Major curling announcement slated for Tuesday in Regina

Regina could soon find itself once again in curling’s spotlight.

A major curling announcement is scheduled to take place at Mosaic Stadium on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, Regina city council voted in favour of providing more funding for a bid to host the 2024 Brier. The Canadian men’s curling championship was last in the Queen City in 2018.

Bernadette McIntyre can often be found volunteering for many events Regina puts on, including the 2018 Brier.

“I was on the leadership team. It was a great experience. We even had a day-and-a-half blizzard in the middle of the Brier and volunteers still showed up for their shifts and welcomed the fans that could get there and the curling went on,” McIntyre said.

That 2018 event was also special for Regina Exhibition Association Limited CEO Tim Reid. That was the first event he attended in his current capacity.

“I drove in a blizzard from Edmonton to here and arrived at the weekend events,” Reid said. “The Brier was my first event as part of the REAL team.

“I remember how far people travelled (to get to the Brier). I remember the fact we had people from all over Saskatchewan and all over the country coming to visit. I remember it was one of the first times we turned on the Viterra International Trade Centre and it was just packed … It shattered all records across Canada for hosting that event.”

McIntyre said Regina always shows up to put on great events when called upon.

“I think it’s because we care. We want people to come to Regina, experience our great hospitality and just enjoy being here,” McIntyre said. “The whole city just embraces these kinds of events and we’re coming out of COVID so people really appreciate what they missed during those couple of years.

“It’s the prairie hospitality. We want to welcome people with open arms, show them our great communities and we want to make them feel welcome.”

If Regina is indeed the location of the 2024 Brier, Reid said REAL District is ready if needed.

“We’ve proven how great events are in Regina,” Reid said. “Most people probably don’t realize the tourism industry in the city of Regina creates more than 8,000 jobs that impact more than 350 businesses that call Regina home. It fills restaurants, it fill hotels, it fills bars and helps our airports. It brings new money to our community.”

Reid added he’s proud of the bid Regina put together to get a chance to host the 2024 event.

“I think we as a community need to realize that as other cities around Canada and around the globe start to turn on their tourism economy, it is more competitive than ever before to get these events to come to your city,” Reid said.