‘We’re gonna need ’em’: Cody Fajardo hopes Edmonton Elks draw big crowd against Riders

Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks.

The Edmonton Elks are off to a red-hot start on the field and are hoping that will translate to success off the field when they host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday.

“We’ve been fighting, scratching, clawing, and doing everything we can to get our fans back in the stadium,” franchise quarterback Cody Fajardo told the media on Monday.

“This is one of those games where we’re going to need ‘em. (Saskatchewan) is a tremendously talented football team. You can see our last drive (of last week’s game in Regina), we were a bit in shambles because of how loud their fans were, and it just makes a difference in games.

“As a guy who’s been in this league for 12 years, I know how hard it is to play when there’s fans screaming the entire game, so I hope it’s a great turnout. It looks like the weather’s going to be great. … I’m excited to run out of the tunnel and see a packed house because I think our guys deserve it, and I also think that the fans are yearning for good football and good product, and we’ve done that.”

Edmonton was consistently the best draw in the CFL for decades but has seen attendance collapse in recent years, bottoming out at an average of 19,050 per game in 2025.

The Elks drew only two crowds of 20,000-plus last season, hosting 28,365 fans against the Calgary Stampeders and 30,053 fans against the Roughriders.

The club already appears to be trending in the right direction, as 20,020 fans attended its win over the B.C. Lions two weeks ago. Edmonton has since beaten Saskatchewan to improve to 6-1. The Elks haven’t won more than seven games in the same regular-season since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Team president and CEO Chris Morris told 880 CHED on Monday that the team has already sold over 20,000 tickets for Saturday’s game and is hoping to sell out the lower bowl at Commonwealth Stadium, which has a capacity of 31,025.

Morris also indicated that Edmonton had a walk-up crowd of around 4,000 for their game against B.C. and could surpass that this week, particularly with the number of Roughriders fans expected to attend.

“Let’s go, Edmonton. We want to play well at home, we want to play well and honour the fans with the style of football that we play. What better opportunity than Saturday?” said head coach Mark Kilam.

“If you go back to our last game, I felt like that was a good crowd, and we’re trying to build it. We’re trying to hold up our end of the bargain out here so that they want to come, but we would love to have a packed house and make some noise on Saturday.”

It’s impossible to win the Grey Cup in July, but Edmonton still has plenty of reasons to celebrate the season they’ve had thus far.

A win this week would clinch the season series against Saskatchewan and increase the team’s lead in the West Division standings. It would also give fans a reason to keep coming back to Commonwealth Stadium as the club ushers in a new era of Elks football.

“We’re really pleased with the first third of the season. Now, a lot happens — there’s a lot of football, I’ve seen a lot of craziness in the CFL. We don’t want to let our foot off the gas pedal, and it starts this week by defending home and going against a really talented (Saskatchewan) team that’s going to be hungry, and they’re going to be really excited to get their lick back against us,” said Fajardo.

“We’ve gotta show up on on game day. Hopefully, the fans show up and we give them a reason to continue to come. This is a great opportunity for us and an organization that if you do get a good crowd, we don’t want to go out there and lay an egg because then you might lose some people for the rest of the year.”

The Edmonton Elks (6-1) will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-2) at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, August 1 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The two teams met in Regina this past week, where Vincent Blanchard kicked a walk-off 57-yard game-winning field goal.

The weather forecast in Edmonton calls for a high of 24 degrees and a 30 percent chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on 620 CKRM in Regina or 880 CHED in Edmonton.

John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster and curling reporter for Rock Channel.