Organizers of a petition demanding the City of Regina hold a referendum on plans for a new football stadium say they have reached the half-way point to the required 20,000 signatures.

However, the group adds it will need one "last big push" to reach its goal by a deadline of Nov. 7.

In a news release issued Saturday, organizer Dawn Thomas said people have been keen to sign the petition. The campaign for signatures began Aug. 10.

According to Thomas, the group has 90 days to reach the 20,000 threshold.

Thomas said people with petitions will be set up at two specific locations in the next week to gather signatures:

• Scarth Street at 11th Avenue, starting at 10 a.m. Monday.
• The Unitarian Fellowship centre on the corner of College Avenue and Angus Street, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3.

"Lots of people are still looking for a petition to sign," Thomas said. "Having a specific time and place will make it easy for them to find us."

Thomas also insisted the group is not against the stadium plan.

"What petitioners want is for Regina taxpayers to have the opportunity to vote in a referendum on whether or not they want their tax dollars spent on a new stadium," she said in her release.

The city has approved what it is calling a Revitalization Initiative that includes increases to property taxes to pay for a new football stadium, which is expected to cost about $278 million. The provincial government and the Saskatchewan Roughriders are contributing to the plan.

Construction costs combined with the long-term cost of the stadium — which includes paying down loans and maintaining the building — will require increases to property taxes, according to Regina officials.