One thing you can say
about Reginans is they truly enjoy a challenge. When the federal government decided just over 100 years ago to locate the capital of Saskatchewan on a bald, flat patch of prairie known as “Pile of Bones”, did Reginans sit around and do nothing?
No, they planted trees, thousands of them.
In fact, most of the estimated 350,000 trees in the city of Regina have been planted by hand.

When Mother Nature neglected to locate a body of water near the new capital (except for a small stream called Pile of Bones Creek), did that stop Reginans?

No, they dredged and widened the creek and called it Wascana Lake. Now Wascana Centre, the 2,300-acre park that surrounds the 300-acre lake, is one of the largest urban parks in North America. And when the lake threatened to become an overgrown swamp, the city — with the help of provincial and federal governments — deepened it in 2004 at a cost of $18 million.

When the Legislative Building was constructed in 1909-12, was it a modest edifice befitting a province barely five years old? No, Reginans built a magnificent marble and tyndalstone palace, still the largest of all the provincial legislative buildings in Canada.

Regina’s forefathers clearly liked a challenge, and succeeding generations have followed suit.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders survived two world wars, the Depression and chronic underdog status to become one of the best-loved sports franchises in Canada. In 1995, Regina hosted the Grey Cup for the first time. Many said a city with fewer than 200,000 people couldn’t act as host. But Reginans went ahead and held one of the best parties Earl Grey’s old mug has seen.

Just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, the city hosted
the Grey Cup again in 2003, the city’s centennial year, and it was just as good — if not better — than the 1995 event.

Now Regina is hosting the Canada Summer Games for the first time in the Games’ 20-year history. It’s a big job, with more than 4,500 athletes, coaches, managers and officials from across Canada as well as 200 media, 750 VIPs and 12,000 visitors expected to attend.

A tremendous amount of work has gone into planning for the Games. Fund-raising for the $23-million operating budget began in earnest last fall. But much of the work, including construction of facilities such as the new Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport at the University of Regina, began years ago. A new $12-million multi-purpose building at Regina Exhibition Park will house the wrestling events during the Games and four indoor soccer pitches after the Games.

And improvements were made to various facilities, such as the Lawson Aquatic Centre, Wascana Centre marina, Lakeshore Tennis Club, Douglas Park (now known as the Canada Games Athletics Complex) to leave a lasting legacy when the Games are history.

Corporate sponsors have donated millions, and federal, provincial and municipal governments have kicked in many more millions.

About 6,000 volunteers are needed, and
people are donating time during their summer holidays to volunteer as minor officials, security personnel, housekeepers at the U of R residence where the athletes’ village is located, and other jobs. The value of volunteer time alone at minimum wage is $1 million.

The Games themselves will generate an estimated $70 million in economic impact.
And the athletes will get to perform their best in a city and a province that truly lives up to the theme of the 2005 Canada Summer Games: no limits. IE