'Tired of bailing this organization out': Regina city council approves more debt for REAL
CTV
The Regina Exhibition Association (REAL) can now pay its bills after city council approved the organization to access $3.4 million in its line of credit.
The Regina Exhibition Association (REAL) can now pay its bills after city council approved the organization to access $3.4 million in its line of credit.
REAL forecasted a $6.9 million negative cash flow by September if it was not granted approval to increase its debt.
“The ability to access the funding that is in place was needed,” said REAL CEO Tim Reid.
As a city-owned organization, REAL must request council approval to incur debt.
Following the approval, REAL has just $700,000 remaining in its $21 million maximum allowable debt.
“We never anticipated the impacts of COVID-19,” Reid said. “The biggest challenge is our business model fundamentally changed coming out of [the pandemic].
At the May 17 executive committee meeting, Reid told council REAL relied on “one big event per year” to run a profit.
