There is yet another reason to be pumped about the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

In addition to sporting a CFL-best 10-3 record, the Roughriders have teamed up with Saskatchewan’s Co-ops to “create one of the largest, affordable and impactful community-driven collaborations in North American professional sports.”

Those are the words of Heather Ryan, CEO of Federated Co-operatives Limited, who stood alongside Roughriders President-CEO Craig Reynolds on Monday to announce a landmark initiative that enhances the all-around accessibility of CFL games in Saskatchewan.

The Co-op Community Zone, spanning the entire 600 level on the east side of Mosaic Stadium, offers single-game tickets exclusively to Co-op members for just $20, taxes included, for Roughriders home pre-season, regular-season and playoff games.

The lone exceptions are the Labour Day Classic ($30, all in) and future Saskatchewan-based Grey Cup Games.

“A couple of things we thought about when we were talking to Co-op about this were the accessibility and ease, quite frankly,” Reynolds said.

“So you can head into Co-op as you’re getting eggs and milk or as you’re getting gas and pick up Rider tickets. That’s throughout all four corners of the province. Co-op’s reach is really unmatched.

“As we started talking about what we could do together and about the Community Zone concept, I know they were very excited about that and, of course, we were as well — just from a pure reach and accessibility perspective. It’s really impactful and meaningful.”

Co-op Community Zone tickets for the Roughriders’ two remaining regular-season home games — on Oct. 10 (against the Toronto Argonauts) and Oct. 25 (B.C. Lions) — go on sale on Sept. 22 at participating Co-op gas bars, food stores, and home and building locations across Saskatchewan.

“You’d simply go into any participating Co-op location, talk to a customer-service representative, and say, ‘I’d like to buy a ticket in the Co-op Community Zone for Oct. 10,’ ” explained Nick Mazurak, the Roughriders’ Director, Corporate Partnerships and Premium Sales.

“They’ll say ‘perfect!’ and behind their desk they’ll have a QR code handy that members can scan for that specific game. It will take you directly to our Co-op Community Zone TicketMaster page to purchase your tickets on your phone. It’ll even show you available seats to select.”

Roughly 2,000 of them, in fact, in a spectator-friendly, state-of-the-art facility.

“It’s now the most affordable ticket in the stadium,” Reynolds said. “I think it’s an evolution of a number of things that we’ve been trying to do. It’s part of a suite of products that are affordable in nature.

“We’ve got Family Packs where a family of four can sit in the (lower) bowl for $99 — say, $25 per ticket. We’ve got half-price youth tickets, so more kids are able to come to games in most areas of the stadium. Now we’ve got the Co-op Community Zone in the upper east deck.

“It’s another opportunity for people to have a really affordable option and to be able to enjoy Rider football here.”

Additionally, Co-op will be recognized as an official partner of the Roughriders, as well as the community-owned team’s official fuel and liquor retailer.

The new agreement between two of the province’s cornerstone brands calls for the Co-op Community Zone to be part of the game-day mosaic through at least the 2028 season.

Co-op is owned by more than 2.2 million members, including nearly 580,000 in Saskatchewan.

“Our local Co-op owners operate in more than 160 communities across this beautiful province, fuelling and feeding Rider Nation,” Ryan said.

“Whether at the pump, in the grocery aisle or cheering together from the stands, this partnership reaffirms our dedication to serving what matters most — our members, our fans and our community.”