With the likely death of the proposed domed stadium in Regina, one has to wonder what the next step will be for the city. One must remember that the saga of the dome began because of the need to do something with Mosaic Stadium, and while the dome was certainly the most expensive and overly ambitious proposal, the entire reason it came up was because of problems with the existing structure.
If anything, the main problem that the dome represented was that it wasted time on a project that, from the outset, likely wasn't going to go anywhere. Regina, while a lovely city, doesn't have enough pull to bring in acts large enough to fill a dome on a regular basis. While the main idea behind the dome was to bring in performers during the winter, considering Regina only attracts stadium filling performances four or five times per year, it doesn't quite justify the added expense.
Still, the dome was pursued to its inevitable conclusion, and the result is that the realistic stadium, be it a massive overhaul of the existing location or a new one entirely, will now take longer to come to fruition. All of the planning, proposals, and lobbying for funds that the domed proposal required was just a distraction, especially since it was effectively doomed from the outset.
The strange thing is, given Regina's needs and the uses a new stadium would have in the city, it is questionable why the dome was ever pursued in the first place. Yes, it has more use in the winter and better weather protection. That's fine, but football is an outdoor game, and there aren't that many stadium-filling acts which can justify winter usage. That is even assuming that an act could be large enough to justify a trip in the winter. While it might be a tourist draw in mid-January, given the highly variable weather we enjoy in this province, the draw of performing acts will be significantly less. As Regina needs to draw from the entire province, one must consider winter travel problems.
Besides which, winter events in an open stadium are entirely possible. For example, take recent outdoor hockey in Edmonton. It's not an every day event, but it shows that with a bit of ingenuity even a strictly outdoor facility can be used effectively year round. It stands to reason that any new or upgraded facility in Regina could also host events that work year round, even if they are not necessarily every day.
Of course, given the focus on the dome, any new facility is now further off than it would have been had the obvious solution been pursued in the first place. The initial proposals should have been open, and that should have been the tactic from the very beginning. Now, any Regina stadium has to start over from scratch, since the misguided focus made the more reasonable options get sidelined.
One can understand the desire for a domed stadium, it would be a landmark in the city and a tourist draw. However, one can also understand wanting many things one cannot actually afford or justify at the current time. In spite of a desire for a dome, the proposals put forward should have been something more realistic for the current population and budget for the city. The dome is a nice idea, but it was never going to actually work.
