Regina's Evraz Place to be renamed the 'REAL District'

Evraz Place name change WATCH: After 15 years Evraz decided not to renew its contract with REAL. Kaylyn Whibbs explains.

Regina’s Evraz Place will be known as the REAL District moving forward, following a name change announcement Wednesday.

Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) said the new name and logo were developed after months of consultation.

"We have valued our partnership with first Ipsco, and now Evraz, for the last 15 years," Tim Reid, president, and CEO of REAL, said in a news release.

"They stepped up at a time when our company needed a partner. This change is the culmination of extensive stakeholder engagement, months of work, and an agreement that had come to an end."

The partnership between REAL and Evraz expired in May 2021, with Evraz North America deciding to decline the renewal rights.

"We took a lot of time to weigh the value of naming rights versus our brand identity. We learned that less than half of the people we spoke to knew REAL operated the property or put on things like the QCX," Reid said.

“We value the corporate partnerships we currently have, and REAL District speaks to our role of developing our property and in bringing people together to create great memories and experiences.”

Reid said one of the driving factors to steer away from a title sponsor was brand confusion.

According to him, they received resumes for Evraz from people looking for jobs at the steel facility and have even had shipments dropped off on the campus.

This confusion, he said, goes both ways.

“We often hear stories from them about people calling asking how they get in line for Foo Fighters tickets,” said Reid.

Reid also said not putting a title sponsor on the property will lead to a $400,000 a year increase.

“By not putting a corporate partner on the district it actually elevates the value of every building,” he explained, adding it will also make the area more appealing for commercial investments.

A distillery, a hotel and restaurants are on the horizon setting the district on a trajectory towards becoming an entertainment destination where you spend the day or weekend, rather than just a few hours.

“We don’t want you to just come watch a football game,” said Reid. “We want you to come and go to the YQR Distillery, watch a football game and then find another opportunity to hang out on campus.”

While the name change is not a result of the ongoing war between Russia and the Ukraine, REAL said current events accelerated the announcement timeline.

“We have many Ukrainian staff that are affected by this conflict and the trauma and the impact of that is not insignificant,” said Reid.

Mayor Sandra Masters said council had directed REAL to consider the idea of district developments.

“I think we’re looking at districts beyond just what’s on the 103 acres,” said Masters.

“It’s a rebrand and a refresh and when folks come in from out of town it’ll be ‘you’ve got to go to the REAL District.’”

Social media handles and the website have already taken to the new identity with work on swapping signage starting on Wednesday as well.

The rebrand process is going to be rolled out slowly over the next year, with the full image being put in place in two years to stagger the financial impact.

This year’s budget is set at $100,000 with the total cost being between $200,000 to $250,000, including everything from signage, to websites, to business cards and uniforms.

Evraz took over the naming rights to the facility in 2008.

Roman Abramovich, a Russian who also holds European Union citizenship, is Evraz’s largest shareholder with a 28 per cent stake. He has not been sanctioned, although the question was raised in the House of Commons Tuesday.