REGINA -- The success of the health protocols at Regina’s East Division WHL Hub could help bring more big events to the city, according to the head of Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL).

Together with the Regina Pats, REAL successfully hosted seven teams in Regina’s WHL hub. Over two months, the league conducted 1,930 COVID-19 tests. Not a single test came back positive, making the East Division the only WHL division without a positive COVID-19 case.

“We have an incredibly competitive position because we point to the fact that we’ve done this, we’ve done this safely and we understand what reopening of events look like,” Tim Reid, CEO and president of REAL said.

Players, coaches and staff stayed in dorms at the University of Regina and Luther College. They travelled to and from the Brandt Center and had limited access to outdoor spaces. The competition volume was rigorous.

“We’ve done 84 games in 48 days. That’s two and a half seasons for us at the Brandt Center in some ways,” Reid said.

The track record is giving Regina a competitive advantage in attracting more events. Reid said it’s already providing optimism for a CFL season, as the Roughriders used the WHL hub’s plan to get their return to play plan approved.

REAL is now targetting 3-4 significant national and international events. Reid said they’re in discussion with Hockey Canada about hosting the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships, which was recently postponed in Halifax.

“The women’s world hockey championships is definitely an event that we’ve had on our radar and one that we want to chase as a community,” Reid said.

In the WHL hub, the Brandon Wheat Kings claimed the East Division title with 38 points (18-4-2).

“Pretty cool part about this, this was history-making right? Given the tools that we had and we didn’t have all the money in the world,” Stacey Cattell, the chief operation officer of the Regina Pats, said.

Teams played in front of no fans, creating financial challenges for the WHL teams. But the biggest worry was that a team or staff member would test positive for COVID-19.

“There was skepticism and angst,” Cattell said. “There were a lot of sleepless nights in putting this on because we had scares and we were worried about things.”

The Pats and the WHL are optimistic about having an audience attend games for the 2021-22 season, which is expected to begin in September. Reid says REAL is working on a scale of options given the uncertainty of the pandemic.