Our new stadium is leaking, or maybe it’s flooding, but Wade Miller doesn’t want you to see it.

The CEO of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers insists the problem is minor, even though an eye-witness says it’s not. But Miller won’t allow the media inside to document it.

The damage may be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the permanent fix perhaps costing much more.

But we don’t really know, because the former fullback is doing his best job of blocking since he wore the gold helmet.

“You’re not getting in there to have a look at it,” Miller told me, Tuesday.

And why not?

“The stadium is closed.”

Excuse me, but when did Wade Miller get the right to open and close this jewel of the CFL as he sees fit?

This isn’t his house. This is (ital) our (ital) place. Paid for with at least $200 million in hard-earned, taxpayer’s cash. Public money, public building.

And if there is yet another design flaw uncovered with the spring thaw, shouldn’t that information be openly and willfully handed to the public?

Someone who saw the carnage first-hand contacted me, early Tuesday.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the source painted a very unpleasant picture, mainly of damage to luxury suites: collapsing ceilings, soaked carpets, even a pail to catch water in the visitors locker-room.

The source estimated it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair, never mind the permanent fix to what is obviously a serious flaw.

The snow on the roof is melting down into the seating area, and instead of draining safely away, it’s running straight up against the doors to the suites. And it’s got nowhere to go, but in.

The source estimated one-third of the stadium’s 46 suites are damaged.

Miller described it as “a few.”

Pressed, he said, “a few on each side.” But he refused to define what “a few” is.

“There’s a little water from a spring thaw, and we’re working with the builder and the designer to deal with it,” Miller said.

But he won’t let us in. To our place. To see for ourselves.

“It’s not minor,” the person who saw it insisted. “The water is hitting the seating area and flowing right back into the suites. What I saw is not ‘a little water from a spring thaw.’ ”

My source doesn’t have an axe to grind. He has nothing against our community-owned football team.

But he also has no intention of helping the Bombers cover this up. And why would they want to?

This wasn’t Miller’s fault. All kinds of design flaws have already been reported, and some of them fixed, at the facility, from a lack of field access for concerts to the ill-conceived outdoor press box, which needs a major renovation – close to half a million bucks – just to host a Grey Cup.

The Bombers had to borrow $10 million to complete the place, and just two weeks ago the province coughed up another $3 million to make it more usable in cold weather.

The tab is at some $210 million. And counting.

What’s one more mistake? Just blame it on the past regime. Lord knows they perfected screwing up.

Insurance would cover this, you’d think. Or somebody, other than the debt-strapped Blue and Gold.

“It’ll be covered by the designer of the building and the builder – I can assure you of that,” Miller vowed.

But the CEO didn’t want this story covered in the newspaper. Tried to talk me out of it.

The board managing the stadium, BBB Stadium Inc., finally put out a late-day news release confirming there is water damage “due to the spring thaw,” calling it an “ongoing issue,” but one that won’t impact any planned events.

No mention of the estimated cost, or the design issues. And nobody available for questions.

And this place is ours?

“I felt this information should be known,” my source said.

So do I.

So should the man running our football team.

paul.friesen@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @friesensunmedia