[Wishblade]

Could happen someday....
I always thought we should have one:



Dad: Amusement park would bring tourists

By MICHAEL LIGHTSTONE Staff Reporter
Thu. Aug 21 - 5:36 AM

It’s been said metro needs many things to become a major Canadian city, including a large sports stadium, a cultural arts centre, an aquarium, a landmark "icon" on the waterfront and a new convention centre.

But what about a giant amusement park?

John Assoun-Gritten wants to convince Halifax city hall that a site the size of Canada’s Wonderland north of Toronto should be built in Halifax Regional Municipality. He wants to call it Pier Land.

Last week, he started a petition he intends to present to regional council once enough people sign it.

So far, he said, about 100 people have signed the petition, which is available online. Mr. Assoun-Gritten said Wednesday he wants 10,000 signatures.

The Dartmouth father of three said he’s pushing for an amusement park so local children, their parents and American tourists will flock to the site. He said it could cost between $500 million and $1 billion; the money to build it would come from the private and public sectors.

Mr. Assoun-Gritten, who does renovations for a living, said ideally the proposed project should be built somewhere along metro’s shoreline, perhaps in Eastern Passage. He said the Pier Land site could include an Olympic-class sports stadium.

"There’s no draw here," Mr. Assoun-Gritten said of Halifax’s lack of an attraction such as Wonderland.

"They build this and, of course, Americans love piers (with amusement rides), they love fun — and now it’s a draw."

Mayor Peter Kelly plans to meet with Mr. Assoun-Gritten and municipal staff at the end of the month to review his proposal. But the mayor said the proponent has a lot of hurdles to clear before his idea can ever be realized.

[someone123]

Pier Land sounds really hokey, but I agree that it's a bit weird how the city has no real amusement parks. Atlantic Playland is sad and all the others are temporary.

It would be interesting to have a waterfront site that is a little different from what is found in most other places.

Not sure how much money I'd want the public sector to sink into this. I wonder how much public money went into Canada's Wonderland, La Ronde, and others?

[Spitfire75]

I don't like the name, but I like the idea.

[Haliguy]

I agree we need an amusment park, but I don't think we could support something like Canada's Wonderland. Someting like Upper Clemants Park would be good.

[MonctonRad]

Awfully cold and foggy out there in Eastern Passage. I think I'd choose a different site; more inland.

[reddog794]

There used to be fair grounds and public picnics on McNabs, why not put the park at the north end? The Findley Pleasure Grounds used to be there. It would make for one heck of a photo, and would put pressure on improving the ferry system.

[sdm]

Awfully cold and foggy out there in Eastern Passage. I think I'd choose a different site; more inland.

Agreed, more inland therefore able to be used more during the short season we have here.

[Wishblade]

I agree we need an amusment park, but I don't think we could support something like Canada's Wonderland. Someting like Upper Clemants Park would be good.

I'd say something somewhere square in the middle. Canada's Wonderland is too big, but Upper Clements Park is much too small.

And while were on the topic, does anybody have any idea why upper clements park is located where it is? It seems like a horrible business move.

[Bedford_DJ]

Sounds like a good idea to me. I would rather have it a bit inland but close enough to see the water...like ontop of a hill. If it is on the water i do like the McNab's Island idea. Maybe at Indian Point (north-east corner) with parking and a ferry/bridge on the nearby land. This would also increase tourism on the island probably make the government to take better care of it.

[worldlyhaligonian]

If not a stadium in shannon park, this might be cool.

[Keith P.]

And while were on the topic, does anybody have any idea why upper clements park is located where it is? It seems like a horrible business move.

It was a project of the Buchanan government and was a wholly political move -- the Annapolis Valley MLAs got the taxpayer to pay for the boondoggle in a place nobody ever heard of and far away from any population centers. Just one of many reasons why we have a $12 billion debt.

[Takeo]

I've always wished we had an Amusement park with real rides... but the horrible name, the Eastern Passage idea and throwing in the idea of a Olympic sports facility makes me think this fellow isn't really serious and hasn't done his homework. Would be awesome tho'. And the island idea is cool.

[phrenic]

With a name change, I certainly like the idea and I do believe Halifax could benefit from (and deserves) something like this.

The problem is that something on the scale of Canada's Wonderland is simply not affordable nor economically sustainable for this region, no matter how many tourists we have. Perhaps something a few times the size of Upper Clements Park.

On the same note, if we are ever to have a large Aquarium, it should be on the waterfront.

[gm_scott]

hahah. This sounds stupid, although I love amusement parks.
Anyone have a link for the petition. I'll sign

[Bedford_DJ]

With a name change, I certainly like the idea and I do believe Halifax could benefit from (and deserves) something like this.

The problem is that something on the scale of Canada's Wonderland is simply not affordable nor economically sustainable for this region, no matter how many tourists we have. Perhaps something a few times the size of Upper Clements Park.

On the same note, if we are ever to have a large Aquarium, it should be on the waterfront.

I say it is possible but they should choose an area that allows growth in the future.

I don't know about a large aquarium but an aquarium of some sort was proposed for Queen's Landing.

