The 2022 Grey Cup festival officially started its countdown with an announcement on Thursday.

When the festival comes to Regina on November 15, it will mark the first time all Grey Cup events will be hosted on a single footprint area.

The REAL District will be playing the role of host, but that doesn’t mean that other areas in the Queen City won’t be joining in on the fun.

Mayor Sandra Masters says they are hoping the whole city can be included.

“I think that’s some of the announcements that you are going to hear. How we are going to extend, especially in the week of and weekend of,” she said. “We are looking at activating the entire city because not everybody is going to be able to stay downtown. We want to make sure everybody who’s coming here feels like they are hosted in the most exceptional way possible.”

Masters said that the festival is exactly what businesses in the city need to continue their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think it’s something like $67 million on the economic impact for the province with a lot of that being localized here in the City of Regina,” she said. “With tourism and hospitality having taken a beating over the last two years, this kind of injection into that economy is enormous and perfectly timed.”

President and CEO of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Craig Reynolds, said they want to include the whole city in the festival.

“We are talking with the various associations because we want all of Regina to make sure they feel part of it,” he said. “There will be an event outside of the footprint, so the whole city will be engaged. We truly want all of Regina and all of Saskatchewan to feel like they are part of it.”

The 2022 Grey Cup Festival will run from November 15 to 20.