Regina's Evraz Place proposes asset review to improve site and attract more visitors

Regina's Evraz Place has made a proposal to the City of Regina in hopes of improving the site — particularly its parking.

Instead of the annual $400,000 grant from the city, Evraz Place is proposing $200,000 and an asset review.

Tim Reid, president and CEO of Regina Exhibition Association Ltd., made the proposal at Wednesday's executive committee meeting.

"We need to build a new strategic plan," Reid told CBC News.

The goal is to develop a long-term plan for the site to attract more people and eventually get rid of the annual grant.

He said the review will provide an in-depth look at the site's current conditions and maintenance needs, as well as develop an investment plan.

"We want to build an understanding of our sustainability for today as well as to the next generation," he said.

Evraz Place has been seeing gradual growth for both the revenue and expenses, according to Reid, especially with the Brier and Memorial Cup held at the Brandt Centre this year, which is part of Evraz Place.

Reid hopes the review will help Evraz Place keep its numbers up during years without major events.

Parking woes

"Parking remains our single greatest frustration," Reid said.

"The challenge that we see with parking today is we're trying do a lot of things with a lot of people, and I'm not sure we're doing any of them particularly well."

In some cases, he says, it charges for parking when there's a major event happening, whereas other times parking is free.

"We're not seeing any revenue from the sea of parking we have around us," he said.

"Because of that we're not generating any mechanism by which we can reinvest into parking."

He said Evraz Place needs to keep its free recreational parking, while finding ways to generate additional revenue during major events and create a more efficient way to handle parking.

"Certainly, I think a parking strategy for Evraz Place is critical given the fact that we see three and a half million visitors a year," he said.

"I think this comes back to a site plan, not only that encompasses our buildings but also talks about how we provide more access points onto the site."

He said specific details on parking changes would be part of the proposed asset review, as well as the possibility of bringing new amenities to the site.

Reid said his next meeting with the city is scheduled for early December.

Evraz Place's website currently has a survey for people to provide their input on the site's future.