Second chance for rink
From the Niagara Falls Review:
The Rink at the Brink might see another winter after Niagara Parks Commission and Winter Festival of Lights officials smoothed over some of the commission’s concerns about the fledgling tourist attraction’s first season.
“We are cautiously optimistic the parks commission board will approve the rink operating within the parks’ land this year as they did last year,” said Winter Festival of Lights manager Dino Fazio after a lunch meeting with parks chairwoman Fay Booker and vice-chairwoman Janice Thomson.
They got together Tuesday because the parks commission in August put the festival on notice it might not renew the lease it gave the festival last year to run a temporary, open-air skating rink near the Horseshoe Falls.
The festival operated the rink, which is about two-thirds the size of an NHL rink, but it was assembled on parks land.
Parks commissioners were upset the rink wasn’t dismantled until July, despite festival assurances it would be gone in April.
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- Outdoor skating rink to open Nov. 23 at ‘brink’ of Horseshoe Falls From a Canadian Press article found at Yahoo! Canada News:...
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New lease on Casino Niagara
A new long-term lease has finally been admitted to the location of Casino Niagara. The uncertainty of keeping the location has come to a close and Casino Niagara will definitely be open on Falls Ave. for another 15 years or so. OLG, owner of Ontario’s casinos, reached a deal with Canadian Niagara Hotels which owns the Casino [...]Strong future secured for Casino Niagara
From a CNW Group press release:
The future for Casino Niagara was unveiled today, with the finalization of a long-term lease between the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) and Canadian Niagara Hotels Inc. (CNHI).
“The McGuinty government has delivered on its commitment to ensure that Ontario not only maintain two casinos in Niagara Falls but also enhance the exciting variety of gaming and entertainment options for Ontarians and visitors alike,” said Kim Craitor, MPP for Niagara Falls, who made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Dwight Duncan, Ontario’s Minister of Finance and the Minister responsible for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
OLG and property owner Canadian Niagara Hotels Inc (CNHI) announced agreement on a 15-year lease extension for the current location, effective March 1, 2010. The extension provides long-term economic stability for local businesses, employees and communities in the region.
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Maid of the Mist could migrate if it loses NPC lease, official says
From the Niagara Falls Review:
For the 65,000 Koreans George Denning’s company brought to Niagara Falls last year, “Maid of the Mist” was what they knew. He predicted it would be “automatic” if they had to choose between the Maid of the Mist operating on the American side of the Niagara River and a new company running boat tours on the Canadian side, he said.
“The whole thing is the Maid of the Mist. They’re not going to know some other company,” said Denning, a New York City tour operator for Dongbu Travel and Tours, the second-largest travel agency in South Korea.
Maid of the Mist is a name Canada’s tourism industry banks on. The thought of it becoming an American-only experience has city councillors wondering if the provincial government is jeopardizing the industry by inviting other companies to vie for the right to run boat tours from the Canadian shore of the Niagara River.
Related posts:
- Businessman takes parks commission to court over Maid of the Mist lease From the Niagara Falls Review: An American businessman is going...
- More on the Maid of the Mist lease opening Here are some articles that discuss the Maid of the...
- Reopening boat lease fraught with danger From the Niagara Falls Review: Premier Dalton McGuinty sailed into...
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Casino lease extension makes sense: Premier
From the Niagara Falls Review:
Protecting the Ontario government’s own investment in Casino Niagara is the reason it has to be treated differently from the Maid of the Mist, says Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, rejecting opposition calls to invite bids from property owners interested in hosting a casino.
“There is a distinction,” the premier told reporters in Niagara- on-the-Lake Wednesday where he spoke at the Ontario Economic Summit.
With Ontario Lottery and Gaming’s lease on the casino’s Falls Avenue location set to expire in March, McGuinty said his government’s preference is to have the Crown corporation continue negotiating an extension with landlord Canadian Niagara Hotels.
The government has two options for Casino Niagara – renew the lease “at a reasonable rate” or abandon the Canadian Niagara Hotels location for a new location to be determined later.
