New-look and new identity for Ontario Place

Steely Dan, Bruno Mars and Barenaked Ladies

By Mark Schadenberg

While Ontario Place continues to function for outdoor concerts – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre (909 Lakeshore Blvd), the former amusement park itself will soon be under a complete re-focus.

The provincial government released its intentions today (June 26).

Meanwhile, if you want to attend the old venue for a rock concert, according to www.ticketmaster.ca tickets are still remaining for Bruno Mars on July 3 and 6, plus Matchbox Twenty and the Goo Goo Dolls are there tomorrow.

Other summer shows include:

Barenaked Ladies – July 11

Great Big Sea – July 13

Bob Dylan – July 15

Jonas Brothers – July 18

Steely Dan – July 21

Heart – July 23

()()()()()()()()()()

Ontario Place redevelopment to feature free waterfront park

Waterloo Region Record

TORONTO — The provincial government revealed its plans for the future of Ontario Place on Wednesday.

Tourism Minister Michael Chan says the Toronto amusement park, which was closed last year after decades of declining attendance, will be turned into an urban park with free public access to the waterfront.

The province will convert up to three hectares of the existing site into green space, opening up part of the waterfront that has been closed to the public for more than 40 years.

The public is also invited to submit ideas for the park, to be located along a portion of the east island of Ontario Place currently being used as a parking lot.

Pan-Am Games timetable

The new urban park and trail will link to the existing 780-kilometre waterfront trail system and Chan says it's hoped it will be ready in time for the 2015 Pan-Am Games in Toronto.

But the park and trail are just the first step in the Ontario Place revitalization and the province still doesn't have a clear plan for the rest of the park.

Chan said the waterfront amusement park has cost the Ontario government about $20 million a year and attendance has dropped from 2.5 million when it opened in 1971 to about 300,000 a year.

Last year, the governing Liberals endorsed all 18 recommendations made by a provincial advisory panel on how to redevelop the aging park. The panel is headed by former Progressive Conservative leader John Tory, who said the vast majority of Ontario Place should be an open park.

You could live there?

The plan calls for a portion of the site to be devoted to private residences, a hotel and a resort complex.

The cash-strapped province closed most of Ontario Place in February 2012 to help trim a $15-billion deficit, saying it couldn't afford to keep the park open.

The Canadian Press