REAL District president deems Grey Cup Festival a success

Great results, great feedback and a great Grey Cup game.

That’s from REAL District president and CEO Tim Reid, who said having all of the events and food in one place was well-received by Grey Cup Festival partygoers.

Reid told Tuesday’s Greg Morgan Morning Show that he not only heard that locally, but from fans from across the country as well.

“I heard it time and time again that it was just exceptional to have it in one place,” he said.

The Festival at REAL District started Wednesday, when team rooms and other attractions opened. The event concluded Sunday with the Grey Cup game at Mosaic Stadium, where the Toronto Argonauts beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-23.

Reid confirmed organizers had some shortages of products on Saturday night, when vendors ran out of food and drinks. But he said in a matter of a half an hour, they were able to bring products over from the stadium.

“We managed to resolve it pretty quickly. Food and beverage was really well-handled considering we had over 2,000 locations serving food and beverages over the course of the weekend,” Reid said.

He added he’s feeling optimistic that REAL District hit the benchmarks that it set for the Festival, but he said data is still being collected.

Reid did say while the Festival was fantastic, there was one thing organizers would’ve changed.

“The one thing we could’ve reshaped was how we moved people from outdoor festival locations to indoor venues,” he said.

Now that the Grey Cup is over, Reid said preparation is underway at REAL District for Canadian Western Agribition. He said he’s expecting another record performance again.

Agribition will be at REAL District from next Monday until Dec. 3.