When Casino Niagara opened in 1996, Ontario Lottery and Gaming pumped $125 million into the old Maple Leaf Village site to convert a defunct amusement park into Ontario’s second commercial casino.
Building a new casino would mean walking away from the initial investment and some smaller expenditures like the $12 million spent in 2005 when sports betting came in.
“When you look at it that way, it really makes sense for us to do the best that we can to negotiate a reasonable new lease at the existing site,” McGuinty said. “It was a lot of money to build that casino inside that space.”
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- ‘Progress’ on Casino Niagara lease, but talks ongoing From the Niagara Falls Review: Ontario Lottery and Gaming and...
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Reopening boat lease fraught with danger
From the Niagara Falls Review:
Premier Dalton McGuinty sailed into uncharted waters, forcing the Niagara Parks Commission to put its lease with the Maid of the Mist out to tender. If he doesn’t navigate carefully, he risks steering the Niagara Falls tourism industry right onto the rocks.
Jaws dropped in Niagara Falls last Wednesday when Ontario Tourism Minister Monique Smith announced she was “requesting” the Niagara Parks Commission hold a competitive bidding process to find a company to run boat tours in the Niagara gorge. Right now, the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co., a private company, pays rent to the parks commission for the use of government land to run the Canadian part of its business.
Some expected the government to rubber-stamp the recommendation from its own commissioners to renew its lease with the Maid of the Mist.
Open government is a noble goal. But when managing a public trust, it can’t always be about the lowest bid. Why not issue tenders for everything – hospitals, schools, museums, the military, and the U. S. space program?
On routine business, issuing tenders is a fair way for governments to do business. As long as all the companies are equally qualified to provide the service, it makes sense to take the low bid.
But running boat tours in the Niagara River is not like buying a new fleet of pickup trucks.
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More on the Maid of the Mist lease opening
Here are some articles that discuss the Maid of the Mist lease opening:
- Buffalo News – Maid of the Mist lease ordered reopened
- Buffalo Business First – Rough Ont. waters for Maid of the Mist
- Niagara Falls Review – Who’ll run the boats?
Just a reminder that Bill Windsor of Alcatraz Media left a comment on this site at one time…
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- Tories raise questions about Maid of the Mist deal From CTV Toronto: The controversy over a 25-year lease renewal...
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Province orders lease for Maids reopened
From the Niagara Falls Review:
For the first time in years, the Maid of the Mist will have to fend off competitors to hold onto the right to run boat tours in the Niagara River.
Ontario Tourism Minister Monique Smith announced Wednesday the Niagara Parks Commission will solicit competing bids from companies interested in leasing the property needed to provide the tours.
“For once, the taxpayers have won. It’s unbelievable,” said Bob Gale, the former commissioner whose concerns about the attempt to renew the lease in 2008 led to a year and a half of intense scrutiny for Niagara Parks.
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Province orders lease for Maids reopened
From the Niagara Falls Review:
For the first time in years, the Maid of the Mist will have to fend off competitors to hold onto the right to run boat tours in the Niagara River.
Ontario Tourism Minister Monique Smith announced Wednesday the Niagara Parks Commission will solicit competing bids from companies interested in leasing the property needed to provide the tours.
“For once, the taxpayers have won. It’s unbelievable,” said Bob Gale, the former commissioner whose concerns about the attempt to renew the lease in 2008 led to a year and a half of intense scrutiny for Niagara Parks.
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More articles on the Casino Niagara lease renewal
Rather than post these individually, here are some more articles about the Casino Niagara lease renewal:
- CTV Toronto – Tories cry favouritism over Casino Niagara lease
- Niagara Falls Review – Liberals knocked over casino lease
- Niagara Falls Review – Casino lease renewal raises questions
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- ‘Progress’ on Casino Niagara lease, but talks ongoing From the Niagara Falls Review: Ontario Lottery and Gaming and...
- Parks to finish review of Maids lease by Oct. 1 From the Niagara Falls Review: Members of the Niagara Parks...
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