Years after the attraction more or less closed down, and 2 years after the first rumblings of redevelopment, the provincial government has revealed a vision of the new Ontario Place. Naturally, this is an absolutely huge project, that will involve multiple partners working (including planning) for over a decade on it. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover here, so let’s dive right in!
The first name to know is Therme Group. These folks are an Austria-based company that specializes in ‘wellbeing resorts’, and that’s exactly what they’ve got in mind for Ontario Place. They plan to bring in everything from pools to waterslides to botanical gardens and sports performance-related services. Outside, they’ll be creating over 8 acres of free-to-access public space that includes beaches and public gardens. This would be their first official project in North America, but they’ve got a few completed ones in Europe.
Next up is Écorécréo Group, a Canadian-based company specializing in themed and adventure parks, with the biggest being the pirate-themed Voiles en Voiles park in Montreal. For Ontario Place, they want to bring in a (presumably themed) adventure park featuring aerial obstacle courses, ziplines, escape rooms and more. So, definitely more of a classic attraction approach than Therme.
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Third up, Live Nation is in line to completely transform the Budweiser Stage. Their plan is to create a state-of-the-art, year-round venue that can accommodate 9,000 guests in the winter and a whopping 20,000 in the summer. Fun fact- they want to build ‘retractable walls’ so they can host events rain or shine. Do we smell the new venue for a music festival? We sure hope so.
While these are some massive changes, the current plan is to not remove the iconic Cinesphere, the pod complex, or Trillium Park. Instead, these parts (and a few more) will undergo renovations and updates and will remain open to the public. We’re fans- any dome-shaped building is a good building in our eyes.
It should be noted that these things will not all be completed at once. Should things go through (more on that in a second), then the first attraction to open would be Écorécréo’s, hopefully by 2024. The new Budweiser Stage wouldn’t come until 6 years later, in 2030. As for Therme Group’s idea? Well, we couldn’t even find a specific completion date, but we’d guess 2030 as well.
Finally, it’s important that we mention public engagement! Later in August, the Ontario Government will be opening up for comments on the proposal. We’re personally pretty happy with the idea, but we could definitely see this not going over so well with other residents. Hey, no problem, but make sure you let the right people know!
For more information on the proposed future for Ontario Place, you can get the full rundown right here.
