The leadership of Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) and Brandt Industries sought to set the record straight Friday, quashing concerns surrounding the future of Agribition by announcing the construction of a new building to help support livestock at the event. “Over the past several months, there’s been many narratives shared about the future of our event,” CWA President Karl Sauter told reporters. “Today is about providing clarity, confidence, and a shared vision of what’s ahead.” Shaun Semple, owner and president of Brandt Industries, announced the construction of a 115,000 square foot addition to the Bunge International Trade Centre. The new structure, which will house utilities for supporting livestock, will replace the 84,000 square feet the event will lose as Brandt transforms the Avana Centre into the home of Brandt Sports and Entertainment. “The project represents an additional investment of more than $8.5 million above and beyond the commitments that Brandt’s already committed to the city,” Semple noted. The facility will host a larger version of Brandt’s Queen City Distillers than what was previously planned. The distillery was originally planned to be housed in the Agribition Building along with Brandt’s planned entertainment venues. “We just moved the distillery part out of the building, it just got too big,” Semple said. Semple says the new building, which has the ability to be moved, should be ready by this year’s Agribition in November. The future of one of western Canada’s largest agriculture showcases has been the subject of much discussion since Brandt’s offer to buy much of the REAL District was greenlit by city council in May. Organizations with longstanding ties to CWA with office space at the REAL District, like the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) and the Canadian Bison Association (CBA), recently received eviction notices from REAL. Semple made sure to clarify his organization was not involved in those decisions while speaking with reporters on Friday. “The first point is that Brandt is not operating REAL today,” he said. “We have not taken possession of the facilities or the organization, except for the Avana Centre, which was part of the original City of Regina approval. We are not managing the organization. We are not making the operational decisions.” While speaking with CTV Your Morning Live Saskatchewan prior to the announcement, CWA CEO Shaun Kindopp did address the evictions, reassuring the public that Agribition was not in danger. “I gotta sympathize with those groups. We do feel for them, having to leave the property, but as far as Agribition, we’re currently full steam ahead at the moment,” he noted. In his pitch to city council, Semple promised to reinvigorate the REAL District, covering costly repairs and upkeep for many of the buildings and to attract high-profile acts and events to draw in crowds – even going as far to propose a Calgary Stampede style expansion for the event. Its a point Semple touched on again during Friday’s announcement. “If we don’t invest, if we don’t modernize, if we don’t make difficult decisions today, we risk losing the very events, organizations, community assets that we’re all trying to protect,” Semple added. “Our goal is not simply to preserve REAL District, our goal is to build a REAL District that our children and grandchildren can be proud of to inherit. Not one where everyone in Regina knows about it, but where Canada and beyond know about it, and prefer to hold their events here.” Held in the last week of November, CWA generated $151.3 million of economic activity in 2025. According to organizers, a total of 151,037 people attended the six day event.
