Canadian Western Agribition is willing to put its money where its mouth is by offering $25,000 to assist with a business plan to renew the facilities at Regina Exhibition Park.
Agribition president Herb McLane said last week that some of the buildings in barn row must be repaired or replaced. Some members of the board of directors met with Regina mayor Pat Fiacco to discuss the conditions, which include leaky roofs, poor air quality and inadequate water and power.
“We were very frank in expressing our view that the time for action on the facilities renewal is now,” McLane said. “We cannot afford, as an organization, another planning cycle to pass without concrete action to replace what we consider infrastructure that is long past its prime.”
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Each year Agribition has to bring in supplemental power to meet its requirements. Last year’s entries stretched the capacity of the barns as well.
McLane said recent enhancements to the park help, including the construction of the Credit Union EventPlex, but there are still “tremendous infrastructural challenges.”
He doesn’t want those challenges to limit Agribition’s ability to move forward.
The show has been an annual event in Regina since 1971 and McLane said there are no plans to move it elsewhere. Agribition has contributed to facility renewal and expansion in the past, most recently with the construction of Stockmen’s Arena and a new stadium roof.
Agribition is prepared to work with Regina Exhibition Park on a proposed multi-use facility, he said.
Mark Allan, president of Regina Exhibition Association Ltd., said a plan for park renewal should be available for public consultation within a couple of months.
He said the association shares Agribition’s concerns about the facilities that are more than 50 years old. He favours knocking down the old facilities and replacing them with a multi-use facility that could serve Agribition, the Royal Red Arabian horse show and other events.
