Brandt Sports and Entertainment has now provided a full outline of what it envisions for its new live music and entertainment venue. Brandt owner Shaun Semple made the announcement Wednesday morning, providing renderings and unveiling the names of each of the venues inside Queen City Distillers. The six “experiences” as described by Brandt include: Dining, retail, entertainment and nightlife will all exist in one spot. So many venues have been combined that the brewery and distillery are now slated to be constructed in the Avana Centre building along Lewvan Drive. It’s a change that Semple says was necessary in order to not downgrade any of the other “experiences” potential. With six different brands under the same set of roofs, Semple is confident that they will create an environment renowned not only in Regina. “The world doesn’t lead a path to your door, you have to go out and you have to attract it. Whether its talent, shows, whatever and so now having it all under one umbrella allows us to go tell that story and build a team around it.” Semple said. Some examples of this collaboration are how The Last Note speakeasy can operate after main shows at The Jack have ended, or The Draft Room having its very own broadcast room for interviews when a big event or Pats game at the adjacent Brandt Centre is complete. It’s a cohesive marketing strategy that the Vice President of Marketing Matt Semple is looking forward to implementing. “If we have the Pats playing next door, if we have concerts going on at the Brandt Centre next door, we have a stage in the sports bar that’s perfectly set up for pre-game, post-game, post-concert interviews and those kinds of things. So how do we bring the content off of the playing surface and get that into the sports bar is a little bit of what we are trying to build,” he explained. The big-ticket item, however, is “The Jack.” The purpose-built live entertainment venue will feature Canada’s longest bar, Las Vegas style logos, private boxes, and Canada’s only immersive sound systems like the ones in the sphere in Las Vegas. Named after Shaun Semple’s uncle Jack Semple, who is a Juno award-winning artist, The Jack will seat 1,550 and is built to attract touring artists and highlight local talent alike. Its combination of features is the result of pulling inspiration from the most prestigious entertainment venues in North America. “I think what we want to do is we want to bring a little Las Vegas to Regina, we want to bring a little Nashville to Regina, we want to bring a little bit of the high-end restaurants to Regina, and I want to bring a little Disney magic to Regina, that’s what success looks like,” Shaun Semple said. The project represents a $70 million investment into the future brewery and distillery facility to be located on the REAL District which Brandt is in the process of acquiring from the City of Regina. $45 million is projected for the six entertainment projects and $25 million for the brewery and distillery. Upon completion, the brewery will be the second largest in Saskatchewan and the distillery will be the largest in the province. Together, the Queen City Distillers projects are expected to create more than 200 jobs through the “experiences brands, and another 40-50 at the Distillery itself. Construction is expected to be completed in spring 2027.
