Regina city council approves REAL's $4M loan request

Brandt Centre

Regina city council approved the Regina Exhibition Association Limited’s (REAL) $4 million loan request to help pay down its line of credit.

During a special council meeting on Tuesday, REAL’s acting president and CEO Roberta Engel gave an overview of the organization’s financial struggles, noting that REAL’s operational profits started to decline as early as 2015.

“By 2019, [REAL] had reported a decline of $1.7 million. This decline in operation profit accelerated with the onset of the pandemic, and by 2024 had accumulated a total of $13 million in operational losses over 10 years,” she said.

“This shortfall is required because real will very soon maximize its line of credit and can no longer fund its operating losses with debt.”

REAL’s $4 million funding request report was first presented at an executive committee meeting at the end of September, Executive committee ultimately recommended that Regina city council approve the request.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Ward 4 Coun. Lori Bresciani asked what would happen if the $4 million was not approved.

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“If the $4 million isn’t approved today, we literally start hitting the limit of our cash flow, and so we start locking the doors, we start shutting down our facilities,” Engel said.

“By the end of October, we reach our $6.8 million line of credit, so that means we have no more funding or money to make any bill payments or to operate.”

Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak asked if REAL considered any other funding options.

“We have followed up on certain options for payment deferrals, on whether that be utilities taking on payment plans for our insurance. so that we can minimize the need for immediate cash, but that just defers the cash to the following year,” Engel said.

Following discussions, the $4 million was approved in a vote of 8 to 2, allowing REAL to move forward into 2025.

The funding will keep REAL within its maximum line of credit limit until March 2025, then will require additional funding in April 2025.