Globe Theatre asking for $1.9M from City of Regina for construction funding

Regina’s Globe Theatre is looking for $1.9 million in funding to complete the construction of the building and address their shortfall.

Jaime Boldt, the Globe’s executive director, turned to city council during Wednesday’s meeting to present the funding request, highlighting the need for the Globe Theatre in the community.

“Globe is open 364 days a year. It previously brought 65,000 people to the Regina downtown annually, contributing $4.5 million to downtown economy and employing over 140 seasonal and permanent cultural workers,” she said.

Boldt said following the pandemic, they reached a 30 per cent shortfall. The Globe has explored other ways to secure funding, such as cost savings on the build, applying for grants, and revisiting sponsors.

“We’ve been working our butts off to figure out how to cover the shortfall and explored every avenue,” she said.

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts from across Saskatchewan sent to your device

However, Boldt said it is not likely to come from one place.

“There needs to be a combined effort to ensure that the Globe Theatre is able to open its doors in November in 2024.”

She said the advocacy work for the Globe continues every day, and has reached out provincially and federally to try and get funding in place.

Wyatt Eckert, an architectural technologist and principal with P3A Architecture, joined Boldt at the executive committee meeting and explained why the costs of the building escalated.

“A particular issue with the Globe Theatre building, as an existing facility was the fact that it is 100 years old,” he said. “Until we actually were at the point where we could do the majority of the demolition, we really didn’t know what we had available to us.”

“You can only see so much until you actually strip this thing right back,” he added. “What we did find was that the internal structure to the building was just completely inadequate to meet current codes … that included floor slabs, some internal demolition … They needed to be addressed immediately.”

Boldt said if their funding request doesn’t go through, getting a bank loan is a massive risk.

“It’s not setting us up for a sustainable future to have that loan,” she said. “We can get the build done through that loan … I don’t know if we’re going to be able to pay that in the market that we have right now with our live performing arts.”

“It’s tricky to predict.”

The City of Regina committed $6.6 million to the Globe Theatre in 2019 and has given just under $7 million thus far, according to Boldt.

No decision was made at the meeting.