The Business Beat, Adam Hickman
After almost two years of journeying to Hull to play black-jack, roulette, and slot machines, Ottawa residents will soon have two casinos to call their own.
The Ontario government granted licenses for two Ottawa area mini-casinos, one tenth the size of Casino de Hull. The operators, CHC North and Star of Fortune, now search for a site.
Sparks Street should be given serious consideration.
The street is one of Ottawa’s oldest and most popular attractions. A casino would profit from an association with such a well-known street.
Sparks Street is centrally located. Steps from the transitway, it’s easy to get to in the city or from immediate suburbs.
But the real advantage to a downtown location is attracting people who are already there. Sparks Street is in a densely populated area, close to shopping malls, offices, cinemas, and restaurants. These other interests, which bring people to Sparks, have the potential to generate a sizeable walk-up crowd for the casino.
A casino is a unique brand of entertainment, because it’s so flexible. One can visit for 10 minutes or stay for 10 hours. It can be easily incorporated into a night out, or it can be the entire night out. One can dine from 6:00 to 7:00 at a restaurant, visit the casino for a few rounds of blackjack, and still make a 9:15 movie around the corner at Capital Square.
But only a casino located downtown, which shares the marketplace with other attractions, can capitalize on this flexibility.
Sparks Street is also situated steps from Ottawa’s major hotels. Tourists would sooner visit a casino which is close by, rather than outside of town.
By choosing Sparks, owners can cut costs because they won’t need to build from scratch. The buildings at 172 and 180 Sparks St. can facilitate a mini-casino, but face demolition. This option is best considered quickly.
A casino would revitalize Sparks Street’s night life, and bring back customers lost to the Byward Market. The economic spin-offs help stores and restaurants. A casino for Sparks Street is a win-win situation.
The Ottawa Senators were faced with the same decision. They moved to the suburbs. Arguably, they’ve lost the spontaneous walk-up crowd a downtown location may have generated.
Let’s hope the two companies have learned from the Sens and don’t roll the dice on a remote location in some distant suburb.