Regina's new Mosaic Stadium capacity 33,000 has 4 water fountains

Three days after fans complainedabout lineups for water at the new Mosaic Stadium, its owners and operators are acknowledgingthere was "inconsistency" at one of the gates around what fans were allowed to bring in with them.

Evraz Place, the Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club, and the City of Regina jointly stated Tuesday that people can bring insealed water bottles no larger than onelitre, and empty, refillable one-litre bottles.There is no limit on the number of sealed water bottles or empty refillable bottlesallowed.

The three organizations say the inconsistency will be addressed with the stadium'ssecurity personnel.

There was outrage at Saturday's game due to the massive lineups at the few water fountains in the new stadium as temperatures soared in Regina.

The stadium has four water fountains.With the stadium's capacity of 33,000, that's one fountain for every 8,250 people.

The City of Reginanoted that the old Mosaic Stadium had no water fountains.

"Water and other beverages are also readily available for purchase from vendors across the stadium," reads Tuesday's statement.

Mary Deane said she brought a bottle and expected lineups at the fountains on such a hot day.

"For a newer stadium, I fully expected there would be many more fountains or water filling stations than four," she said.

"I don't understand how four fountains can adequately service 33,000 people."

She said vendors selling small bottles of water for $4 "isn't a great alternative" during an event that's longer than three hours.

"I know from years of sitting on the east side of old Mosaic [stadium] how intensely hot it can get in the stands," she said.

Paramedics see spike in heat-related cases

The temperature in Regina Saturday peaked at 32 C at 5 p.m. CST.

During the game, paramedics attended to 21 instances of heat-related complaints andtworequired transport to hospital.St. JohnAmbulance dealt with six cases, while 15 people were givenfluids and cooled down by paramedics, then released.

It can become life-threatening. It can cause problems with your internal organs.- Dan Lewis,paramedic and program development educator, RQHR

Those numbers are abnormally high, according toDan Lewis, an advanced paramedic and program development educator for the health region.

"In my experience of working the games in the past,we'llsee atmost three maybe fourpatients," he said.

When temperatures rise to the level they were atSaturday, people don't drink enough water and sometimes don't recognize they need to drink more, he said.

"It can become life-threatening," he said of heat. "It can cause problems with your internal organs."

Alcohol can also lead to dehydration,he said, noting that a rule-of-thumb for staying hydrated is to drink two glasses of water for every beer.

People feeling overheated should get into the shade and get a drink. If they're feeling dizzy, weak ornauseated, theyshould call 911, he said.

'Irresponsible and naive'

Melissa Fiacco said in a climate like Regina's, where summer heat can be extreme, the scarcity of water stations is a "risk to public safety."

"It's extraordinarily irresponsible and naive to suggest that families are in a position where they can afford to be paying $4 per 250 ml bottle of water," she said.

She added that her family had gone through four litres of water by the end of the first quarter "because it was that hot."

She said the water fountains, with their low angles and pressure, are not designed to fill bottles, making the process slow and often impossible to fill containers to the top.

Fiacco said she loves the design of the new stadium, but the water situation made it difficult to enjoy the game.

"For a lot of these people this is the only home game they were going to be able to see this season and a lot of them spent it waiting in line to fill their water bottles," she said.

"This is unacceptable."

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