Post by pettione on Dec 5, 2007 11:34:45 GMT -5
It would appear by this article----that the brain has difficulty connecting Convention Centre and Regional Niagara Arena all into ONE LARGE REGIONAL ASSET WITH LONGEVITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ONE COMPLEX all contained in 4 walls!!!!
TOO WILD an Idea!!!!!
Oshawa had no problem seeing through their PARADOX!!!!
How about NIAGARA!!!!
Are we always going to stay in this Regional Dare-Devil Mentality!!!!!----
Gamble Niagara!!!!
If you are Gambling Region or just continue telling us how well you help our infrastructure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We will have great infrastructure but no reason to use the infrastructure----"BUILD IT AND THEY WE COME"
Salci points to convention centre, arena
Posted By COREY LAROCQUE
Posted 4 hours ago
There were some big gains for Niagara Falls this year, but the "little victories" keep Mayor Ted Salci going as he heads into the second year of his second term, he says.
"You've got to keep pushing," Salci said during an interview in his corner office at city hall.
Tuesday was the first anniversary of the start of his second term. Salci and eight city councillors were sworn in a year ago yesterday, in an inaugural meeting held at the MacBain Community Centre to show off the new facility.
"It seems like such a long time ago. So much has happened. It has been a busy year," he said.
Salci pointed to two highlights of 2007 - the leap forward on the Niagara Convention and Civic Centre, and council's decision to build a four-pad arena complex.
"They're possibly the best examples of what we've been doing," he said.
A partnership involving private tourism operators, the casinos, and the provincial and federal governments came together, allowing the Niagara Convention and Civic Centre to move forward.
"The convention centre will change Niagara forever," Salci predicted.
Bringing big conventions to town will end "seasonality" and create more year-round jobs, he said. Businessman Dragan Matovic lined up private-sector partners willing to chip in one-third of the $100-million project to be built on Stanley Avenue.
In the spring, Ontario's Liberal government announced it would contribute one-third of the cost. Then over the summer, Conservative MP Rob Nicholson announced Ottawa was on board for a third, as well. "It's something we've worked long and hard with. It began before I got here. Much of my time was spent lobbying different levels of government," Salci said.
The other highlight was the progress on the four-pad arena project. Originally, the proposal was for a twin-pad to replace the aging Niagara Falls Memorial Arena.
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The main arena will have 2,000 seats. It's not big enough to host an Ontario Hockey League team - an option the city had to pass on when the Mississauga IceDogs came calling but couldn't reach a deal with city hall to return junior A play to the Falls.
"Delivering an amenity such as the four-pad will be a real pleasure. It's actually a new facility," Salci said, adding the MacBain Community Centre was the first new public facility built in about 30 years.
Niagara Falls is still eager to see Ontario Lottery and Gaming sign a long-term deal to keep Casino Niagara on Falls Avenue, where it has been since 1996. City officials leaned hard on the provincial Liberals to get a promise the government-owned casino would stay put.
Premier Dalton McGuinty confirmed his government won't close Casino Niagara, but Salci said he won't rest easy until the ink is dry.
"I'm not satisfied yet because we haven't got the lease extension completed," the mayor said, adding he's optimistic that will happen in early 2008.
This year saw councillors take a critical view of the casinos' role in the community. They questioned whether the casinos were serving one of their intended functions, to create jobs in the community, or just generating revenue for the province. Salci was thrown into the ring to present the city's concerns to Ontario infrastructure minister David Caplan and casino brass.
"When the elephant makes a move, there's an impact," Salci said, using Pierre Trudeau's comparison of Canada living next to the U.S. to describe the relationship between the city and the casino.
Salci said he's sympathetic to the "significant challenges" the casinos face due to the high Canadian dollar and U.S. travel document requirements.
A group of very experienced politicians shook things up early in 2007 when they asserted they wanted to be more "hands-on" in running the city.
"They're probably challenging staff more than ever, which isn't necessarily a bad thing," the mayor said.
But he said they still need to understand their relationship - that politicians set the policy and staff carries out the work.
When he came to office in 2003, Salci made a pledge to improve infrastructure - the roads and sewers that are the city's responsibility. Council continued to keep that priority high, though now they're getting complaints about the inconvenience of roadwork, he said.
"You see construction in almost ever part of the city."
Paying for all its responsibilities was a challenge this year and will continue to be one, the mayor predicted.
However, Salci said he appreciates seeing the small steps the city takes when working on big projects like the convention centre and arena.
