'It's not a favour': Shaun Semple gets 90-year lease at REAL for sports bar, music venue

CBC

3 days ago

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One of Saskatchewan's most well-known businessmen now has a 90-year lease at Regina's exhibition grounds and a plan to build a "premium sports bar."
The deal between Shaun Semple, owner and CEO of the Brandt group of companies, and Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) was approved by city council in an 8-3 vote Tuesday.
102207241 Saskatchewan Ltd., a numbered company owned by Semple, will take over the lease of YQR Distillery Ltd., which has failed to pay REAL approximately $500,000 in rent over the past six months.
Jamie Boldt, chair of the REAL board of directors, portrayed the deal as a simple choice between putting REAL onto the path of profitability or having the 42,000-square-foot building tied up in eviction litigation for an undetermined amount of time.
"It's an anchor and a real opportunity that we are excited about and it is not a favour," Boldt told council. "We've done our due diligence. We've done all of the things that that needed to be done."
'We don't have to settle'
Councillors, including Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Turnbull, raised concerns about the proposed length of the 90-year lease. It was repeatedly pointed out that the lease would exist long after everyone involved in the debate was dead.
The lease had to be approved by council because it runs longer than the lease REAL has with the City of Regina for its entire campus.
There was also concern about the lack of details provided to city administration, a lack of a publicly available business case for the proposed bar and music venue, and the rush to get this deal across the line with minimal scrutiny.
"We've never put this building out for tender. We've never asked anyone else who's doing it. And we don't have to settle. We just don't," Turnbull said.
Turnbull unsuccessfully moved for amendments that would limit the length of the lease, increase the rate per square feet and cap the amount of money REAL could contribute to the project.
The contract was approved only after council attempted to negotiate the terms of the lease deal with Semple over the phone as the businessman's private plane landed in Ottawa.
Semple rejected any change to the terms of the lease he had negotiated with REAL in good faith.
"We came to a conclusion of what we could agree on and, you know, what you're proposing is a complete revamp of the agreement. I have no interest in it," Semple said.
Each of the proposed amendments were defeated.
Only Coun. Turnbull, Ward 7 Coun. Shobna Radons and Ward 3 Coun. David Froh voted against approving the contract.
Mayor Chad Bachynski told media he believed it was important to put trust in the new REAL board, which had been directed to make REAL commercially viable after it repeatedly came to council for millions in funding to stay afloat.
"Based on what I heard from the experts who are negotiating that deal on the REAL board, I think this is a a good deal moving forward for Regina," Bachynski said.
Ownership
It emerged during debate that YQR Distillery had done very little work to turn the space into a functional distillery since it signed a lease agreement with REAL in 2021.
REAL officials described the space as functioning as a warehouse for wholesale liquor sales. It's not clear why the YQR Distillery has not upgraded the building or why the company had failed to pay the nearly $500,000 it owes in rent over the past six months.
The distillery's two shareholders Z Group Holding Ltd. and Sperling Silver Distilleries, which is owned by Adam Sperling, are locked in an ongoing legal dispute.
According to the corporate records, Sperling was removed as the director of 102207241 Saskatchewan Ltd., Semple's company, on Feb. 26, 2025.
Semple was added as a director for the numbered company on the same date.
The plan
Semple's vision for the space includes a 200-seat restaurant and bar, an expansion of the Regina Pats store and a 500-capacity music venue that Semple envisions as Saskatchewan's version of the House of Blues.
"It will be a destination before and after the Pats and Rider Games, concerts and every other type of event that REAL produces. It will provide a performance home for local artists to gain exposure," Semple told council.
The Brandt CEO said that once it is fully operational, it will create more than 100 new jobs with the possibility of as many as 200.
To make it become reality, Semple plans to spend at least $12 million to upgrade the space.
The lease will also prohibit any other new sports bars or pubs from opening at REAL, and no other company will be able to offer wholesale and distribution of alcoholic beverages.
In exchange, Semple will pay $21 million in rent over the initial 50-year term of the lease, with the ability to extend the deal through two 20-year options.
He will not pay back the $500,000 in rent owed by YQR Distilleries.
Boldt described the venue as a "catalyst project" for the REAL campus.
"It also shows that we are going to be around, that REAL is going to exist, and that we need other things to happen at the district," Boldt said.
The goal is to have the space at least partially open by September, Boldt said.
Layoffs at REAL confirmed
Boldt also confirmed that seven people were laid off as REAL tries become more financially responsible.
All seven, which Boldt described as being in senior leadership or management positions, were dismissed on Monday.
"The positions have been eliminated and there's a total [organizational] restructure," Boldt said.