REGINA - The Regina Downtown Business Improvement District (RDBID) presented their 2025 budget, flagging some concerns regarding attracting people to the area.
In the budget, RDBID is seeking a mill rate increase to 0.9258 mills through a levy defined by a boundary.
The boundary "encompasses 55 blocks defined by Angus Street to the west, 13th Avenue to the south, Halifax Street to the east, and Saskatchewan Drive to the north. RDBID also extends along Broad Street south to College Avenue," as noted by their presentation.
The uptick in the mill rate would generate over $1.3 million. The rest of the RDBID's roughly $2.6 million funding will come through sponsorship, grants, and special projects.
With the funding, the organization will direct nearly $2.5 million to place-making. These include key initiatives in 2025, like facility opportunities for new events, offering programming in Pat Fiacco Park and Victoria Park throughout the year, and producing signature events, which include Cinema Under The Stars and Frost Regina downtown hub.
In 2025, Frost Regina was scheduled for four days, compared to a week in previous years. Weather played a factor in closing the downtown hub during the last day of the event.
In terms of turnout, the event saw nearly 30,000 people in 2025, while in 2024, around 63,000 people participated during a full week.
Judith Veresuk, RDBID executive director, said the hub committee, which includes the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (REAL), the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC) and the Regina Warehouse Business Improvement District (RWBID), and RDBID are still in their debrief to see how they would like to proceed going forward with the frost committee.
She mentioned the committee will bring back a report in April regarding Frost Regina's future.
For attracting visitors, Veresuk mentioned concerns about the loss of signature events downtown, which include the Regina Folk Festival and the Regina Farmers' Market (RFM) on Saturdays.
On Tuesday, it was announced the Regina Folk Festival (RFF) would not be returning due to financial constraints and reduced operation capacity.
"[It's] really sad [to see]," said Mayor Chad Bachynski. He mentioned some challenges the live music scene currently faces and hopes the city can continue to explore options for supporting the industry.
As for the RFM, last year, they moved their Saturday markets to Confederation Park, located in the REAL District, because of construction announced along 11 Avenue at Pat Fiacco Plaza.
In a recent interview, Holly Laird, RFM executive director, said they’ll likely continue to remain at Confederation Park on Saturdays for this year.
There are no estimated numbers for the amount of visitors attending the RFM yearly, but the RDBID has felt the impact of their void during the weekends.
Ward 1 Coun. Dan Rashovich brought up a potential idea for the RDBID to work with the Downtown Community Association, having an event in the evenings that could attract 1,000 people, bringing buzz to the area.
One concern with evening downtown events is the Regina Street Team not monitoring the areas at those times.
Ward 3 Coun. David Froh asked Veresuk if she had looked into what an evening service would look like.
She pointed out the city's need for the them is growing, and the RDBID is looking at ways to extend hours of operations. Veresuk estimates it would cost between $500,000 to $1 million to do it correctly and safely.
Bachynski was asked if he would invest part of the $3.5 million the federal government gave Regina to tackle the ongoing homelessness crisis to support expanded hours for the Regina Street Team.
"Those conversations, I think, are already underway to talk about, you know, leveraging the great work [they do] and expanding on [that]."
