding the Winnipeg stadium uncertainty, any possible deadlines the league requires from the club, and player and fan safety were not returned Friday.

adam.wazny@freepres.mb.ca

2012 Blue Bombers schedule:

PRE-SEASON

Thursday, June 14: Winnipeg at Montreal, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 20: Hamilton at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.

REGULAR SEASON

Friday, June 29: Winnipeg at B.C., 9 p.m.

Friday, July 6: Winnipeg at Montreal, 6 p.m.

Friday, July 13: Winnipeg at Edmonton, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, July 18: Winnipeg at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 26: Edmonton at Winnipeg, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 3: Montreal at Winnipeg, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 16: Hamilton at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 24: B.C. at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 2: Winnipeg at Saskatchewan, 3 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 9: Saskatchewan at Winnipeg, noon

Friday, Sept. 14: Winnipeg at Calgary, 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 21: Hamilton at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 29: Toronto at Winnipeg, 6 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 8: Winnipeg at Montreal, noon

Saturday, Oct. 13: Calgary at Winnipeg, noon

Friday, Oct. 19: Winnipeg at Toronto, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 27: Winnipeg at Hamilton, noon

Saturday, Nov. 3: Montreal at Winnipeg, 2 p.m.

2012 Blue Bombers schedule breakdown

Tough start to the season: Four straight on the road, with three of those against the top quarterbacks in the league (B.C.'s Travis Lulay, Montreal's Anthony Calvillo, Toronto's Ricky Ray). The Bombers play the next four at home to reset the balance.

Schedule quirk: The CFL has bye-weeks in Week 6 and Week 7 -- meaning some clubs will get a week off after just five games. Winnipeg plays six games before getting its break.

The Bombers' home schedule features three Friday night games, two Thursday night games, three Saturday afternoon games and one Sunday afternoon affair (the Banjo Bowl).

There are some quick turnarounds for the Blue and Gold. There are three instances where the club has two games in a span of six days or less.

The Labour Day Classic against the Roughriders goes Sept. 2 in Regina.

Including a pre-season contest, Winnipeg plays Montreal five times.

A potential key matchup comes in the regular-season finale, when the Bombers host the Alouettes Nov. 3.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 18, 2012 C4