Toronto Ontario Place | ?m | ?s | Infrastructure ON

Isn't there supposed to be a Hotel being built at Ex Place? I thought I read that. When I was at Ontario Place last year we wanted to have a few beers by the water, the view was great but alas no nice pubs or anything.
 
The timing is perfect. The Provincial Governmemt has been looking for a way to justify putting a casino in for years and now they have it. They let the place run down to show the public something must be done and now they publicly close the place - due the high government deficits and low attendance.

Now we need a "white knight" to come in and rebuild the place with private money. This will require a huge expenditure which the government will argue it cannot afford - so a casino project saves the day.


The city gets a new park at little cost and the province gets a new major income stream.

Well played.
 
I am conflicted about the Cinesphere.

I don't see a point to the Cinesphere anymore - IMAX theatres are everywhere now. While it did show educational programming, Ontario Place doesn't seem to be an Edutainment venue.

On the other hand, I get the nostalgia aspect as to why one would want to save it. It is somewhat unique, and really is a monument to what people in the 60s thought the future would look like.
 
AoD. You may be right but I wonder to what degree a consortium of various levels of government could have worked with a private developer like Ripley's (or any other willing developer) to create the sort of showpiece/revitalization I'm talking about? In other words was this even on the table as a possibility?
 
EMP:

I think the issue with the Cinesphere isn't so much so irrelevance but the sheer amount of effort one requires to get to OP isn't worth the experience it offers. I can definitely see it being a viable operation if the traffic counts are higher.

Tewder:

I am sure it is on the table. The main beef Ripley (or any sane business person) is that OP and the Ex, for all intents and purposes, is a summer destination, loaded with mostly episodic uses (e.g. National Trade Centre, Automotive Bldg, BMO Field) that's hard to get to - and why would they be interested in locating at a place like that vis-a-vis alternatives like the base of CN Tower? Both OP and Ex requires a critical mass of people ALL the time for the area to really work.

AoD
 
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... yep, which is why I think there needed to be government participation/vision, involving a wider plan for revitalization that would have addressed the whole area (OP and the Ex), including transit connections. A private partner might have jumped at the opportunity to be the featured centrepiece of such a revitalization... or not? I don't know, maybe private developers are all about short term gain? Then again, is this the kind of thinking we want for key sites like OP, the Ex or the base of the city's number one landmark?? Again, a public-private partnership may have delivered better for the city in the long run.
 
Tewder:

I actually think that having a large casino there would be really helpful - nothing draws people 24/7 like it would - and if there is one place for well-executed ostentatious architecture, the Ex would be it - it's already loaded with all those flamboyant Beaux Arts structures. Whether that happens or not would be political - all the casinos outside the GTA would be having a fit if TO gets one.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Whether that happens or not would be political - all the casinos outside the GTA would be having a fit if TO gets one.
AoD
Click to expand...

No kidding...they're preparing themselves

Niagara Falls council affirms opposition to Toronto casino day before Queen’s Park says it’s still on the table for Ontario Place

That won’t be welcome news for Niagara Falls politicians, who voted unanimously Tuesday night to contact the province, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. and the Ministry of Tourism to express their worry about the negative impact a casino in Toronto would have on the local operations, and to also encourage government officials to expedite the construction of a 7,000-seat entertainment complex at Fallsview Casino.
More....http://www.bulletnewsniagara.ca/201...fore-queens-park-says-its-still-on-the-table/
 
I am sympathetic to the reason behind their opposition - but at the same time, why should they monopolize gambling in the region? That, and their "entertainment complexes" essentially draws away all the big name concerts from the city.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
I am sympathetic to the reason behind their opposition - but at the same time, why should they monopolize gambling in the region?
Click to expand...
Because "gambling" in Ontario is largely a matter of regional economic development by the government.
 
Sorry, AoD, I didn't catch the tone. But I do think that reason strongly militates against a casino at Ontario Place, or anywhere in Toronto -- such a move wouldn't gain the Tories enough votes in Toronto to offset the outrage in Niagara, Rama, and even Windsor.
 
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