Federal Government Allocates $2 Million for the 2022 Gray Cup Festival in Regina | Globalnews.ca

This year’s Gray Cup Festival in Regina received a financial boost from the Government of Canada for events focused on youth, technology and promotions. Two million dollars in funding will come through the federal government’s Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative (MFESI).

The announcement was made Thursday in Regina by Daniel Vandal, Minister Responsible for Economic Development for Canada’s Prairies, along with Gray Cup Festival 2022 co-chairs Barry Clarke and Craig Reynolds.

“Major events like the Gray Cup bring people together, attract thousands of visitors, create lasting memories and put money in the hands of local businesses, tour and hotel operators and many more. It is a great boost for the economy,” Vandal said in a press release.

“Our government is making this significant investment to help the organizers of this year’s Gray Cup Festival recover from the impacts of the pandemic and enhance their offerings to drive long-term growth and sustainability. I look forward to seeing Regina and the entire Roughriders organization put on a great festival this year, for Saskatchewan, the entire CFL community and all the fans.”

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The preparation of the Gray Cup Festival 2022 begins

Festival Co-Chairman and Roughriders President and CEO Reynolds said the planning committee wanted the Gray Cup Festival to engage and inspire the next generation of CFL fans, and with this funding, that is now possible.

“With this funding from the Government of Canada, we will be able to put on fun and innovative events and programs for LFC families and fans of all ages,” said Reynolds.

The funding announcement was accompanied by the launch of three new festival events, supported by MFESI. The Path to Glory is a $50,000 Smash Ultimate tournament where the best Smash players from around the world compete for their chance to win a share of the prize pool. The Gray Cup Festival will host a Super Smash Bros Ultimate eSports tournament with the main event taking place on November 18-19 at the Brandt Center.

There will also be youth soccer programming that will be done in association with Football Saskatchewan. This programming will help youth develop their skills with an interactive leaderboard, and youth of all experience levels will have the opportunity to learn the game and improve their game.

The latest new event of the festival is the Digital Zone, which is expected to be the ultimate experience for families, sports fans and tech gurus alike. This area will include video games, sports experiences and technology through the ages, including virtual and augmented reality exhibits.

According to a release, the preliminary Festival schedule and Festival footprint have also been released so CFL fans and visitors can begin their planning. Tickets for the festival are expected to go on sale in early fall. An extremely limited number of tickets for the 109th Gray Cup are still available. Visit the Gray Cup Festival website for more information.

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