regina city council agrees to settle roughriders' back-rent to avoid legal clash
“this is as reasonable as it gets, before going to a court case,” said city manager niki anderson.
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regina city council has agreed to waive more than $1 million in covid-related back rent owed by the saskatchewan roughriders after the football club hinted at a willingness to take the dispute to court if necessary. during their first meeting in henry baker hall wednesday, councillors ultimately voted 9-2 in favour of retroactively forgiving $1.33 million in back-rent for the football club, which owes a total of $3.6 million going back to 2020 and 2021.
the cfl cancelled games during those two seasons due to the covid-19 pandemic and the city granted the roughriders, who play at city-owned mosaic stadium, rent relief at the time due to the changes.
a negotiated settlement was reached in october that stipulated the city would retroactively waive the $1.33 million off the total owed in exchange for payment by the roughriders of the remaining $2.2 million.
city council at that time directed administration to go back and re-negotiate with the riders on repaying the full amount.
city manager niki anderson said that during talks on nov. 7, administration was advised by the club’s legal counsel that it would consider taking the issue to court if the original offer was no longer on the table.
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“if we do not reach settlement, the next step is legal action,” she told council wednesday. “the results of going to trial may be worse and not necessarily better than the offer currently in front of you.”
as per the city’s report on the matter, the roughriders indicated their opposition to paying the full $3.6 million is not because of financial strain, but because the club did not use mosaic stadium as outlined in their lease agreement for those two years.
anderson said negotiations were “spirited” but “respectful” and reminded that the missing dollars have already been accounted for, so have no financial impact on the city’s books moving forward.
“this is as reasonable as it gets, before going to a court case,” she added.
a spokesperson for the roughriders did not attend the meeting to speak on wednesday.
ward 6 coun. victoria flores asked if the club provided an explanation why. anderson said it was a decision made on the advice of their lawyers.
she later advised councillors to consider the potential harm a legal clash could have on the city’s relationship with the roughriders in the future.
“anytime you end up in court arguing with another entity over something, generally it doesn’t end in a super positive relationship,” said anderson.
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ward 8 coun. shanon zachidniak said she’s heard from residents they are “not in favour of writing off the debt” and could not support the recommendation from administration.
“i am disappointed there is no opportunity to ask the questions i’ve been asked by my residents to the riders,” she said.
zachidniak and flores voted against having administration settle the deal as negotiated.
mayor chad bachynski said he views the issue as a contract matter and it seems like a lot of work was done to get to the point it’s at.
“the riders are our community partner. they play a role in that stadium space, so i think it’s good to put this one to bed and move forward,” he said.
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