Here's what a new entertainment district could look like in Regina
Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) is exploring what a brand new 10,000 seat event centre could look like in the city.
REAL is scheduled to present possible plans for a Regina entertainment district to the city’s executive committee on Wednesday.
It suggests the city should use the future replacement of the Brandt Centre as a catalyst to create a new mid-sized multi-purpose event centre.
“Although we don’t have to make a decision on the Brandt Centre today, we should recognize at some point we will have to make a decision,” Tim Reid, the president and CEO of REAL, said Tuesday.
The feasibility study lays out five viable locations for the project, including the REAL District, the rail yards off Dewdney Avenue or three properties in downtown Regina.
This graphic shows possible locations for the five proposed Regina Entertainment District plans. (Source: Regina Exhibition Association Limited)
REAL is recommending one specific location in downtown Regina, which remained confidential, that it feels is best suited to support the project.
“It is the unanimous decision of the Arena Planning Strategic Committee (APSC2) that the downtown location #5 outlined in detail within the final report holds the greatest potential for the creation of an entertainment district and maximizing the transformational change and financial benefit for the greater City of Regina,” the report read.
REAL anticipates between $100 million to $120 million in construction costs for the project, with an additional cost of $32.7 million to $33.1 million for land assembly costs.
The plans for use of the new facility factor in the addition of National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) teams in Regina.
The report estimates the new facilities would be in use around 100 days annually, between the Regina Pats, an NLL and CEBL team; as well as concerts and events.
The operational model projects $1.8 million in net operating income annually, with $10.4 million in revenue and $8.5 million in operating costs.
The APSC2 is composed of several stakeholders in Regina, including the Warehouse District, the Downtown Business Association and the Regina and District Chamber of Commerce.
“There’s a real opportunity for growth and a real opportunity to revitalize downtown with any type of new structure that goes downtown whether it be a new aquatic centre, library or arena,” Tony Playter, the CEO of the Regina and District Chamber of Commerce, said.
The study also recommends the Brandt Centre be repurposed either as a space for recreational or agricultural use.
REAL is optimistic the report will be accepted by the city and used for future planning of a possible replacement of the Brandt Centre.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.