New stadium raises concerns from citizens

“I can’t remember the last time I was approached by so many people regarding one issue,” said Councillor Sharron Bryce while addressing a crowd of spectators during the last city council meeting on July 23. The hall was unusually packed that night. A building that normally sees a field of empty seats, with a small smattering of regular onlookers scattered throughout, was now filled to the rafters with people from across the city. So much so that many of them were forced to stand for close to three hours while city council debated what might be the most polarizing issue to strike Henry Baker Hall since the demolition of 1755 Hamilton Street – an affordable housing unit with structural issues that was demolished instead of repaired, forcing 46 people to relocate. The issue at hand: Regina’s joint agreement, called the memorandum of understanding, with the Provincial Government and the Saskatchewan Roughriders to build a new stadium by the year 2017. The topic has generated a tremendous amount of buzz around the city of Regina after it was announced July 16.

The people of Regina have been split on the question: are you for the stadium or against it? However the city hall meeting this night was not filled with a 50/50 split of generally interested citizens. On this night the bulk of the onlookers were representing a steadily growing opposition to the newly planned football stadium, estimated to cost the province around 675 million dollars in total.

The night featured 14 delegates who spoke to city council, all but one spoke out against the new stadium. The massive collection of people was not by chance, however. The majority of them had been mobilized by a Facebook group that started a few days earlier, calling for anyone concerned about the issue to join them in city hall a show their support.

The Facebook page appeared to do its job. Although well over a hundred people showed up for the meeting, their concerns were generally the same: the city is not getting enough feedback from the citizens, they are not even trying to get it, or that the money should be spent else ware.

“Like you all, I want our city to be the best in the country,” Said John Klein, a U of R IT support analyst who is also running for Ward 1 in the upcoming municipal election. “However, many people do not know your plans for how that vision will become a reality. Now that we know what your plan for professional sports and recreation is in Regina, what is your plan for fixing the affordable housing crisis this year? Where is your plan to address the infrastructure deficit in Ward 1?”

The general consensus amongst the evening’s delegates was that the city was not listening to the needs of the people, rather catering to a mere “want” that many citizens have.

“The recent announcement on Saturday of plowing ahead with the building of a new football stadium shows the priorities of this Council as it relates to fully funding our civic employee’s pensions, a 238 Million dollar deficit, building affordable housing for current and future Regina residents, and repairing the city’s infrastructure,” Said delegate Jim Elliot. “All of the other priorities seen as important by the citizens of this city will be underfunded or left to fend for themselves not to mention all of the other expected costs if the city is allowed to proceed with this Fiacco legacy.”