[hfx_chris]

The local area could never support something the size of Paramount Canada's Wonderland, however something should be built closer to Halifax. Upper Clements Park is a decent park, but the 3 hour drive from Halifax turns a lot of people off. I definitely don't like the idea of putting it next to the water, as mentioned it's way too cold, damp and foggy. Needs to be inland more, maybe next to a lake. I also don't support incorporating a stadium into an amusement park, that should be somewhere by its self.

Something like this might just drive the final nail in the coffin at Atlantic Playland, and would do a serious blow to Upper Clements Park. Atlantic Playland I don't care about, but UCP is still a good park, and I would hate to see it lost.

There used to be fair grounds and public picnics on McNabs, why not put the park at the north end? The Findley Pleasure Grounds used to be there. It would make for one heck of a photo, and would put pressure on improving the ferry system.Not enough room on the former pleasure grounds site; in fact a decent sized park (larger than Upper Clements) would take up a huge portion of the island... and I for one would never want to see that happen.

[Wishblade]

to sign the petition, go to www.pierland.ca

[kirjtc2]

I took a lot of trips to the White Mountains in New Hampshire when I was little, and there were any number of good mid-sized amusement parks there. Santa's Village and Storyland were the two biggest, as I recall. None were the size of Canada's Wonderland, but they were large enough (bigger than, anything in the Maritimes) and did manage to get a lot of tourists, mostly from Boston...put in a couple of dozen rides for the little kids and a couple of roller-coasters (something severely lacking in this region) and you may be set.

I'd place it somewhere north of Halifax, maybe just off the 102 around Enfield or so. Most amusement parks near major metro areas seem to be about that far outside the city.

[Takeo]

OMG... that web page is hilarious. Did he get a 6 year old kid to design it? I LOVE the idea of an amusement park... don't get me wrong... but I'm having a very difficult time taking this guy seriously. He may as well call it Krustyland.

[Jonovision]

I've always liked the idea of a good amusement park for the city. But I can't bring myself to sign this petition. This guy is a little over the top for my liking.

[Wishblade]

I've always liked the idea of a good amusement park for the city. But I can't bring myself to sign this petition. This guy is a little over the top for my liking.

I know the website looks silly and such, but really, would it hurt to sign it? :shrug:

[Hali_user]

The website is horrible, and his ideas are a little far fetched. Olympic class sports facilities..... The government wouldn't even cough up the money to have the Commonwealth Games... There are only a few large amusement parks in the county. Amusement parks need people to opperate, they need a large market of people. That is unless the government wants to pump money into them to keep them going ie. Upper Clements.

For example, Calgary has Calaway Park which is larger than Upper Clements but not by much. It is the largest Park in Western Canada and still has to discount tickets to convince people to go. It was also funded with private money.

The reality is that Halifax is still under 400,000 people, and that Nova Scotia under 1,000,000. People from New Brunswick and East would probably take the extra drive to Canada's Wonderland if they wanted a large park.

I am not a defeatist just a realist. Personally I would rather the government move Upper Clements to the HRM and let private businesses and people take over from there. I realize that in 2007 the Province did sell the Park, however it was to a local group who still gets handouts from the provincial government. So private in principle only...

The government has better things to be spending money on than thrill rides... Halifax needs to invest in infrastructure, in athetics facilities, in things that matter. It needs to be open to business, lower taxes, loosen restrictions on developement.... etc. It does not need to be wasting time on amusment parks, which should be a private business.

[hfx_chris]

I realize that in 2007 the Province did sell the Park, however it was to a local group who still gets handouts from the provincial government. So private in principle only...
Didn't that happen like, 10 years ago? Not 1?

I know the website looks silly and such, but really, would it hurt to sign it? :shrug:
By signing it you say you support what he proposes. If you don't support it, why would you sign it?

[Wishblade]

Didn't that happen like, 10 years ago? Not 1?


By signing it you say you support what he proposes. If you don't support it, why would you sign it?

I support the concept, just not the details. Much like Jonovision.

Im sure many changes would be made before the final product were to be presented. The thing I disagree the most with is the location. It should definately be further inland. atleast as far inland as Bedford.

[someone123]

I'm personally a little tired of random people declaring that they want things without having anybody but the government to pay for it. There's no question that something like Canada's Wonderland is just not on the table, but beyond that I'm really skeptical of the idea of using public money when there is so much more it can be spent on.

Even just when it comes to tourist attractions the government could instead fund a local museum like the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which is something fairly unique and educational.

[Jonovision]

Yes, I would much rather see government money spent on Queens Landing and the redevelopment of the Maritime Museum then on an amusement park. Even if, (lets just float the possibility) this were to get built, it would be out on the outskirts of town surrounded by giant parking lots. Not something I would support at all. Major attractions should be located within the city and with good connections.

[hfx_chris]

Wouldn't be bad if it was say, 20 minutes outside the city - as opposed to 3 hours.

[Helladog]

I know the website looks silly and such, but really, would it hurt to sign it? :shrug:

I don't know...it could be an alien abduction list...be careful. :sly: