Brier-goers will see changing face of Evraz Place
Once a largely dormant, single-purpose complex, Evraz now crackles with energy
When Mark Allan started at Evraz Place 15 years ago, the racetrack was closed, the grandstands were vacant, and Queensbury Downs was sitting largely empty.
Since then the property has seen much transformation, and is busy year-round with large events, including the upcoming Brier and the Memorial Cup.
“The old model of exhibitions — having a single-purpose building sit empty for a long period of time — simply, those days are past along with the dinosaurs,” says Allan, the outgoing president-CEO of Evraz Place.
“In order to have a contemporary, modern, well-maintained facility like were aiming for and we’ve helped to create here now, the buildings need to be busy all the time.”
Allan, who worked at Agribition for five years prior to joining Evraz Place, said that some concerts and major curling and hockey events were taking place on the property, but he wanted to see how they could build on them.
“We took the approach of either we downsize, make the property smaller, or we really ramp up our facilities to host and produce major events and do more for the community,” he says.
They took the latter approach, and in 2007 Allan spearheaded the creation of a master plan for the property.
He envisioned a smart business and entertainment centre that has the capacity to take care of the citizens and community on a regular basis and be able to host large-scale events, all under one roof.
The master plan had three phases. One was to develop the sport and recreation facilities such as the Cooperators Centre and EventPlex. The second was removing the 13 vacant barns and replacing them with one large international trade centre, which opened in November. The third phase, which is in progress, includes a review of the now Queensbury Convention Centre and Brandt Centre and look into possible renewal and replacement.
One of the inspirations for the development of the master plan was the 2006 Brier in Regina.
“When I first started here, I watched the curling fraternity and the guests (and) their reactions to the facilities we did have,” Allan says. “We have taken a lot of signals and cues for the redevelopment from the needs of our clients. The Brier helped inspire some of this development.”
The 2006 Brier boasted the largest Brier Patch in the history of the event, and it helped pave the way for future events that would be large in scale, but contained in one complex.
“That really became the inspiration for our master plan that was produced in 2007 — one big integrated multi-purpose space to host and produce major events as well as increase our sport and recreation capacity on the property,” Allan says.
Reaching out, working with and listening to the various community, political, and sports organizations was a key part of planning the facilities at Evraz Place, especially when it came to the new Mosaic Stadium and EventPlex.
“A lot of our inspiration simply came from listening to our clients’ needs and what the public wanted,” Allan says. “The second part was to develop the vision and the third part was to engage the various levels of government to help us achieve our vision.”
While millions of people are expected to pass through the doors of new and upgraded facilities that now grace the grounds at Evraz Place, Allan said the city of Regina has always had the ability to come together to host large events.
“Most people that have been around the community for a while know that the community really does rally around these special large events and really makes the guests and the clients really feel welcome, especially with the support of not only the staff and management of the facilities and services that are provided, but also through the enthusiasm of the community as volunteers supporting those events,” he says.
“It’s been my pleasure and role to try to conceptualize and help lead the change and bring the community along and demonstrate what Regina can really do and how we can really differentiate ourselves to be a destination of choice for big events and drive tourism to the province.”
However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t more work to do.
Allan says some areas of the property need to be repaved. He would also like to see the Lewvan Drive access point be addressed to help patrons get in and out quicker.
That work will be left to the incoming CEO, Tim Reid, as Allan is set to retire this month.
“I have to be one of the more lucky people in the world to get the chance to do what I’ve done here,” Allan says. “We took kind of an old, decrepit, run-down property here and transformed it, and I’m extremely proud of it.”