City councilors will be making a splash at Winnipeg City Hall Wednesday morning, as they are expected to push ahead with a plan to create a multi-million dollar water park.
The plan was added to their Wednesday agenda at the last minute on Tuesday.
And it appears Mayor Sam Katz has fully opened the floodgates on the idea - with an opening date set for the fall of 2009.
As CTV News reported Tuesday, taxpayers won't feel the pinch for the park.
In fact, the city already has the money. It was originally slated for an urban oasis in Kildonan Park.
Instead, the park will receive $2 million worth of upgrades, and the leftover $7 million will be spent on the water park.
But that money won't be enough, so the city now wants to see what the private sector can offer on top of the $7 million ante.
Downtown location preferred
The City of Winnipeg will put out expressions of interest immediately to identify plans and locations.
Mayor Sam Katz says downtown will get preference because it's in a central location.
However, that location may be a problem because water parks rarely stand alone. They are usually incorporated into something like a hotel or a shopping mall.
Katz tells CTV News many other cities already have waterparks (see links above), and that Winnipeg needs to get on board. For example, in Niagara Falls, Ont., the brand new, 125,000 sq. ft. Fallsview Indoor Waterpark boasts a full-size wave pool and water slides up to six storeys high.
Katz says Winnipeg now has an opportunity to build a park that exceeds other centres.
