Chairman proud of new stadium
Wayne Morsky looks at the new Mosaic Stadium through two different sets of eyes.
As the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ chairman of the board, Morsky recognizes the stadium for its ability to enhance the local CFL franchise and the community at large.
However, as someone who has spent his life in the construction business, Morsky also has an appreciation for the work that has gone into the project.
“In construction, one of the greatest (forms of ) satisfaction is to see things from start to finish,” explained Morsky, who was part of the original design phase and also took one of the first scoops at a sodturning ceremony in June of 2014.
“(Going from that) to where it is today where there’s sound in the speakers and there’s seats in the stands and there’s turf being ordered, it’s amazing to see the project come together. To know we’re going to have this iconic stadium in our hands within the next few months is a pretty powerful experience.”
Morsky has been on the Riders’ board of directors for six years — the past two as chairman. He joined the board in 2010 after completing a term as the chairman of the Canadian Construction Association.
“It was kind of the right time,” said Morsky. “I’ve always been a fan so I submitted my name, thinking especially with the early stages of the stadium I could be an asset. About a year into it, I was asked if I would chair the new stadium committee.”
Morsky’s principal role with the Roughriders is to lead an 11-person board and represent the team at a league level with the CFL board of governors. His duties also include serving as a liaison on the stadium project and representing the Riders on the funding committee.
“Because of my involvement with the Canadian Construction Asso- ciation you end up having a lot of contacts across Canada,” he said. “(It’s nice) to have that relationship with them and watch them go through the project and see it come to completion.
"We’ve been very blessed. We’ve had Mother Nature on our side. We’ve had a very unique and accommodating design where there was a lot of benchmarking done right to the point where we even had players’ wives involved in designing the family centre. All those little things just add to the success of it.”
When he’s not involved with the Roughriders, Morsky is running his family business as the secondgeneration CEO of the Morsky Group of Companies. The native of Virden, Man., moved to Regina in 1982, when one of his first projects was the Lewvan expressway.
Although he’s originally from Manitoba, Morsky insists he grew up with green in his blood — not Bomber blue.
“There’s a pretty big split in Virden — and growing in favour of the Riders,” he said. "I’ve helped with that too (laughs). It’s part of my job.”
Morsky calls it a “privilege” to serve as the Riders’ chairman. One of the perks is that he’s the proud owner of a Grey Cup ring from 2013, although he prefers to think of himself as a “holder” of the ring for the fans.
“I’m very, very open and share it with people because I do believe that’s what the volunteer board is — we’re fans first and we represent Rider Nation,” he added. “I’ll be (travelling) in some of the most unique spots and I’ll see a Rider fan and acknowledge them and introduce myself. It’s just incredible the excitement you get and I’m only the chairman of the board. It just goes to show the passion. It’s because we’re a community-owned team and we always emphasize that in everything we do.”