Regina City Council has approved amending its agreement with Brandt Properties Ltd. to extend the company’s operations of all REAL District properties for up to 20 years. Under the original non-binding agreement dated on April 9, 2026, the City of Regina agreed to have Brandt operate and maintain Mosaic Stadium, the Co-operators Centre, AffinityPlex and Confederation Park for a limited-time. At Wednesday’s meeting, councillors voted 6 to 4 in favour of amending the agreement to allow Brandt to operate and maintain the properties for an initial term of up to 10 years along with two five-year renewal options at the city’s discretion. It otherwise follows the city’s existing Campus Master Lease agreement with REAL dated back to Sept. 1, 2021. Before the motion passed, councillors shared concerns about fees for community user groups changing once operations for the recreation centres become Brandt’s responsibility. “Does that mean [the city is] still responsible for setting the terms and the price for the groups I just mentioned?” Ward 3 Councillor David Froh asked at Wednesday’s meeting. However under the city’s Leisure Fees Bylaw, administration pointed out the fees dedicated to community user groups are protected. “The city would still control the user group prices. It would just be a matter of how much the city as a whole, through the tax base would have to subsidize that based on what we’re getting charged,” Mayor Chad Bachynski explained to reporters. “That’s part of the negotiation is to determine what that would [be], and it will go up over time like any rates, but it’s to find a reasonable way to get there through negotiations.” Brandt’s request to take over all properties at the REAL District as opposed to just some during its original agreement would benefit the city in the long-run, Bachynski added, as the centres are in need of major renovations. “What I heard from administration … the efficiencies that we can gain in having one operator on the campus versus giving up potentially the ability to run it ourselves, but also hearing that there’s challenges with running it ourselves with some of the potential success rates,” Bachynski said, referring to the financial stress it would put on city to repair the aging buildings. As negotiations for a final deal with Brandt continue with city administration, Bachynski said approving the motion played a significant role for the overall agreement. “If this deal fell through that means the city is taking back all of those assets that we know, and actually we know in great detail now, the condition of those assets and I don’t see a path forward where the city is able to fund the necessary investment into those buildings,” he said. “I asked the question today, there is a real path forward if this deal falls through where the city is going to have to make some tough decision on which buildings will stand on that campus going forward.” He added that there are “a number of sticking points” that are still up for negotiation as part of the $6.5 million deal. The recommendation was made at the Regina Execute Committee’s meeting on Aug. 15 during its private session. Although all REAL employees will be moving over to Brandt once negotiations are complete, the future of the REAL District as a city organization are still unclear, the mayor told reporters Wednesday evening. The deal is expected to close by Sept. 1.
