REAL appoints Rick Bennett as new CEO

Alexander Quon · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 09, 2025 2:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

A troubled Regina municipal corporation has announced Rick Bennett arsenic its caller CEO and president. 

Bennett joins Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) aft moving arsenic a management advisor since 2017. He was antecedently with Aramark and Compass Group, according to his LinkedIn page.

He'll present person the task of stabilizing a municipal corp that has experienced a implicit turnover successful its committee of directors and conscionable past week dismissed 7 of its elder managers.

Jaime Boldt, seat of the REAL committee of directors, touted Bennett arsenic antheral with 20 years of planetary acquisition successful hospitality, sports tourism and venue operations.

The announcement comes conscionable days aft Regina metropolis assembly approved a 90-year lease for a sports barroom and euphony venue astatine the REAL field successful downtown Regina.

"I'm honoured to articulation REAL astatine specified a pivotal moment," Bennett said successful a quality release. "There's beardown momentum already underway, and I'm excited to assistance accelerate that advancement and signifier a aboriginal our squad and assemblage tin beryllium arrogant of."

REAL's caller direction

REAL is liable for putting connected events and promoting concerts portion operating the Brandt Centre, the Co-operators Centre and Affinity Sportsplex successful downtown Regina.

City unit have already been directed by assembly to create a study examining the aboriginal of REAL, arsenic it has struggled with a fiscal downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic, a deficiency of large events and a concern exemplary that does not screen its expenses.

Multiple scandals, including a failed bid to re-energize the city's tourism marque arsenic Experience Regina, have not helped turn nationalist support.

The organization's full committee of directors was dismissed by metropolis assembly successful November 2023, portion erstwhile CEO Tim Reid was dismissed without origin successful January 2024.

Those determination provided nary alleviation for the City of Regina, which successful 2024 provided the enactment with $17.2 million: $5.2 million as portion of the city's budget, $8 cardinal to pay back the Canada Revenue Agency for a pandemic wage subsidy it inappropriately accessed and $4 cardinal to help wage down its enactment of credit so it could proceed operating into the archetypal 4th of 2025.

The organization's 2025 fund was passed astatine $11.2 million.

The municipal corp besides carries with it $16.7 cardinal in debt. Multiple reports person highlighted that REAL has no ability to work that indebtedness connected its own. Since each of REAL's loans are guaranteed by the city, Regina would yet beryllium liable for repaying that money.

Since 2019, REAL has needed an estimated $44 cardinal successful installation maintenance.

An updated installation attraction appraisal has been completed, Boldt confirmed past week. Boldt wouldn't remark connected the details of the report, but ostentation volition only have pushed the outgo of repairing REAL's facilities higher.

The metropolis study would weigh the benefits of fully oregon partially integrating REAL and its assets into the City of Regina, dissolving the municipal corp altogether and having the metropolis instrumentality implicit its assets, oregon keeping REAL arsenic it is with a reduced mandate and amended fiscal efficiency.

REAL's committee are besides pursuing a caller concern exemplary that could see outsourcing the absorption of its facilities oregon contracting retired immoderate of its responsibilities.

The presumption of that reappraisal isn't clear, but the metropolis and REAL are expected to enactment unneurotic connected the parallel tasks.