City to continue planning for Revitalization Project
The City of Regina will continue planning the next steps for the Regina Revitalization Initiative (RRI), which will include conceptual design work on a replacement for Mosaic Stadium and finalizing a P3 procurement plan.
The City submitted a funding proposal for the project to the provincial government on April 24. The project includes redeveloping a large area of land in the heart of Regina with commercial, retail and residential opportunities, as well as building a replacement for Mosaic Stadium. The proposal requested a total of $230 million from the Province to help fund the project. The City requested the Province provide a response by May 31.
“The Province has not yet provided us with their decision on our funding request,” Deputy City Manager and Executive Lead for RRI Brent Sjoberg said. “We will require a decision in the near future to keep the project on schedule. In the meantime, the RRI business unit will continue our work to be in a position to begin implementation once the funding decisions are made.”
In June, the City will begin the conceptual design process for the new stadium. This work will include developing some high-level concepts such as exterior design, seating arrangements and priorities for amenities such as concessions, washrooms and video displays. This process will provide further details as to what can be achieved for a $250 million capital investment.
The City will also continue to refine the financial requirements and other elements of the plan, and seek Council approval for the overall RRI plan toward the end of June.
“While we will continue to work on the project, we do require decisions soon in order to meet the goal of building a new stadium by 2016,” Sjoberg said. “Without funding decisions in the near future, the schedule will become unachievable. As well, there will be a point at which it will not make sense to proceed with more work.”
Throughout June the City will also continue to negotiate with CP Rail for the purchase of 17.5 acres of land at the downtown rail yard. Negotiations have moved forward, however some details will take some more time before a final deal can be announced.
The RRI project includes redeveloping the CP Rail land with commercial, retail and residential opportunities, replacing Mosaic Stadium with a modern open-air stadium located at Evraz Place, and building a new neighbourhood on the 20 acre site of the current stadium. The total capital cost of the project is $348.3 million, with the Province and the City as the primary public sector funding partners.