Katz weighs in on Bombers’ use of old stadium

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/02/2012 (5206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz says he doesn’t know why the Winnipeg Football Club said goodbye to Canad Inns Stadium last year when he believes the CFL Blue Bombers were always destined to play another exhibition game at the Polo Park facility.

Katz said Wednesday he was told the Winnipeg Blue Bombers always planned to play one more date at Canad Inns Stadium. Last fall, when 2012 season tickets were marketed to existing subscribers, the football club announced play would begin at the new Investors Group Field at the University of Manitoba this coming June.

The club reversed that position earlier this week.

“I can tell you right from the beginning, I was always told that their first three or four games would be on the road,” Katz told reporters today at city hall. “It’s a little difficult to comprehend, if they were planning to play their first three-plus games on the road, where they were going to place their first exhibition game.”

The mayor stopped short of accusing the football club of misleading subscribers, when asked about the club’s announcement.

“I can’t really make comment on what other people announced or said. I can tell you that I was at what was promoted as the last game at Cand Inns Stadium and I sat there saying, ‘I wonder why they’re promoting it that way.”

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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, however, deny the mayor’s assertion.

“Our intention was to get into Investors Group Field for the preseason game, but this was adjusted accordingly following last week’s construction overview,” spokesman Darren Cameron said.