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The new Mosaic Stadium has opened to rave reviews.

It鈥檚 exactly what everyone thought it would be: the nicest stadium in Canada and the best place to watch a football game in the country. It鈥檒l be a drawing card for quality football players from across the continent, and a place for other great spectator events.

It鈥檚 not a perfect venue (no stadium is), and one thing is definitely missing: Saskatchewan beer.

Now, we know that some people will get upset and claim that Pilsner is a Saskatchewan beer, but it鈥檚 not. It might be billed as Saskatchewan鈥檚 beer, but it鈥檚 part of a big multi-national beer company, and it鈥檚 not brewed in this province.

The proper definition of a Saskatchewan beer, or a Saskatchewan brewery, is a beer brewed in this province, by the people of this province, and largely sold in this province. And make no mistake about it, some great Saskatchewan breweries have popped up in recent years.

So why can鈥檛 you pick up a glass of Rebellion or Black Bridge or even Great Western at the new Mosaic Stadium?

Because Molson-Coors has an exclusivity agreement with the different partners operating Mosaic Stadium. And you can be sure that if Molson-Coors is going to relent on that agreement, and allow craft beer to be sold, it鈥檚 only going to happen if it benefits the big beer company.

An exclusivity agreement might be normal for smaller venues, but for a stadium, it鈥檚 an archaic process. Walk into a lot of stadiums and larger arenas in this country, and you鈥檒l find beer from multiple breweries.

Want a mainstream lager or light beer? You can get one. Want an India pale ale or an amber ale from a craft brewery? You can also find one.

How cool would it be to have a beer made from Saskatchewan lentils at a Saskatchewan Roughriders game? Now that鈥檚 a true Prairie beer.

It was a short-sighted move to grant exclusivity to a multi-national brewery. Let them have the bulk of the sales and the beer concessions, but the best stadium in the country should be catering to various beer tastes, just like it offers a wide variety of food.

The new Mosaic Stadium is a great venue that the people of Saskatchewan should be proud of. A lot of taxpayer dollars were injected into the venue, from both the people of Regina and from Saskatchewan as a whole.

It means that Saskatchewan businesses should be given as much of an opportunity as possible. And that includes Saskatchewan craft breweries.

We hope an agreement can one day be worked out to allow Saskatchewan beer to be sold. When the exclusivity agreement with Molson-Coors expires in a few years, hopefully the operators of Mosaic Stadium do the right thing, and give Saskatchewan breweries an even greater presence.

After all, their money is in Mosaic Stadium, too.聽