Brandt’s ‘lottery’ proposal to buy REAL one council vote away from approval

A proposal from Brandt owner Shaun Semple to take over REAL District properties goes before council with over a dozen delegates speaking. Donovan Maess reports.

Following his first pitch to city councillors last week at executive committee, Brandt owner Shaun Semple’s proposal to buy several buildings on the REAL District Campus is now just one council vote away from reality.

“This is like winning the lottery,” Semple told committee members last week. “If you won the lottery, would you say, ‘Hang on, don’t give me that money. I want to check it out first to see whether or not it’s any good. I don’t know if I want to take it.’”

“You’re winning the lottery here today,” he added.

The proposed $6.5 million deal to purchase large portions of Regina’s REAL District cleared a major hurdle April 29 after passing through committee 7-4.

• Brandt purchase of REAL District clears first hurdle with executive committee approval

The properties include the Ag-Ex Building, Canada Centre Building, Commercial Cattle Barn, Queensbury Convention Centre, Stockman’s Building, the Brandt Centre, the Agribition Building, the land lease for the McDonalds located at 1810 Exhibition Parkway and the parking lot west of Mosaic Stadium.

According to the terms of the agreement, “The city will exempt the purchased assets operated by [Brandt] from the municipal and library portion of the applicable property taxes for a period of five years after closing.”

The terms also outline Brandt will have access to the stadium to host two events per year, including rights to food and beverage revenues and City services for policing, fire and bylaw enforcement services.

As part of the deal, Brandt will be assuming existing leases, sponsorship, food and beverage and service agreements related to the buildings, as well as all event bookings or contracts.

• Here’s a deep dive into the terms of the REAL-Brandt proposal

Brandt will also assume all REAL employment contracts and union-related obligations, including those associated with applicable collective agreements.

“There’s risk in any deal,” said Mayor Chad Bachynksi, who supported the deal at executive, after last week’s meeting. “At the end of the day, when I weigh the pros and cons of what’s in front of us, there is a high risk of us not being able to keep those facilities running and we heard that.”

“When we look at the evaluation and the condition of those assets, when I think about the events, the concerts, the conferences, the sports, that are happening in those facilities: Those will go away if they are deemed unsafe or have leaks or other problems, mechanical issues, let’s say, which come up where we can’t even use the assets,” he added.

Longer list of delegates

Another long list of delegates is set to speak Wednesday to council.

Thirteen individuals have registered to appear in front of councillors at the meeting.

Six others have submitted written delegations, including The Mosaic Company. Three residents have given their own submissions – one appears to be in favour, while the other two have raised concerns about the proposal.

• What will happen to REAL’s employees if Brandt takes over the organization?

Some appeared at last week’s meeting, while others – including former Mayor Michael Fougere – did not.

Former REAL financial analyst Ali Shayan Khan is also prepared to give a presentation.

Semple himself will go through another round of questions from councillors.

Regina city council is set to debate the deal again Wednesday afternoon.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.