Keeping it REAL: Evraz Place now known as the REAL District

The property previously known as Evraz Place is now the REAL District.

Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) announced the name change Wednesday, saying the new handle was selected “after months of consultation with stakeholders, staff, and the public.”

REAL president-CEO Tim Reid said association officials saw value in not having a corporate partner for the site, choosing to instead have corporations sponsor individual buildings.

“In our analysis, we actually came to the outcome that by not putting a title sponsor on the property, we would see an increase of about $400,000 a year in net bottom line,” Reid said during a media conference. “What happens (is) by not putting a corporate partner on the district, it actually elevates the value of every building.”

The Evraz Place grounds are home to numerous facilities with their own naming rights agreements, including Mosaic Stadium, the Brandt Centre, the Co-operators Centre and the AffinityPlex.

Evraz bought the naming rights to the 100-acre campus in 2006. The agreement expired in May of 2021 and wasn’t renewed.
Before it was Evraz Place, it was known as Ipsco Place.

“When others wouldn’t, (Evraz) stepped up to help our organization,” Reid said. “They stepped up to help the association, the community and our city-run facilities that we get to enjoy.

“The situation at that time wasn’t nearly as positive or opportune as it is today. As per the contract, they were offered the opportunity to renew the naming rights title for our campus. They declined that opportunity.

“It was purely a value component. When they signed the original deal, the value was $2.5 million and that was within their budget parameters. The naming rights value had become considerably larger than that and they just didn’t have the capacity to do so at the time.”

REAL said the change was going to be announced later this month, but was moved up due to the war in Ukraine. A number of Russian oligarchs are shareholders in Evraz.

“The reason for the shift (in timeline for the announcement) was recognizing the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the fact our business was opening. We wanted to be able to transition to the REAL District now,” Reid said.

“This was always intended to start after the public health restrictions had been lifted but we did make the decision to advance that by a few weeks.”

Reid also admitted there has been some brand confusion over the years due to Evraz Place and Evraz North America sharing a similar name.

“We very often receive packages that are destined for Evraz Steel or we have people phone us looking for the human resource offices at Evraz Steel and I’m sure they get people calling them looking for tickets,” Reid said.

The campus is home to a number of major events annually, including Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL games, Regina Pats WHL games, Canadian Western Agribition, Canada’s Farm Progress Show, and the Queen City Ex. It also stages other events like concerts, trade shows, conventions, and weddings.

“The pure definition of ‘district’ is the assembly of special assets that are distinguished by the elements that are brought together,” Reid said. “Ultimately, we want you to come before a Pats game and we want you to stay late after the Pats game and we don’t want you to just come to the Foo Fighters concert, we want you to come and spend an afternoon with us.

“You will see YQR Distilleries is in construction as we speak, we are very optimistic we will have a hotel announcement that will go into the ground this spring, and I am quite positive in the fact we will see one or two restaurants break ground this spring.”

In a media release, REAL explained the design of the new logo for the District.

“It is meant to convey the vibrancy of what happens here, and the fact that friends and families gather here to make memories that last a lifetime,” the release said. “It incorporates the colours of our four pillars: Entertainment, sport and recreation, agriculture, and business.

“The coloured shapes in the upper right-hand side of the logo speak to iconic symbols of a Ferris wheel and the excitement and wonder created by fireworks that our property is known for. The shapes all point to the centre of the logo, which is symbolic of our place as the heartbeat of the city.”