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“The first couple times it was endearing, and then after a while it was like, ‘oh my gawd this is so intense,’” said Gill.

At times, with police trying to manage the crowds, he would have to be escorted home and prove he lived in the home before being allowed to stay.

“Even though we’re not football fans, we kind of get a bit excited about it because there is all the hype in the neighbourhood,” he said.

“There is definitely a culture around it which is kind of neat, and we definitely felt a part of that.”

Galya Drank, 20, has lived next door to Mosaic for her entire life and now, she works for the Roughriders.

“I could hear every time the Riders scored a touchdown,” she said. “It’s been part of my life.”

Mathew Gallinger said he will miss seeing a lot of things going on around his home.

“You get to see a lot of weird people. A lot of costumes and stuff,” he said. “It kind of brightens my day to see people just so happy to support the Riders.”

Gallinger is one of many living close to the stadium who have cashed in on the shortage of parking.

For $10, Gallinger would let you park your car in his backyard.

“I could fit about six cars, $10 a car, so about $60 a game,” he said.

Although his lot won’t be quite as desirable as it is now once the games are played at the new stadium, he is still confident a bit of side cash will keep coming in.

“They’re not going to be too far away,” he said.

Many houses on the block are rentals and, to that end, longtime residents on the street are hard to come by.

Gill said there are many of low-income people living in the neighbourhood, and is hopeful the site of the stadium will soon be the site of social housing.

dfraser@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/dcfraser