Murray Wood: The Art of the CUSMA Deal
Insults, complaints that Canada is so mean, warnings the U.S. doesn't need us. It's all standard operating procedure. Th...
Amid the cracks of paddle hitting ball, players at Regina’s Queen City Pickleball Hub had some concern hanging over their heads about the future of the indoor courts.
For more than five years, the pickleball hub has been leasing space inside the Canada Centre Building (also known as the Avana Centre) at REAL District.
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But on Friday, owner Philip Greenwood said he learned along with everyone else that the Canada Centre is one of several buildings and sites at REAL District that Brandt is proposing to buy from the City of Regina.
“I had several people reach out to me and share articles, and it was in the news,” Greenwood said in an interview. “So it’s well talked about, that’s for sure.”
Of particular concern to Greenwood is that the proposed deal would give Brandt early access to the Canada Centre, even before the final sale is negotiated.
The company wishes to use the space (excluding the Canadian Western Agribition offices) to help accommodate its construction of Queen City Distillers in the Agribition Building.
Greenwood has a lease until the end of May, and he had been trying to extend it — but to no avail.
“We’ve had a lot of back-and-forth negotiations with representatives from REAL,” he said. “We have not received a proposal in writing from them yet.
“The only indication we’ve received is a notation that our rent will at least double, if not more, and that creates a non-feasible financial situation for running pickleball programs in Regina.”
Documents related to the proposed sale indicate the city will relocate any tenants in the Canada Centre.
But the Pickleball Hub has a major event coming up just before its lease runs out: the provincial championships.
“This has several hundred players involved, a lot of volunteers, there’s been a lot of time and effort put into this, not just with our organization, but with Pickleball Regina, Pickleball Saskatchewan, and all the players from around the province that are looking forward to this event,” ” he said.
Concerns among pickleballers
Pickleball players at the hub on Monday felt uncertainty over the news they may be displaced.
“We’re in a bubble, like we can’t figure out exactly what’s going on,” said Kelly Stewart, “because nobody seems to know what’s going on.”
Stewart has been playing for about four years.
“It’s just great,” he said. “I mean, I’m over 60, and it’s good to exercise and it can be fulfilling. Because you think you can do it, and you can do it, and anybody can do it.”
For Eva Zhang, who has been playing for roughly a year, the customized facilities make the sport easier to play.
“The floor is different. Here, it’s cushioned. (Elsewhere,) it’s gym and a lot of different lines for basketball, for volleyball, so it’s not a good experience for us, especially me,” she said.
Zhang isn’t too concerned about playing outdoors in the summer, with courts at Douglas Park and Mahon Park.
“So that’s no problem. But what if the weather is not good and it’s very windy?”
Greenwood is working to find a new space. But the specific needs for indoor pickleball make it challenging.
“A lot of buildings have support posts throughout the middle of the building, and that is a restriction. You just couldn’t have courts with a post in the middle,” he explained. “So, that eliminates probably 90 per cent of our prospectives in the first place, along with the ceiling height requirement that we need as well.
“I’ve got all my feelers open, been chasing down every lead, got Realtors working with us, just we haven’t got anything locked in yet,” he said.
“But we’re always looking.”
Competitors hope they’ll be able to continue with a sport that is about more than exercise but community.
“I’m very addicted to it. I play every day,” Zhang said. “It’s a very good social sport, and you know, a lot of friends. After you do exercise, you feel happy.”
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