The Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) and its Arena Planning Strategy Committee (APSC) is seeking City Council’s endorsement to proceed to the next phase of exploring a replacement for the Brandt Centre.
The REAL Board of Directors has unanimously endorsed the APSC’s final report “Brandt Centre 2.0: Exploring the Future” which is attached as Appendix A.
The Brandt Centre 2.0 report is the first phase of the process to develop a strategy for the future of the Brandt Centre. The report provides a recommended approach from the APSC based on comprehensive research and best practices in other communities.
The next phase will include a comprehensive economic impact assessment, explore potential sites for the new event centre and develop a capital and operational model.
Policy/Strategic Impact
REAL’s proposed strategic direction for the Evraz Place property aligns and a future of the Brandt Centre with the following Community Priorities identified in Design Regina: The Official Community Plan Bylaw 2013-48:
Embrace Built Heritage and Invest in Arts, Culture, Sport and Recreation
· Enhance quality of life, community identity and pride by supporting heritage preservation, arts, culture and four-season sport and recreation activities which will foster community vibrancy and cohesiveness.
Achieve Long Term Financial Viability
· Spend money wisely to ensure the City’s ability to manage its services and amenities both now and in the future. This includes considering the full costs of operating before committing to projects or services and to search out new ways to generate revenue to ensure the City has the financial resources to meet customers’ needs.
Foster Economic Prosperity
· Support a vibrant and diverse economy that provides opportunities for residents to prosper and Regina to flourish.
Accessibility Impact
Accessibility impacts will be explored and addressed in the next phase of the project.
Environmental Impact
Environmental impacts will be identified and addressed in future design phases. Administration is committed to working with REAL to ensure that any design prioritizes sustainability and is consistent with City Council’s commitment to becoming a 100 per cent renewable city by 2050.
Financial Impact
The original investment to construct the Brandt Centre in 1977 was $7.7 million. In today’s dollars the Brandt Centre would represent a facility value of $33 million. Replacement value to rebuild the exact facility is estimated at $78.4 million. The cost of a new multipurpose event centre that would meet the needs of the Regina community for the next 50 years is estimated at $100 million.
If City Council endorses the next phase of REAL’s work, any requests for funding to advance a multipurpose event centre will be subject to future consideration and decision of City Council.
Legal Impact
There are no legal implications related to this report.
1. To not support the continuation of work of the Arena Planning Strategy Committee.
2. Propose an alternative strategy.
The Brandt Centre 2.0: Exploring the Future report was unanimously approved by the REAL Board of Directors on March 24, 2021.
The decision of City Council will be shared with the members of the REAL Board of Directors and the APSC.
Context:
The Brandt Centre is a 43-year old multi-use facility, which is home to the Regina Pats Hockey Club and hosts numerous sporting and cultural events, and concerts.
The future of this facility emerged as a priority as REAL revised its strategic plan. In 2018, REAL initiated a Futures Committee of community leaders to inform its strategic plan. The engagement process reached more than 6,000 community members to share their thoughts, perspectives and experiences about the future and importance of REAL and EVRAZ Place in providing sport, recreation and event spaces. The Committee publicly released a detailed report proposing 14 recommendations, which formed the foundation of REAL’s 2020-2035 Strategic Plan: EVRAZ Place 2.0. One of the recommendations was to undertake comprehensive research and provide options for the future of the aging Brandt Centre.
Recognizing the risk of continuing the operations of an aging civic asset without a forward-facing strategy, the REAL Board established the APSC in March 2020.
The APSC researched comparable Canadian event centres as to their locations, construction costs, timelines and demographics. The research identified best practices and provided comparisons between Brand Centre and other facilities across Canada.
The Committee also undertook a detailed analysis of the operations and structural condition of the existing Brandt Centre. The APSC explored a number of options that considered the future of the Brandt Centre and the respective costs of those options as follows:
1. Maintaining as-is:
· The Brandt Centre would require an estimated investment of $8.8 million over the next 20 years, with $5 million required within the next five years.
2. Renovating:
· Estimated cost for the renovation of the existing Brandt Centre is $40 million. This renovation would not allow for a modern multipurpose event centre that would be competitive with other communities or meet the increasing needs of our community.
3. New Building:
· The cost for a new Event Centre is estimated at $100 million.
Based on these projected costs, the option of “Maintaining as-is” does not provide competitive advantage or future sustainability.
The APSC engaged Economic Development Regina (EDR) to understand the current economic impact of the Brandt Centre, the potential economic impact of a $40 million modernization of the facility, and the impacts and opportunities of a new $100 million construction. The economic impacts are detailed in Appendix C of the Brandt Centre 2.0 report.
Final report recommendations:
The APSC identified and developed the following recommendations for City Council’s consideration:
1. Prioritize the replacement of the Brandt Centre (new building)
2. Develop a re-purpose strategy for the Brandt Centre (renovating)
3. Develop a short-term maintenance plan for the Brandt Centre (maintaining as-is)
4. Advance the work of the APSC to a second phase
5. Don’t just build an Event Centre, build a district
Next steps and timelines:
If City Council supports the work of the APSC, the second phase of work will proceed. This will include a comprehensive economic impact assessment, location assessment and site recommendation, a full site plan, facility schematic, capital financing plan, operational and programming model, operational model, total facility life cost and public and stakeholder engagement process.
The timeframe for REAL to return to City Council with a report and recommendations detailing the results of the second phase of work is expected to be Q1 of 2022.
The Priorities and Planning Committee of City Council endorsed EVRAZ Place 2.0, REAL’s 2020-2035 Strategic Plan, which included direction to review the future of the Brandt Centre (PPC20-3)
The final report on the future of the Brandt Centre was delivered to and approved by the REAL BOD on March 24, 2021.
The recommendations contained within this report are within the delegated authority of the Executive Committee.
Respectfully Submitted,
Chris Holden, City Manager