Regina council approves change to Brandt deal for REAL facilities

Regina city council has voted 6-4 to approve a change to the Brandt deal for REAL that will allow Brandt to operate the facilities it is not buying.

Those facilities are Mosaic Stadium, the Co-operators Centre, the AffinityPlex and Confederation Park.

Councillors Victoria Flores, David Froh, Shobna Radons and Shanon Zachidniak voted against the amendment.

Read more:

• REAL and FCR get ball rolling on 25-year lease agreement
• Brandt Group hopes new facility will put fears about Agribition’s future in Regina to rest
• Renderings reveal vision for Regina’s Brandt Centre, other REAL facilities

Froh, the councillor for Ward 3, wanted to know how the public should view the change, considering the city operates other recreational facilities. He was concerned it could be perceived by the public as the privatization of public recreation services and found it challenging to make a decision in such a tight time frame.

“I believe in the Brandt vision, and I believe we have other priorities and things to spend our money on,” he said. “I’m challenged because I have only partial information at this point. I don’t want to see the deal fail, but I’m struggling with some of my questions, and also that we’re running out of time.”

Mayor Chad Bachynski said it’s a complex deal, and council has to weigh the pros and cons of continuing with the deal or starting over at square one.

“That’s a pretty stark path for the city,” he said.

But Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak raised a concern about a change between the closed-door discussion at executive committee and the proposal before council Wednesday: the term would be for 10 years, with an option for two more five-year terms.

Originally, the terms would have been aligned with REAL’s agreement, with multiple five-year renewal options.

“I know that business moves quickly,” she said. “But this is not the same thing. This is us as city council being responsible for taxpayers’ assets.”

Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Turnbull asked what could happen if council voted no to the change.

“The risk is that the deal wouldn’t conclude,” the city’s Chad Jedlic said. He added that any other option would force the city to remain responsible for deferred maintenance.

He also said the rate that will be paid to Brandt is currently under negotiation, as the city seeks assurances that any future increases are reasonable and based on inflation.

The administration said in its report that separating the operation and maintenance of the assets excluded from the Brandt deal would bring challenges, including hiring staff and union considerations regarding current REAL staff.

Another challenge is the inefficiency of dealing with multiple operators across the grounds.

On the other hand, the report said allowing Brandt to become the operator across the district would not only give it time to establish its sports and entertainment business, but would also accomplish several goals of the Brandt-REAL deal.

It said if council were to stick with the original plan of transferring the non-purchased assets back to the city by the end of 2027, it could jeopardize the overall proposal.

Soccer group assured lease will be honoured

Wording about operations concerned FC Regina executive director T.J. Singh. The soccer organization has a 25-year lease that names it the operator of the AffinityPlex.

However, after speaking with city staff, Singh said the organization was now taking a more neutral stance.

He was still critical of the process and what he called a lack of transparency.

“We were very disappointed with the whole transition. It’s supposed to happen September 1, and we are here, August 26, and we still have not had a single conversation with staff about how this is happening,” he told council.

“There is literally no written confirmation on how this transition is going to happen.”

He wanted to know why, with 18 years remaining on its lease, FC Regina wasn’t consulted.

“Stability is very important for us, and one of the reasons we signed this 25-year lease was for some stability.”

In response to a question from Bachynski, Singh said the city has told the organization that the lease would be honoured. But he said the tight timeline made it hard to find legal assistance.

The overall deal is expected to close Sept. 1, though Bachynski told reporters the negotiations are continuing.