Some tidbits from the speaker session with the Ex Place CEO last night:
The E-Sports arena & Hotel X phase 2 is still happening with construction slated to happen from 2028-2031. It's estimated the arena will host 150-160 live music events and 50 Esports events a year with a capacity of about 5,500 people.
He also talked about making a seamless pedestrian and bike friendly connection from Dufferin gate all the way to The Bentway, which would go under Strachan Ave.
With the new entrance to Exhibition Station moving a bit West so that's it's directly across from the Food building, there are talks about revitalizing the Food Building to year round use with it's storage use year-round moved to under the Gardiner. He also wants to make the pathway to the West all the way down to south end of the property more lively, which might include demolishing most of the Better Living Centre while keeping part of it's heritage fontange to free up several acres that could increase park space. He mentioned the idea of winter markets, food trucks lining the path and making the bandshell area easier to be utilized for events including new plug-and-play sound that just needs to be connected to via bluetooth. He also mentioned possibly re-orienting the bandshell so that it faces the water, as there are always noise complaints from Parkdale & Liberty Village during concerts outside of the CNE. Another vision including hosting big festivals with the new RBC Amphitheatre, Esports Arene, QE Theatre, Bandshell and Enercare Centre all being stages/areas to utilize.
He also mentioned that losing the Indy race was unfortunately but not much of a hit for them financially. With it being gone, the 4 week setup and 3 week tear down makes the area more open for other uses, as the Indy setup limited a lot of spaces for multiple weeks at a time.
Wishing I took better notes but the session was recorded and apparently will be released on YouTube soon.
Here's the only screen grab I got from it.
View attachment 701935
All in all, Don seems very passionate about turning this area around and including the public all along the way. He even offered up his cell phone number for those wanting to contact him but I never took it down. Excited to see what the future holds for this area!
