February 8, 2012

ONTARIO PLACE

Most of Ontario Place on Toronto’s waterfront will be closed while a panel reviews ways to revitalize the provincially-owned park.

Ontario Place to close, future to be determined by John Tory panel review

TORONTO

Most of Ontario Place, a Toronto waterfront park attraction, will close for revitalization until 2017.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said the cash-strapped government can’t afford to keep Ontario Place open when attendance is steadily declining.

Former Progressive Conservative leader John Tory, Chair of CivicAction, will lead a panel that will advise the government on the redevelopment of the site.

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Michael Chan recently announced that the province will not invest additional money into the entertainment park as it exists today.

The waterpark, amusement rides and the Cinesphere will be closed.

“This will save the government from having to invest up to $20 million annually in operating and capital funding,” stated Chan.

The Molson Amphitheatre, Atlantis, the marina and parking will remain open until construction begins.

The panel will report back to government this spring and hopes to start the process for redevelopment work by the summer.

There are no conditions on what the panel can consider, and there have already been lots of ideas put forward to rebuild Ontario Place, said Tory.

“There’s been, I think, 11 studies and that’s probably about nine more than there needed to be, and now it’s time to act and get on with doing something,” he said.

Attendance has fallen from 2.5 million when it opened in 1971 to about 300,000, said Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.

Ontario Place will be available for use for the 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games.

The rebuilding will be completed in time to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017.

DCN News Services

With files from Canadian Press

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