Bill Norrie, who was mayor when the first agreements were signed, said they knew they wanted a market, but beyond that the possibilities for the site were wide open. “ I think it has done extremely well through the years,” Norrie said. “ It was quite a major undertaking and some people wondered how it would work out… but I think it went great.” Norrie said what gratifies him most is how much The Forks has become a meeting place for Winnipeggers and a destination for tourists. “ It’s a real centre for people coming to visit,” he said. “ By and large it’s a really important part of Winnipeg.” There have been many proposals for the plot of land throughout the years including condos, an aquarium, a football stadium, and a water park. Jim August, who was general manager of the Core Area Initiative at the time The Forks began and is now chief executive officer of The Forks North Portage Partnership, said every building on the site when the land was turned over by the railroad has been redeveloped. “ People looking back today would say The Forks has evolved the way it should have,” he said. “ The area has met its vision — it is a meeting place. It has become the place where people go,” he said. Taken from, The Text Content on Page 21 of Winnipeg Free Press , September 6, 2008
It remarkable to note that 'they' wanted a football stadium there, but it was switched to a baseball park. The baseball park sits on a piece of land that was formally owned by David and Nettie Favor. There was a number of two story brick tenement homes that lined the North side of Pioneer built sometime in the 1920's, basically an eyesore to the passing public. The owners fought expropriation of their property in 1988, but lost in the end to the re-development of it.
I can remember Susan Thompson, then Mayor, speaking to Sam Katz at one of the meetings regarding his application to build a baseball park on the site. Sam apparently was inquiring about the monies that were to be forthcoming from the Federal, provincial and City coffers, so he could make his start on construction as he detailed in his proposal. Sam, in his wimpy little voice, asked the question, "When would the funds come available?", to which Susan glaringly turned towards Sam and responded, "Mr. Katz, the monies that have been allocated to this project will be available right after YOUR funds hit the table in these chambers and not a moment before. And when can we expect them?" Sam, stuttered and stammered, turn ten shades of red, and slowly melted in a pool behind the podium and slunk out of the chambers.
When they spoke about parking for the baseball park in the area, Sam made the suggestion that there was plenty. When question further, he suggested that there was an abundance of off-peak parking available from private parties, as well as vacant neighboring Forks property. Over the coming months, he gradually weaseled the City into allowing him use of the property across the street. During construction of the park, construction materials and workers used the property to park on. One day gravel appeared on it, and then sidewalks, curbs, lighting, and paved roads appeared also. My latest discovery the other day, was a circus. Gee, I wonder how that got parked there, did someone draw a permit?, didn't see one either. Someone from the City should be down there collecting City Amusement Tax, shouldn't they?