The future of soccer in Regina is bright thanks to a new lease agreement between Futbol Club Regina (FCR) and Regina Exhibition Association Limited.
The 25-year-agreement has a goal of expanding the field space available at Evraz Place by building a new outdoor synthetic soccer stadium on campus.
REAL CEO Tim Reid says the agreement will allow Evraz Place to become a premier soccer destination in the prairies, adding it’s exciting to have committed to 25 years.
“The talk about a 25-year term allows you to talk about what happens generationally, it allows you to imagine some of the plans that ourselves and FCR have put together about growing outdoor soccer amenities, about potentially doming those amenities for indoor growth,” said Reid. “And it allows you to plan for the next generation of athlete versus just the next couple years of season.”
The new agreement will now allow FCR to operate year-round, after previously only being allowed to operate for 26 weeks a year.
FC Regina Executive Director TJ Singh says the partnership is very exciting for the organization.
“We have always been looking for a place which we can call home, and with the new agreement now, we can actually use this space for 52 weeks, and also help REAL out with all their major events like the QCX, Agribition, and the Farm Progress Show,” said Singh. “We wanted something where we could centralize our programming, and I feel that this is the best way we could have done that.”
Singh says by improving the facilities, the city will be able to attract major tournaments and potentially a semi-pro team.
During the province’s reopening, REAL has announced a lot of new investments into sports, and Reid says that’s a testament to the organizations focus during the pandemic.
“While we were in shutdown, we focused on growth, and I think it’s exciting when you look at a property like this, through the most challenging pandemic that we’ve seen in our lifetime, that we continue to see investments and announcements,” said Reid. “What’s exciting about this, is this is two non-for-profits coming together to program a recreational piece of infrastructure for 25 years, and that’s a great story.”
Community members are invited to voice their opinion on the proposed developments through a community survey that can be accessed through QR Codes on the campus.
