City of Regina survey opens on proposed 'Multi-Purpose Event Centre' downtown

A public survey is inviting residents of Regina to share further feedback on the prospect of building a new indoor multi-purpose event centre downtown that would replace the current Brandt Centre.

The proposed facility would be capable of hosting approximately 8,000 people and would be used for a variety of purposes, such as sporting events, concerts and other entertainment events, according to the city.

The survey was launched in response to a motion from city council on March 1 that more public consultation was necessary ahead of further discussion on the proposed Catalyst Committee projects, a news release said.

• More public consultation requested ahead of catalyst committee project approvals

In addition to the online survey, a total of 1,000 randomly selected residents will be called by phone through March 19 for what the city calls a “scientifically valid survey” with participants distributed across Regina’s 10 wards.

The research is being conducted by Forum Research and is “intended to determine the level of support for constructing an indoor multi-purpose event centre and locating it downtown”.

WHAT ARE THEY ASKING?

CTV News took the city’s survey being offered through Be Heard Regina.

After confirming the age of the participant and what ward of the city they live in, the first question asks for an opinion on the facility.

Respondents are asked if the facility is needed and if they believe it belongs downtown, if it is needed but does not belong downtown, if it is not needed, or if they are unsure if it is needed or not.

The survey then asks residents on a scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree, if they feel the arena is an important priority for the city and if they feel it would have a positive economic impact.

It then asks residents if they agree with the arena being ranked as the fourth highest priority on the list of Catalyst projects, below a “non-vehicular trail system to join various districts in the downtown core”, an indoor aquatic facility [which council already voted to move towards] and a modernized public library.

The options are:

• The event centre should be removed from the list of priorities.
• The fourth ranking of the event centre is correct.
• The event centre should be ranked at a higher priority.

The final few questions of the survey centre around what would or would not bring residents to the downtown core, including if an event centre would result in more, less, or the same amount of time spent there.

It then seeks to find what would bring residents downtown, listing a total of 24 options like a movie theatre, more bars, restaurants and cafes and improved safety. The question also includes options that would pertain to the events centre, like more live events or sporting events. It asks residents to choose three options.

It closes out with a pair of demographic questions.

The online survey is open until March 19.

The research and results of both surveys will go before council when Catalyst Committee discussions continue on March 22.