Back-to-back Regina Pats sellouts raise questions on Brandt Centre’s future – Regina | 24CA News
Since the World Junior Championship wrapped in early June, the Brandt Centre in Regina has seen elevated visitors come by way of the doorways.
The bigger crowds have introduced issues concerning the facility’s capability to offer a enjoyable fan expertise. Other issues embody lengthy wait traces for bogs, drinks and meals; a concourse with shoulder-to-shoulder visitors; and an outdated refrigeration unit that hasn’t been changed since building started in 1975.
Tim Reid has been president/CEO of the Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) for 5 years. “I had the privilege of, in 2018, being here for the Memorial Cup run, where the city was just living the experience of WHL.”
“We had a great run for the Regina Pats, and it was a great turnout at a fantastic event, but since that time we haven’t seen a sellout,” Reid says.
The Pats final two video games, nonetheless, have been standing-room solely. Droves of excited hockey followers have been lining as much as watch one of many sport’s brightest stars – Connor Bedard.
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The 17-year-old phenom has 85 factors in simply 34 video games and is projected to be the first general decide on this 12 months’s NHL draft.
“To see what Connor Bedard has done, we as the good people of Regina often have to be reminded by the rest of the nation what an opportunity we’ve had to have him in our building over the last couple of years,” Reid says.
Before Christmas, the Pats averaged 2,500 followers. Since then, that quantity has jumped to six,400.
Before coming to Regina, Reid was in command of operating Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alta. He compares Rexall to the Brandt Centre.
“There was not a better atmosphere in the NHL than an Edmonton Oilers playoff game and I would argue there’s not a better atmosphere in the CHL than a Regina Pats game at the Brandt Centre right now.”
Reid spoke to issues over lineups, seating and water leaks. “We have all the things of a building that was built in 1975.”
Reid additionally sits as a co-chair on the Catalyst Committee, created by Regina City Council to discover 5 culturally-based amenities to maximise financial and neighborhood advantages.
One of the 5 tasks was a Multi-Purpose Event Centre.
Community shows of proposed plans for the Brandt Centre had been held in October 2022. Members of the general public heard from the committee on the plan for a brand new stadium and the way greatest to repurpose the Brandt Centre.
After shows, neighborhood response surveys had been opened, and outcomes had been shared. Residents had been requested to offer their suggestions on places, funding and precedence.
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A brand new aquatic centre and modernization of the central library had been the highest two priorities for the folks in Regina. The occasion centre got here in third.
Reid acknowledges that individuals are uneasy about spending with regards to civic infrastructure. Inflation continues to develop, a possible recession looms and borrowing prices proceed to climb.
“One of the feedback components that we are hearing from the public is to be mindful of where we are (economically),” says Reid.
Rob Vanstone has been masking the Pats since 1988 with the Regina Leader-Post. Now sports activities editor, he’s watched from the press field as many years of Pats followers loved video games on the Brandt Centre.
“It’s hard to believe it’s elapsed that quickly, I’ve been watching the Pats since 1971.”
Vanstone says he’s by no means seen the sector so energetic presently through the season. “The semifinal in 2001; I don’t think I’ve ever heard the building louder, there have been some playoff runs that the team has been on, but when you are talking about the building being as electric as it is in January. That’s pretty rare.”
In 2017, Regina watched because the long-standing residence of the Roughriders, Taylor Feild, was put to relaxation. Vanstone attracts comparisons between Taylor Field and the Brandt Centre. ” It’s bought to the identical level with the Brandt Centre because it has with Mosaic Stadium or Taylor subject – how a lot is it going to price to patch it up simply to get one other 10-15 years out of it?”
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According to Reid, a Brandt Centre revival would price within the ballpark of $16 million. A brand new enviornment would price $ 100 million plus land acquisition prices relying on when a website is asserted. Reid seems at a brand new enviornment as an funding for the longer term, not only a revival.
“We need to start talking about what’s going to serve us for the next 50 years of community and not just hockey. Concerts, Remembrance Day, community gatherings, all the things that we love,” Reid says. “If we are not competitive enough, they are just going to go to other cities.”
The Catalyst Committee is predicted to offer its suggestions to metropolis council within the coming months.
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