At tomorrow's (July 5, 2017) Executive Committee meeting, Council members will be asked to provide a cash grant of $1,310,700 to REAL for renovations to the Brandt Centre in support of hosting the 2018 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Check out the details here.
Regina has won the bid to host the 2018 Memorial Cup. Estimates indicate that the event will bring in about $11 million in economic activity to our City. Attendance will be around 60,000. That said, the revenue generated directly for the City is $0. Our facility, and the cup itself, will function as a subsidy for local restaurants, bars, hotels, as well as the Pats. The Pats are owned by Queen City Sport and Entertainment Group, a consortium of owners controlled by Anthony Marquart, Todd Lumbard, Shaun Semple, Gavin Semple, and Jason Drummond.
To ensure that the Brandt Centre is up to the task, Council is being asked to invest over $1.3 million in upgrades to a facility run by REAL, which is owned by the City of Regina, and part of Evraz Place. Evraz is the largest interconnected event complex in Canada and home to the new Mosaic Stadium, the new International Trade Centre facilities, Queensbury Convention Centre, the Co-operators Centre, the EventPlex, Canada Centre, and the Brandt Centre. The City of Regina owns the land and buildings at Evraz Place. REAL acts as steward of all assets on the 100-acre property.
The $1.3 million is in addition to a $250,000 ask from Administration as part of our commitment to Memorial Cup infrastructure and operations. The City's contribution is conditional upon REAL securing an additional $2,725,000 in funding, comprised of $1.5 from REAL and $1.225 from the Local Memorial Cup organizing committee. In the end, REAL and the City will be left with a greatly improved facility.
Is it worth it? I'm on the fence. The money goes towards improving a world-class facility that the City owns and operates through REAL. This brings people and large events to our City. My beef is that the public treasury doesn't make anything off of this directly. Shouldn't we be looking for new sources of revenue?
Here are the details from the Executive Committee report:
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That the City of Regina (City) provide a cash grant of $1,310,700 to Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) for renovations to the Brandt Centre in support of hosting the 2018 MasterCard Memorial Cup (Memorial Cup).
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That the City’s contribution is conditional upon REAL securing an additional $2,725,000 in funding, comprised of $1.5 from REAL and $1.225 from the Local Memorial Cup organizing committee.
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That the City’s contribution be financed through a withdrawal from the Asset Revitalization Reserve.
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That the Executive Director City Services be delegated the authority to negotiate and approve the terms of the Contribution Agreement between the City and REAL as outlined in this report.
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That the City Clerk be authorized to execute the Contribution Agreement on behalf of the City after review by the City Solicitor.
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That this report be forwarded to the July 31, 2017 meeting of City Council for approval.