REAL District ready to serve as hub for 2022 Grey Cup Festival

While REAL District will be the site for most of the events during the 2022 Grey Cup Festival, CEO Tim Reid believes the entire city will feel the effects of it.

“The great thing about our city is that we happen to have our event spaces clustered. We also happen to have our hotels and entertainment districts in complementary locations,” Reid said.

“I think if you’re downtown or in other parts of the city, you’re still going to have every hotel in the community filled, you will have bars and restaurants filled, and I think during the day people will head to the REAL District, which I think in many ways is similar to what happened in 2013 to my understanding.

“Even though the big events are being held at our big event spaces, I truly think this is a citywide if not provincewide event.

“We know that every hotel room is filled — in fact, we’re spilling into Moose Jaw and surrounding neighbourhoods and communities — and so ultimately I think this is going to be a citywide experience and it should be. That’s exactly what the Grey Cup is intended to do.”

Events surrounding the CFL championship get underway next week, with the Grey Cup game taking place Nov. 20 at Mosaic Stadium.

This isn’t the first time Reid has prepared a city to host the CFL’s marquee game. Along with attending a couple as a fan, this is the third time he has been a part of a Grey Cup committee. He also helped with hosting efforts by Ottawa and Edmonton.

“I’ve loved them all and all of them were unique in their own way. To be honest, when I took the opportunity with the REAL District, I was very confident we would be rewarded a Grey Cup and it’s something I’ve been looking forward to for almost five years when I said yes to moving to Regina,” Reid said. “We have a brand-new Mosaic Stadium that, in my opinion, is the best stadium in the league.

“I think we have a facility that will receive Grey Cup like no other place in Canada has done it (and) complement that with the recent investment in the International Trade Centre.”

One thing Reid said would really separate the 2022 Grey Cup Festival from previous ones is the ability to travel to just one area and stay there for the day.

“What’s really special about this one from my experience in Ottawa or in Edmonton is you truly don’t need to spend half of your day on public transit or in your car. This truly is an opportunity to go to one site and enjoy just about all of the party and just be immersed in the celebration in one of the most historic Canadian events that happen,” Reid said.

REAL District is preparing to host about 20,000 to 30,000 people a day, with events like a cheer extravaganza, team parties and musical entertainment. It will cost $50 for a daily pass and $104 for a week-long pass.

Reid admits the price of the passes could be an issue for some in the current economic climate, but there are plenty of low-cost and free events to take part in as well.

“Throughout the community, we have pancake breakfasts and (can) get together in the downtown and Warehouse District. The first one that comes off is that kickoff party on the Wednesday. I think that is an opportunity to get things started right,” Reid said.

With things starting to ramp up, Reid is encouraging people to get out to the events as they celebrate more than just a football game.

“Plan to take a couple of days off and enjoy this,” he said. “It doesn’t happen every year in the city of Regina, or any city for that matter. I think we should do our best to not only participate but do our best to celebrate our community and celebrate with the rest of Canada who is coming to Regina.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an amended version of this story, correcting the cost of tickets to some events.