A NEW LOOK FOR ONTARIO PLACE

After ten years of city and province deliberations, the Ontario government finally announced the plan last year that Ontario Place in 2030 will get a new attractive entertainment and recreational center, which will consist of a thermal spa, Écorécréo adventure park, and The Budweiser Stage concert space in a new design. Historically significant structures Cinesphere, marina and new Trillium Park will be incorporated into the future upgrade, as well as the plan for this important recreational space to be open to all citizens throughout the year.

Ontario Place is located on three man-made islands along the Toronto coast of Lake Ontario, southwest of the city center. The cultural-entertainment-recreational park, from its establishment in 1971 to 2011, functioned as a closed theme and entertainment center, where only visitors’ admission tickets could use the park and its facilities. Even today known and recognizable by the attractive Cinesphere Imax theater that holds 800 spectators, which opened in Toronto a year after this new technology of the cinematic experience was presented at the World's Fair (Expo) in Osaka. According to the original concept, except for the sphere, Ontario Place has five white square "sub-pavilions" supported by steel columns anchored in Lake Ontario, an outdoor amphitheater, a concert stage, a marina, and an outdoor children's amusement park.

In 2012, after several years of declining business and deteriorating facilities, the Ontario government closed this park and announced that reconstruction was necessary. Years of negotiations and disagreements with Prime Minister Doug Ford's agenda followed when Ontario Place was as profitable as a casino with a hotel.

And finally, in July of last year, after an international competition and on the fiftieth anniversary of its conception, the government announced a revitalization plan for Ontario Place. Regardless of the concept of adapting to the sign of the times, which will attract around five million tourists a year, the plan is to keep the main structures of historical importance such as the cinesphere, the grounds, the marina, Trillium Park and footpath, as well as making the space family friendly as it has been so far. 

The new center with a capital investment of around 500 million will consist of a closed water park complex with a spa center under the direction of a specialized Austrian company. thermal bath, the "Aventura" amusement park under the direction of a Quebec company Ecorecreo, and the redesigned concert complex, which remains under the current name Live Nation Entertainment.