'It was part of my life': Rider fans take apart Regina's Taylor Field

The people who made Regina's Taylor Field a legendary football stadium, and who will miss it most, are also the people helping tear it down.

For the past two weeks, Saskatchewan residents have been coming and going from the old Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field with large and small keepsakes, from pieces of turf to entire rows of benches.

Hundreds of items from the Saskatchewan Roughriders' old home were auctioned off to the public last month as the City of Regina begins to decommission the more than 70-year-old stadium, following the opening on the new Mosaic Stadium.

Rob Spelliscy was one of the many buyers who couldn't resist owning a piece. He bought some interior signs and the seat he sat in for 30 years.

It was part of my life for so long. Just to see it coming down like this, it's very sad and emotional.- Rob Spelliscy on Taylor Field

"When I was driving up here today it was quite sad to see what's going on because I just said to myself, 'There's just so many memories here,'" Spelliscy said.

"To see it coming down piece by piece, it's actually quite emotional for anybody who has had season tickets for a long time."

Randy Blayone knows the feeling. He also picked up some benches — section 25, row two to be exact.

"It was in the family for 35 years," Blayone said. "We bleed green. It's my wife's family and so we just wanted to keep it as a memory and we're going to share it amongst all of us."

Blayone also felt some strong emotions while saying his final goodbye, but he's positive about the future.

"It's kind of sad but the new stadium is fantastic and hopefully we'll have a lot more memories there."

For Spelliscy, moving on from Taylor Field will not be so easy.

"It's more than just a stadium," he said. "It was part of my life for so long. Just to see it coming down like this, it's very sad and emotional."

An unusual auction

McDougall Auctioneers handled the Taylor Field auction, which the city wanted to offer to allow fans to own a piece of memorabilia, but also to divert countless items from the landfill.

Loren McDougall, president of the auction company, said it has done a lot of decommissioning jobs — from hotels to other buildings — but never a stadium with so much history and memorabilia.

One lady come here and she was hugging her [section] sign when she left.- Dwayne Bender, McDougall Auctioneers

"It was kind of interesting. Going into the sale, the things we thought would bring large amounts of money didn't and the things that we didn't know or didn't expect sold well," McDougall said.

"For example, things like the [MaxTron video scoreboard] sold for $100, but it's because it costs $35,000 to $40,000 to get it out of there. Things like a section sign, we had a few of them sell up to $1,000. So that's quite a contrast from a little piece of plywood right up to a [MaxTron]."

Dwayne Bender with McDougall Auctioneers was the first person buyers talked to when they came to pick up their items at the stadium. Bender said a lot of people have come to Taylor Field and they talk to him about all their memories.

"It's all the years of entertainment that they had out of this stadium and it's coming to a close," he said.

"To me, it's a big family and this is the Rider Nation that these people have supported all these years. I'm glad that they do have the opportunity to have a little piece of memorabilia that's coming from this stadium.

"One lady come here and she was hugging her [section] sign when she left."

The final chapter

The City of Regina provided more details on Taylor Field's final days on Thursday. However, officials have not yet said how much money it will earn from the auction. 

The city has partnered with Budget Demolition to handle the deconstruction process, which will begin in September.

Jill Hargrove, director of facility management services for the city, has been in charge of this job since the beginning. But even she said this is about more than a demolition job.

"It's a little bit exciting and it's a little bit sad at times when you look over and just see the progress," Hargrove said. "It's a little bit emotional."

Hargrove said the aim is to keep as much of Taylor Field out of the landfill as possible.

"There will be no wrecking ball and there will be no implosion. Certainly we have to respect the integrity of the stadium. The east and the west side will come down in pieces, very much like how it was built."

The City of Regina is hosting an open house Wednesday, Sept. 6 for residents who have questions about the deconstruction project. Site restoration is expected to be complete by spring 2018.