Red Sox hoping to garner more support for new multi-purpose stadium

Presentations by the City of Regina’s catalyst committee to the public rolled into their third day Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the committee and representatives of the Regina Red Sox were to present what a new multi-purpose baseball and soccer stadium could look like.

Red Sox president Gary Brotzel wants the proposed facility to serve as a replacement for his ball club’s current home, the aging and crumbling Currie Field.

Brotzel has been working on the project for a while and feels a new facility will serve a big need in the community.

“I’m excited about it. We want people to come out and support this project,” he said on Wednesday’s Greg Morgan Morning Show. “It’s very affordable as far as big projects go in Regina and the economic impact from a project like that could be huge for the city.”

Initial estimates suggested the stadium would cost between $20 million and $25 million.

Originally, Brotzel was just looking to have a new baseball stadium built for his Western Canadian Baseball League club, but the catalyst committee came up with an idea to combine the diamond with a soccer field.

“We had a meeting last week and saw some preliminary drawings and the way it’s looking now, it’ll be a joint baseball and soccer stadium with 2,000 seats on either side with a joint concourse,” Brotzel explained. “You could have one of our baseball games going on and a (potential future) pro soccer game at the same time.”

Brotzel noted the city has eyed two sites for where the facility could be built: The railyards and the former site of Taylor Field. The Taylor Field location also is listed as a possible site for a new aquatics centre.

He suggests while the facility would be the focal point of the area, it could also be used to attract other projects to the area.

“Some of the plans we saw the other day still allowed room for housing around that complex,” he said. “I think (with) some of these developments, you build something like that and then things will pop up around it. Maybe some retail (or) affordable housing — there’s lots you can do with it.”

Brotzel hoped people supporting the project would show up Wednesday and express the need for a facility like it. He feels there’s lots of support in the city.

“It doesn’t matter where I go in Regina, everybody comes up to me asking how the stadium project is going,” he stated. “They always say, ‘You’ve got to get it done.’ I want those people to show up (Wednesday) and if you’re one of those people that’s constantly bugging me about getting this thing built, show up and voice your opinion.”

An online survey is available on the city’s website, as are PowerPoint presentations of each of the five projects being considered by the catalyst committee. There also is an online tool to submit questions to the committee.