Downtown businesses welcome ballpark concept, further development at railyard

Downtown Regina businesses are in favour of home runs and crowds in the area if a new ballpark gets the signal to swing for the fences.

The Regina Red Sox have made public their concept for a new 3,500-seat downtown ballpark.

Bushwakkers brew pub bar manager Grant Frew says nothing but good could come from having a ballpark right across the street from the bar on Dewdney Avenue.

“Looking at this dusty old lot for three decades, to finally see something concrete taking place is very exciting,” Frew said.

“It has been frustrating. We’ve been hearing for years and years and years about different plans that are going to take place but this sounds like something that could really be tangible.

“What’s more traditional than baseball to link the modernism with downtown Regina with the historic Warehouse District?”

Rebellion Brewing president and CEO Mark Heise, whose business has been next door to the empty lot for years, also believes it could be a great driver for downtown business.

“It’s exciting to hear that someone wants to put something in that space. It has been vacant for a long time and I think a baseball diamond could be a good fit in there and I look forward to furthering this option,” Heise said.

“We’re looking for some sort of a feature development there, whether (it’s) a ball diamond or a few other things that are possible. But you need that main draw to help fill in the rest of the space around it.”

And what has it been like having a business next to a lot that has stayed empty for years?

“It certainly doesn’t help. (There’s) not much more to say beyond that,” Heise said.

But the new ballpark isn’t a home run just yet. The project still needs to be debated by city council and given approval.

There also still needs to be discussion about how the project — at a cost of possibly up to $25 million — will be financed and who will be on the hook for what percentage of the funds.