By Adam Hickman
Memories of Gordie Howe, Marilyn Bell, Steve Podborksi, Northern Dancer and 400 other Canadian sports heroes may be coming to Ottawa.
Canadian Sports Hall of Fame officials say the hall will move to Ottawa if they can take up residence in the government-owned Conference Centre.
The Hall of Fame has been awaiting a decision from the Prime Minister’s Office since December, when board members toured two Ottawa sites.
Allan Stewart, executive director, Hall of Fame, says board members unanimously decided the Conference Centre is the only “viable site.”
“The board feels if we go to Ottawa without any special government funding we had better be in the Conference Centre,” says Stewart. “We want to be right in the heart of tourist traffic.”
The hall finances its own operation and isn’t asking for money from the federal government, he says, which is why a top site is key to the move to Ottawa.
Stewart says if they can’t move into the Conference Centre the hall will pursue offers in Toronto.
An answer is expected from the government by late January.
Steve Kelly, director of economic issues, Ottawa-Carleton Economic Development Corporation, says the Conference Centre is ideal.
“It has good pedestrian access and is close to other natural attractions,” he said. “Having the (centre) put to use where the public has access would be very beneficial to integrating the Conference Centre with the rest of the downtown core.”
The Conference Centre is intended for important meetings such as First Minister’s conferences. Stewart says it runs a $2-million deficit each year.
Anne Menard, executive assistant to Ottawa Vanier MP Mauril Belanger, who has lobbied to bring the hall to Ottawa, says the “ghosts of Meech Lake” must haunt the Conference Centre because the government didn’t hold last year’s First Minister’s Conference in the building.
“It is such a majestic building,” she said. “This is the jewel in the crown of Confederation Boulevard.”
Patrick Kelly, chairman, Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority, says the building’s current use is “a ludicrous waste for what could be an outstanding facility.”
Kelly says the Privy Council Office is a stumbling block. It’s worried about finding space for general meetings, which are also held there. The PCO was to submit recommendations to the Prime Minister’s Office before a decision is made.
While opinion in the bureaucracy is mixed, the Prime Minister is apparently in favor. Menard says when hall officials met with Prime Minister Jean Chretien last year he was supportive.
“He had opportunity to say no then and he didn’t.”
If the proposal is rejected the hall of fame has an attractive option in a new area developing at the base of the Toronto’s CN Tower.
“We’ve told interests in Toronto that Ottawa is the number one choice. We won’t talk to them until we get a no out here.”
Stewart says Ottawa is preferred because it’s a more ‘genuine’ tourit destination. Travellers visit Toronto for a game or a show and then go home. But Ottawa tourists tend to plan an agenda of sites to see.
“These places rely on tourist traffic. They don’t change enough to keep local people coming back. It’s a real challenge.”
He adds that Ottawa doesn’t have a touristic sports attraction, whereas in Toronto there would be direct competition from the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Patrick Kelly says Ottawa is a seasonal tourist destination.
“The Hall of Fame is something that could have appeal regardless of time of year.”
The other site considered was the Lorne building on Elgin Street, the old National Gallery home.
“It’s an office building. It doesn’t make a statement. It doesn’t connect the Byward Market to Elgin Street.”
Stewart says the hall wants to blend technology throughout the building and give casual visitors complete access to its collection.
“We have a first-class building planned,” he says. “It won’t be a traditional museum, it’ll be interactive.”