What’s next for Mosaic Stadium?

It was a long-awaited photo opportunity. A year ago political figures gathered at a news conference in the opulent setting of a Regina hotel ballroom and revealed a model of an entertainment centre that could replace Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field, the often-renovated facility located where a rugby field was constructed back in 1910.

A new $431-million, retractable roof multi-purpose facility would be feasible, a $1-million study had found, and could operate in downtown Regina.

The province, taking control of the project, said the next step would be a "capital accumulation phase" to see how the facility could be funded.

Fast-forward a year and the domed stadium appears doomed, with no funding plan in place. But as project backers ponder what went wrong, they’re also looking at what can emerge next.

While the provincial government won’t officially decide whether to pull the plug on the current project until Monday, the date by which it says the federal government needs to make a funding commitment, Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco says doing nothing would be "irresponsible."

"We’re moving forward. The status quo is not an option," Fiacco said Friday.

A better football facility is a must, the mayor said, but so too is a plan to redevelop the 30 acres of land that will be va-cated when CP Rail eventually moves its container yards to the transportation hub west of Regina.

"I think the mistake that’s been made is there’s been so much focus on the stadium and it’s because of this love affair that we all have with the Saskatchewan Roughriders," he said.

"But I think people are starting to recognize that the entertainment facility is only one component of it. I think it’s also important to recognize that the days of building a stand-alone facility for one activity, like Mosaic Stadium was built, are over. It’s just not financially viable. You have to build a facility that’s going to get much more use from a number of different user groups."

The multimillion-dollar question remains, however, of whether a new project could be a covered stadium, another open-air facility or renovations to the existing stadium.

Provided the current proposal doesn’t get revived with a last-minute infusion of federal cash, Fiacco said he would like the city, the provincial government and the Roughriders to start looking at the next steps right away.

"We’re going to bring a number of players together. There’s a ton of private investment interested in this that will be a part of this as we move forward. The month of March is going to be about a lot of discussion with the partners and looking at a viable strategy," said Fiacco.

There could also be a role for Ottawa to play, if not in the funding of an entertainment facility then in areas such as affordable housing projects at the site of the current Mosaic Stadium, said Fiacco.

The idea of a new facility has garnered support among Regina Chamber of Commerce members, said CEO John Hopkins. The local hotel association has already pledged $10 million, and there is other interest from the private sector as well, he said.

"I don’t think it’s over by a long shot," Hopkins said. "We’ll have to pick up the ball again and start moving."

The Saskatchewan Party government has already indicated it won’t lead any future stadium projects, but Premier Brad Wall said he expects another proposal will be able to get off the ground.

"I think there’s the chance for another third party or a partnership or a group of people to come together and say here’s what’s possible," Wall said.

Ken Cheveldayoff, the cabinet minister who has been overseeing the proposed stadium project, said there are groups willing and able to help advance a project.

"I’ve met with many of them behind the scenes. There’s various successful real estate entrepreneurs that I know are looking to the future and want to see this happen," Cheveldayoff said.

Cash from the federal Conservative government for a sporting facility was a big question mark right from the start.

The province has been seeking about a quarter of the cost, around $100 million, from the federal government, which typically doesn’t fund major sports facilities unless tied to events such as the Olympics or Commonwealth Games.

An application was made in June to PPP Canada, a federal Crown corporation that supports public-private partnerships, but criteria that "excludes facilities used primarily by professional athletes" and specific requirements around the role of the private sector may be sticking points.

"The problem is the federal government doesn’t have an appropriate kind of framework for these kinds of things," said Ken Rasmussen, associate director of the Johnson-Shoyama graduate school of public policy.

"In this instance, I think whatever wiggle room they had they didn’t want to use to fund this."

The federal government is also faced with requests from other cities, notably Quebec City, that wanted funding for an NHL-style arena. Funding one would mean funding demands from everyone, Rasmussen said, putting local MPs in a difficult situation.

Saskatchewan’s lone Liberal MP Ralph Goodale took aim at the Tories this week, charging that they never gave the proposal here a chance.

"They never gave it a fair effort. They could have approached it, from the federal perspective, as an urban development project to relocate the rail yards, clean up environmental messes, solve developmental issues in the core of Regina, develop housing, which is absolutely critical in this community," Goodale told reporters.

Regina-Qu’Appelle Conservative MP Andrew Scheer rejected the criticism and said the government has a policy decision to make around the funding of major sporting facilities that will be fair across the country.

"To say that it hasn’t been given a fair assessment is totally false. It is being considered along with all the other requests from across the country that we’re seeing come up," Scheer said.