The province is taking its money and is going home

The on-going saga of the downtown conference centre expansion took another twist this morning. The Ontario government has taken the $30 million it had allocated to the project off the table, citing that the time and work put into getting it off the ground had gone on way too long.

The Ottawa Citizen reported today that the Ottawa Congress Centre is about 70,000 square feet and compared it with the new convention centre in Pittsburgh that measures 345,000 square feet. That's huge - think about 3-4 of those big Loblaws superstores.

I suppose that the good news is that had we completed this project after sixteen or so years of planning and squabbling (this has been going on since the early 1990's), we still would have only ended up with a 204,000 square foot facility that doesn't quite measure up to other such buildings in our corner of the continent. We would likely still be left on the outside looking in when conventions look for a home.

The National Hockey League has long promised us that our turn would come to host the All Star Game. For half a decade, I have eagerly anticipated an announcement, only to hear that yet another city is being given the week of festivities. Media in our town sadly report every time that we don't quite qualify due to a lack of space to hold the various events associated with the big game.

So what's the solution? I'm almost certain that the Federal government's $30 million commitment was contingent on the Province and the City providing their share. If that ends up being the case, kiss that $30 million bye bye too.

What's the bottom line? The Ontario Minister of Tourism assures us that the $30 million won't simply disappear, it will still be invested in the City of Ottawa somewhere, for a "tourism project". Will the Congress Centre expand on its current premises? It doesn't seem likely, because Viking Rideau, the owner of the land on which it sits (and shares with the Rideau Centre) doesn't want its parking spaces taken away from its shoppers. They contend that a huge parking garage that could cost $12 million would be required. Investors also have had serious doubts about whether or not this project was viable in the first place. The Congress Centre consequently will continue to operate in its tiny quarters and we'll keep missing out on the big dollars that come with big conventions.

Can we build one somewhere else? Will the City of Ottawa attempt to embark on another of its PPP projects? Maybe, but then you'll have a fight with all those NIMBY people who won't want a massive conference centre built in their backyards. Can't increase traffic, let's put another environmental assessment into motion... let's delay another 5 years. Let's put it there. No, we can't - how about there?

Isn't this fun? In the meantime, we remain on the outside, longingly looking in. What's the next move, Ottawa?