SuperEx cancelled for 2011

[lrt's friend]

http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loca...hub=OttawaHome

This is what I feared would happen. There has been so little news about what was going on. Have we seen the end of the Ex? Whether you liked the Ex or not, this is a sad day for this city.

[MaxHeadroom]

Just another obsolete and inefficient business model that is going away.
It has been on life support for years courtesy city taxpayers.

They first started considering a move elsewhere decades ago. It's not like they suddenly ran out of time and didn't have time to plan.

[lrt's friend]

I remind you "The town that fun forgot"

[Franky]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I remind you "The town that fun forgot"

Thank god our reputation will remain intact! At least we'll have another shopping area to hang out in. Come to Ottawa, we have stores just like you have at home...

[eternallyme]

Hopefully some new agency takes over, makes it profitable or at least operating not at a loss, and gets it off the backs of the City of Ottawa for good.

I'd create a new agency, called the Ottawa National Fair, modelled after many successful US state fairs. A good place for it would be somewhere in a farmland part of the Greenbelt with good road and transit access (perhaps Moodie/416/417 corner?)

[Mille Sabords]

Forget Moodie and 416. They should go to Dow's Lake and set up in that big green patch of grass actoss from Preston and Carling. They should also run all summer and have it more like Centre Island plus a few grown-up rides.

I'll miss it. It had become a tradition for me and my kids.

[Harley613]

the owner of the Calypso Waterpark (guy drouin) should take a break from counting his proceeds from last summer to read this article. i'm sure it'd put a smile on his face!

[Dado]

This Lansdowne Live business has been churning for how many years now? And in all this time no one figured out what to do with the Ex?

I could understand if Lansdowne Live had gone ahead as "planned" in the year after it was announced and that had come too quickly for the Ex do be able to do anything, but now, after this many years?


They could put it in the fields north of the Bayview O-Train station. It's got the transit options, decent road connections and families can cycle there by way of the pathway. The old snow dump could be used for parking. Granted, there's some brush-clearing to do, but at least the site has access to services. They could even set up a hand-cart ride along the semi-abandoned rail line and make some money from it, since they have no intention of using it for anything useful.

[KHOOLE]

Originally Posted by Dado

This Lansdowne Live business has been churning for how many years now? And in all this time no one figured out what to do with the Ex?

I could understand if Lansdowne Live had gone ahead as "planned" in the year after it was announced and that had come too quickly for the Ex do be able to do anything, but now, after this many years?


They could put it in the fields north of the Bayview O-Train station. It's got the transit options, decent road connections and families can cycle there by way of the pathway. The old snow dump could be used for parking. Granted, there's some brush-clearing to do, but at least the site has access to services. They could even set up a hand-cart ride along the semi-abandoned rail line and make some money from it, since they have no intention of using it for anything useful.

I agree with Dado and Irt’s Friend. The Super Ex originally started as an agricultural fair to which many families living in eastern Ontario and western Québec can relate to. From a regional fair, it became just a bland and ordinary Midway entertainment event, just like any others.
This is the downside to the OSEG development plans. First, the trade shows are shipped out to the airport, then the Dome and the nearly 12 months a year soccer fields will no longer be and now the Ex!
This is a bad trade-off for a promised football team that may only last a few years. What are we going to be left with? A Cineplex theatre?

[c_speed3108]

While I support the ex in principal, when I actually stop and think about how few times I have actually gone in say the past 15 years I realize my support is rather weak.

Also the ex is only there a couple weeks of the year. I think attention needs to be focused on things that a bit of a longer season.

As for things like the soccer dome being temporary displaced, they will probably just set it up at the Nepean sportsplex since it is an artificial field.

Basically regardless of what is done with Lansdowne a number of things like the GGs, the soccer dome etc where going to have to be displaced because even just keeping what is there right now is going to require a fair bit of work involving large equipment like cranes. Heck they can't even use all the seats on the North Side anymore. The field area was going to be unavailable for a little while no matter what plan gets executed...or even if no plan gets executed.

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by KHOOLE

I agree with Dado and Irt’s Friend. The Super Ex originally started as an agricultural fair to which many families living in eastern Ontario and western Québec can relate to. From a regional fair, it became just a bland and ordinary Midway entertainment event, just like any others.
This is the downside to the OSEG development plans. First, the trade shows are shipped out to the airport, then the Dome and the nearly 12 months a year soccer fields will no longer be and now the Ex!
This is a bad trade-off for a promised football team that may only last a few years. What are we going to be left with? A Cineplex theatre?

The trade centre moving to the airport is a good thing there getting a state of the start complex.Even if the football team was to fold there still would be sports its not like thats the only thing going to happen.As for the ex as some will try and twist the fact and blame oseg the facts are they have been planning to move for years.

