New Canadian Football League Stadium For Winnipeg?

Media mogul David Asper is taking another run at getting a major new football stadium and amateur sports complex built in Winnipeg to replace the aging Canad Inns Stadium where the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play their home games.

Asper announced Saturday that he's willing to put up $100 million towards the cost of a stadium complex at the University of Manitoba, subject to a combined $35 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments.

Asper says this represents a doubling of his investment in the project, but cuts in half the amount of government money he's seeking.

This is the third site proposed by Asper for a new stadium after a proposal to replace the existing stadium at Polo Park was rejected, followed by the rejection of a site in the core of Winnipeg known as Point Douglas.

The latest offer from Asper, whose family controls Canwest Communications, includes a 30,000-seat stadium than can be expanded to 45,000 seats; a 700-stall parkade; and a major upgrade to the university's existing stadium.

The design would see the CFL stadium built eight metres below ground with an inflatable bubble to cover the facility during the winter months so that it could be used as an amateur sports complex.