"I call them in a sense, here, 'little victories.' I say to myself, 'give me a little victory today and we'll get something done on a particular issue,'" Salci said.
ONE COMPLEX all contained in 4 walls!!!!
TOO WILD an Idea!!!!!
Oshawa had no problem seeing through their PARADOX!!!!
How about NIAGARA!!!!
Are we always going to stay in this Regional Dare-Devil Mentality!!!!!----
Gamble Niagara!!!!
If you are Gambling Region or just continue telling us how well you help our infrastructure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We will have great infrastructure but no reason to use the infrastructure----"BUILD IT AND THEY WE COME"
Salci points to convention centre, arena
Posted By COREY LAROCQUE
Posted 4 hours ago
There were some big gains for Niagara Falls this year, but the "little victories" keep Mayor Ted Salci going as he heads into the second year of his second term, he says.
"You've got to keep pushing," Salci said during an interview in his corner office at city hall.
Tuesday was the first anniversary of the start of his second term. Salci and eight city councillors were sworn in a year ago yesterday, in an inaugural meeting held at the MacBain Community Centre to show off the new facility.
"It seems like such a long time ago. So much has happened. It has been a busy year," he said.
Salci pointed to two highlights of 2007 - the leap forward on the Niagara Convention and Civic Centre, and council's decision to build a four-pad arena complex.
"They're possibly the best examples of what we've been doing," he said.
A partnership involving private tourism operators, the casinos, and the provincial and federal governments came together, allowing the Niagara Convention and Civic Centre to move forward.
"The convention centre will change Niagara forever," Salci predicted.
Bringing big conventions to town will end "seasonality" and create more year-round jobs, he said. Businessman Dragan Matovic lined up private-sector partners willing to chip in one-third of the $100-million project to be built on Stanley Avenue.
In the spring, Ontario's Liberal government announced it would contribute one-third of the cost. Then over the summer, Conservative MP Rob Nicholson announced Ottawa was on board for a third, as well. "It's something we've worked long and hard with. It began before I got here. Much of my time was spent lobbying different levels of government," Salci said.
The other highlight was the progress on the four-pad arena project. Originally, the proposal was for a twin-pad to replace the aging Niagara Falls Memorial Arena.
Advertisement
The main arena will have 2,000 seats. It's not big enough to host an Ontario Hockey League team - an option the city had to pass on when the Mississauga IceDogs came calling but couldn't reach a deal with city hall to return junior A play to the Falls.
"Delivering an amenity such as the four-pad will be a real pleasure. It's actually a new facility," Salci said, adding the MacBain Community Centre was the first new public facility built in about 30 years.
Niagara Falls is still eager to see Ontario Lottery and Gaming sign a long-term deal to keep Casino Niagara on Falls Avenue, where it has been since 1996. City officials leaned hard on the provincial Liberals to get a promise the government-owned casino would stay put.
Premier Dalton McGuinty confirmed his government won't close Casino Niagara, but Salci said he won't rest easy until the ink is dry.
"I'm not satisfied yet because we haven't got the lease extension completed," the mayor said, adding he's optimistic that will happen in early 2008.
This year saw councillors take a critical view of the casinos' role in the community. They questioned whether the casinos were serving one of their intended functions, to create jobs in the community, or just generating revenue for the province. Salci was thrown into the ring to present the city's concerns to Ontario infrastructure minister David Caplan and casino brass.
"When the elephant makes a move, there's an impact," Salci said, using Pierre Trudeau's comparison of Canada living next to the U.S. to describe the relationship between the city and the casino.
Salci said he's sympathetic to the "significant challenges" the casinos face due to the high Canadian dollar and U.S. travel document requirements.
A group of very experienced politicians shook things up early in 2007 when they asserted they wanted to be more "hands-on" in running the city.
"They're probably challenging staff more than ever, which isn't necessarily a bad thing," the mayor said.
But he said they still need to understand their relationship - that politicians set the policy and staff carries out the work.
When he came to office in 2003, Salci made a pledge to improve infrastructure - the roads and sewers that are the city's responsibility. Council continued to keep that priority high, though now they're getting complaints about the inconvenience of roadwork, he said.
"You see construction in almost ever part of the city."
Paying for all its responsibilities was a challenge this year and will continue to be one, the mayor predicted.
However, Salci said he appreciates seeing the small steps the city takes when working on big projects like the convention centre and arena.
"I call them in a sense, here, 'little victories.' I say to myself, 'give me a little victory today and we'll get something done on a particular issue,'" Salci said.
