Winnipeg is ready to pour $7 million into a privately run water park because cash set aside to build a family-friendly facility in Kildonan Park no longer covers construction costs.
Since 2006, the city had planned to spend $9 million on a water park, spray pad and pool upgrades inside Kildonan Park, using money from the $43 million recreation kitty created after city council cancelled bus rapid transit.
But runaway construction inflation over the past two years means Winnipeg has “no hope whatsoever” of building the Kildonan Park Urban Oasis as planned, Mayor Sam Katz said Tuesday.
As a result, Wednesday morning the mayor will ask members of his cabinet to approve a plan to ask the private sector for proposals to build an indoor water park somewhere in Winnipeg using up to $7 million of city cash, while the remaining $2 million will be spent on redeveloping Kildonan Park’s outdoor pool.
The plan also calls for the city to build an $813,000 spray park next to the pool and find $2 million to spend on future improvements to Kildonan Park and its pavilion.
But the most dramatic component is the indoor waterpark, which city planners describe as both a tourist attraction and an amenity for families during Winnipeg’s “long, cold winters and hot summers.”
The water park would be run privately but “remain accessible” to ordinary Winnipeggers, said Katz, adding he needs to see proposals from the private sector before he could say what sort of admission fees would be charged by the facility, if any.
“I would be shocked if we did not get a good response,” said Katz, noting the Canad Inns hotel chain, the Clarion Hotel and the Ramada Marlborough have all built indoor water parks.
“This would not be run by the City of Winnipeg. The best analogy I can give you (is) it would be similar to what we did with soccer,” he added, referring to the $6 million city contribution to an indoor-soccer facility under construction at the University of Manitoba.
The city’s call for proposals immediately provoked praise from water park lobbyists, interest from developers and skepticism from city councillors concerned about public access to a privately run facility.
“I think it’s fantastic, if it goes through. I’ve been waiting for this,” said Ty Tran, a Winnipeg father of three young children who unsuccessfully lobbied to convert Winnipeg Arena into a water park before it was demolished.
“I’ve always questioned when this city would wake up and smell the coffee. If you look at our winters, what do we do in those five months? We don’t have any family-friendly entertainment.”
Although the city has yet to issue a call for proposals, the Canad Inns hotel chain will be one of the leading contenders.
The Winnipeg-based company has built water parks in most of its hotels, including the new hospitality complex it opened in Grand Forks, N.D. in 2007.
“We have a world-class team that works in waterparks, so if something comes out, we’ll certainly be responding,” said Canad Inns president Leo Ledohowski, adding Winnipeg sorely needs such a facility. “Any (time) a waterpark comes into the city, we’re interested.”
Katz said he’s excited to see whether a hotel or other facilities will be included as part of the private-sector proposals. But other members of city council are less than enthusiastic about the private-sector involvement, particularly because of the uncertainty surrounding admission costs.
“We’re creating a $7 million grant to create a waterpark privately, but how much accessibility would it provide?” asked Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi. “It seems to me we need to think through those issues before we make a $7 million decision. Maybe we could have that money back and spend it on rapid transit.”
But waterpark proponent Ty Tran said he doesn’t care if the new attraction charges admission. A local facility would still be more accessible to low-income families than a trip to West Edmonton Mall, he argued.
“I would be honoured to cut the ribbon,” he said. “And I would take my kids there every weekend.”
If approved today by council’s executive policy committee, the waterpark plan and the Kildonan Park improvements still face a vote by city council as a whole on Jan. 23.
The federal and provincial governments, which created the $43 million recreation kitty, also need to sign off on the plan.
bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca
joe.paraskevas@freepress.mb.ca
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