By Tasha Luksa
The dream of many Ottawa sports fans to have a Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in Ottawa’s old train station has been dashed.
Phil Denyes, president and CEO of the hall, announced to the media earlier this month that the plan to convert the federal government’s Conference Centre into a modern and interactive tourist attraction is “not going to happen” because of the costly repairs the building would require.
However, Denyes is confident the sports hall of fame will move to Ottawa as soon as a practical location is found. He says he wants to find a building in the city centre.
Leslie Miller, president of Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority, applauds the decision to stay in Ottawa and says the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame would make a great addition to the numerous national galleries already in Ottawa.
“It would be a great year round attraction for families and will encourage more people to visit Ottawa,” says Miller.
Since the late 1990s there have been plans to move the not-for-profit sports hall from Toronto to Ottawa.
Although they have yet to identify the criteria for finding a workable building in Ottawa, the building in Toronto is older and lacking space, says Mark Roy, a representative of Ottawa-area MP Don Boudria. He says the sports hall would greatly benefit from a move to the nation’s capital.
Financially, this move will be supported by 10 Founding Partners from the corporate world, including: Canada Post, Lucent Technologies, Royal Bank Financial Group and TSN, The Sports Network.
The original idea was to use the former train station at the corner of Wellington Street and Colonel By Drive, a 90-year-old historical landmark.
In 1999, the Liberal government decided it no longer needed the building and turned it over, rent-free, for use as a sports hall of fame. This offer was conditional, providing the museum met the costs of converting the building and operating it.
In the past year there has been a disagreement between the federal government and project supporters concerning the $13 million of urgent repairs needed to convert the old Union train station into a state-of-the-art facility.
The $13 million was on top of the $65 million forecast for the development of the hall itself.
When the federal government refused to pay the additional $13 million the project was declared a failure.
Twenty-one-year-old Carleton graduate and sports enthusiast, Steve Tatone, is angered by the failure of the original plan.
“The hall is worthy of government funding. Canadians need to have a place to go to honour their sports heroes and the most logical place for that to be in is the nation’s capital,” Tatone argues.
Though there is disagreement between Ottawa residents regarding the location of the hall, there is one thing most people agree on: the hall of fame needs to move to Ottawa.
Somerset Coun. Elisabeth Arnold agrees with this assessment.
“Anything we can do to attract tourists and promote the economy is good,” Arnold says.
According to the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority just under six million tourists travel to Ottawa each year, injecting over a billion dollars into the economy.
Project director with the City of Ottawa, Rejean Chartrand, says he believes tourism is about variety and the number of activities available
“The sports hall of fame will add an extra element to Ottawa’s diverse attractions and improve the overall appeal of Ottawa,” Chartrand says.