[Cre47]

Two Words: Lebreton Flats. If this location is able to handle the load from Bluesfest, it can certainly handle the Super Ex. But, no they continue on moving everything in the middle of nowhere. I will bet that there will be lesser people going at the EX when it will be in the middle of nowhere. This will be like that for a good 3-5 years if there is an LRT extension.

Super Ex at the middle of nowhere is slated to be doomed. City should have looked at other locations rather than in the far reaches of the city.

Sounds like the only place that will have an amusement park in the city core will be during the Gatineau Hot Air Ballon Festival but it only last for 3 1/2 days.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Cre47

Sounds like the only place that will have an amusement park in the city core will be during the Gatineau Hot Air Ballon Festival but it only last for 3 1/2 days.

The balloon festival in Gatineau is one of numerous things that really hurt SuperEx. What used to be a fairly decent chunk of SuperEx patrons from the Quebec side of the river is now reduced to barely a trickle. I remember as a kid during SuperEx the parking lot across the street from Lansdowne used to be taken over by the Ottawa and Outaouais transit operators, and there used to be huge lineups of people going back home to Hull, Aylmer, Gatineau, Buckingham when the fair closed down for the day. It was THE thing to do to wrap up your summer in those days.

My kids are growing up in Gatineau and they don't even know there is such a thing called SuperEx in Ottawa. For them and their friends it is all about the balloon festival at that time of year.

Just one of the many woes that have beset SuperEx.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Why not hold the Superex at the site of the new trade center.Then the trade show space can be used for Superex exhibitors and the Superex can be more than just a Midway.

The proposed center will provide twice as much exhibit space as the current space available at LP.More modern space too. Having it at the airport allows out of town exhibitors to fly in and out of Ottawa easily. There will be a new hotel to accommodate them as well.

As for the winter dome; there are at least half a dozen in the city already. Two here in Blackburn Hamlet. Louis Riel for track and field and at the Hornet's Nest for indoor soccer,

Among the possible sites for the LP dome to move to is Keith Harris Stadium at Carleton U. It has an artificial-- Field Turf-- field. The portion of the revenues that go to Carleton could be used to help fund Carleton's sports programs , including the revived Ravens football team.

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by Cre47

Two Words: Lebreton Flats. If this location is able to handle the load from Bluesfest, it can certainly handle the Super Ex. But, no they continue on moving everything in the middle of nowhere. I will bet that there will be lesser people going at the EX when it will be in the middle of nowhere. This will be like that for a good 3-5 years if there is an LRT extension.

Super Ex at the middle of nowhere is slated to be doomed. City should have looked at other locations rather than in the far reaches of the city.

Sounds like the only place that will have an amusement park in the city core will be during the Gatineau Hot Air Ballon Festival but it only last for 3 1/2 days.

There are countless fairs that have amusments parks.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The balloon festival in Gatineau is one of numerous things that really hurt SuperEx. What used to be a fairly decent chunk of SuperEx patrons from the Quebec side of the river is now reduced to barely a trickle. I remember as a kid during SuperEx the parking lot across the street from Lansdowne used to be taken over by the Ottawa and Outaouais transit operators, and there used to be huge lineups of people going back home to Hull, Aylmer, Gatineau, Buckingham when the fair closed down for the day. It was THE thing to do to wrap up your summer in those days.

My kids are growing up in Gatineau and they don't even know there is such a thing called SuperEx in Ottawa. For them and their friends it is all about the balloon festival at that time of year.

Just one of the many woes that have beset SuperEx.

They should maybe have SuperEx later in the year, like in late September or early October (ending the Sunday one week before Thanksgiving), after all the local fairs which are mostly in late August and early September. That way they can also draw school crowds during the week and make it more of a large fall fair. It would also not be competing for the fair excursion trips with the CNE in Toronto which is at the same time.

If I were to set the 2012 dates, they would be from September 20 to 30. (The latest ending could be October 6, and the earliest start September 20.)

[harls]

I thought the SuperEx was a few weeks before the balloon festival? or has that not historically been the case?

If you have it in late September or October, kids are back in school and I imagine attendance would drop.. not to mention the possibility of colder weather at that time of year which is a turn off.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by harls

I thought the SuperEx was a few weeks before the balloon festival? or has that not historically been the case?

You are right. SuperEx is just before the balloons. But the balloon festival has nonetheless stolen SuperEx's niche as the place young people and families in the Outaouais go to to wrap up their summer.

[Cre47]

Early-August was my thinking, a couple of weeks before the actual time.

Also this region looks to be large enough for an all-spring/summer/early fall amusement park. Ok of course not the size of Canada's Wonderland but of at least decent size.