Replacing Brandt Centre a low priority for majority of Regina residents surveyed

Replacing the Brandt Centre and pursuing a new outdoor ballpark are currently not important priorities for residents who took part in the City of Regina’s Catalyst Committee Survey.

Results were released on Thursday and showed 41.6 per cent of those who completed the survey felt that replacing the Brandt Centre was “not at all a priority” for them, while 51.5 per cent of respondents said that a new multi-purpose outdoor baseball event centre was “not at all a priority.”

Only 9.5 per cent said that they feel replacing the Brandt centre is a “high priority” for them and only 8.4 per cent felt the same about constructing a new multi-purpose outdoor baseball facility.

Additionally, 14.5 per cent said replacing the Brandt Centre is “somewhat a priority,” while 18.6 per cent said it is a low priority for them. Another 15.8 per cent of respondents took a neutral stance.

When it came to a new outdoor multi-purpose ballpark, 10 per cent felt the project is “somewhat a priority,” 14.4 per cent said it’s a low priority and 15.6 per cent were neutral to the idea.

Private investments were how most residents felt the two projects should be funded if they were to go ahead in the future.

A total of 4,438 completed the entire survey between Oct. 17 and Nov 10, according to the city. The city also said that responses included over 12,000 open-ended comments.

“We had 4,500 responses, which makes this one of the most important public engagement surveys that the city has done” Coun. Bob Hawkins said.

Replacing the Brandt Centre and building a new outdoor multi-purpose baseball facility are two of five proposed major projects that the City of Regina’s Catalyst Committee proposed, with the goal of maximizing economic and community benefits.

The other proposed projects are: replacing the Lawson Aquatic Centre with a new 265,000 square foot facility for an estimated cost of $173 million, the modernization of the Central Library with a new 150,000 square foot facility at an estimated cost of $125 million (2020 dollars) and a proposal to build a new synthetic outdoor field for an estimated cost of $10 million.

This photo shows a virtual model of a seating plan for a new event centre that could one day replace Regina's Brandt Centre (Supplied: REAL)

The city said all projects have the potential to attract people and businesses to Regina’s downtown.

For all five proposals, survey respondents tended to favour answering that the projects were currently “not at all a priority” for them.

For the outdoor multi-purpose baseball facility, 51.5 percent of respondents felt that way, while 41.6 responded that way for replacing the Brandt Centre. For the new aquatics centre, 27.5 per cent said it is not a priority at all for them, 26.7 per cent felt the same way about replacing the Central Library and 40.1 per cent felt that way about a new outdoor field project.

A concept sketch of the 3,500-seat baseball stadium proposed on Dewdney Ave. (Supplied: Regina Red Sox)

Only the proposed replacement of the Lawson Aquatic Centre, Central Library and the new synthetic outdoor field received some support for public investment, according to the survey.

Nearly 33 per cent (32.8) said they “strongly agree” that a new aquatic centre should receive public investment. Twenty nine per cent said they “somewhat agree” replacing the Central Library should be done with public investment and 34.3 per cent of respondents “some what agree” that a new outdoor field should receive public investment.

“The public is concerned about municipal budgets but I think they’re also saying if other levels of government can contribute, if private investment will be triggered by these projects, then we should take advantage of that,” Hawkins said.

The City of Regina said the Catalyst Committee is currently reviewing community feedback from the survey along with the project proposals.

“If we can’t make our city attractive, for labour, for skillsets, for the best of the best, then ultimately we will jeopardize some of these head offices that call Regina home,” Tim Reid, REAL District CEO and co-chair of the Catalyst committee, said.

A finalized report is expected to be presented to City Council in early 2023.

Survey results can be seen here.