It’s been an exciting few weeks in Regina as both the Gray Cup Festival and Canadian Western Agriculture Held in the Queen City within a few days.
And now as the Aggression draws to a close, those involved are considering its impact on the city.
Regina residents flock to Agribusiness as fourth day continues
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“This week has been great fun. It’s been an absolute whirlwind, but I’ve had an absolute blast,” said Sean Kindop, CEO of Canadian Western Agriculture. “Being able to look back and see people smiling and just happy. We’re proud of that.”
Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said she is excited to bring people back to agriculture in the city, especially youth.
“It’s been absolutely fantastic,” Masters said. “It’s full (the facilities), the kids are back and I think we have about 10,000 students this week learning all about agriculture. So it’s been great and it’s packed Is.
Kindopp observed a similar trend this week, with many families with children walking through the doors.
“The kids are having fun and everyone you talk to is saying, ‘My family came to Agribusiness as a kid,’ and I think it’s just fantastic,” Kindop said. “Everyone remembers their childhood.”
On top of bringing the community together, the Gray Cup and Egregion have been significant financial incentives for the city.
“Our restaurants and hotels are full all week. I see people are doing some Christmas shopping in town, which is great for our local vendors. In fact, the economic impact on the city of Regina is in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” Masters explained.
While numbers have not been released on the impact of the Gray Cup on Regina’s economy, in 2013, when Regina hosted the big game, more than $93 million made its way into the province.
Add in a week of agriculture and Regina is bringing in a good chunk of money through November.
“The Gray Cup connected Canada, but the Aggregation connected the world,” Masters said. “Assi Desh (and) 1200 delegates in the city. The economic impact of agriculture on our city and province reaches $100 million.”
Kindop said overall attendance for Aggregation is very close to pre-pandemic levels, with three of the four rodeo nights sold out.
“People are loving spending money here and bringing their families, and we’re grateful for that,” Kindopp said.
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