Niagara Falls eyes Marineland and other key sites for tourism boost

With all remaining whales removed from Marineland in Niagara Falls last month, the closed amusement park property remains idle.

However, officials in Niagara Falls see the land as a big opportunity to grow tourism.

It is not the only project happening in the city that officials hope will polish the city and capitalize on tourism.

The former entrance to Marineland is gated with a “no trespassing” sign and a wooden arch where the amusement park’s sign used to be.

“Marineland is one of the biggest opportunities in Canada. I mean, it’s around 800 acres which, just to put in perspective, three Magic Kingdoms,” Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said.

Marineland recently completed an unprecedented relocation of captive whales. Thirty belugas and four dolphins were shipped to five destinations.

The land is now up for sale. Diodati says there are interested investors.

“We’ve seen many proposals in the past, many interested groups. The problem has always been the whales. They’ve been able to relocate these whales to a better place, and now free up Marineland to be reactivated. And let’s use our imaginations, let’s go out, let’s do a global request for proposals. Let’s get the world’s ideas, ” Diodati said.

READ MORE: Fourth group of Marineland whales leaving shuttered Ontario park

Marineland isn’t the only property in Niagara Falls which is looking to be repurposed — there’s the Toronto Power Generating Station which is being turned into a hotel and resort, and then there’s the SkyWheel on Clifton Hill which has plans to be replaced.

“We kinda said, well, we can do a bigger wheel,” said Harry Oakes, president and CEO of HOCO Entertainment & Resorts. “Let’s keep the wheel on Clifton Hill which is the entertainment district in Niagara Falls.”

The plan to replace the SkyWheel comes after Niagara Parks Commission cancelled plans for a second ferris wheel in Queen Victoria Park after backlash from residents.

The SkyWheel’s replacement is set to be much bigger.

“We haven’t made a final decision on the model of the wheel, but we’re basically looking at an almost 80-metre wheel,” Oakes says. “The wheel you see here now is 53 metres. It doesn’t sound like a big difference, but it is double the size.”

And the project to turn the Toronto Power Generating Station into a hotel continues.

“This will be the first five-star boutique hotel in Niagara,” said David Adames, CEO of Niagara Parks Commission. “So to have this very special decommissioned power station turned into a new visitor use, it will generate worldwide attention.”

Mayor Diodati says the goal is for all these projects to “polish” the city.

“Niagara Falls is getting tired. We haven’t had a new hotel in 18 years,” Diodati says. “It’s time for some renewed investment to create more jobs and more, better jobs, and that’s what it is all about.”

READ MORE: ‘Bittersweet’: Canada’s last captive whales leave Marineland for U.S. aquariums