Winnipeg hotelier eager to dive into water park proposal

Winnipeg hotel mogul Leo Ledohowski is jumping at the chance to take advantage of $7 million in city money to help build an indoor water park in the city's downtown.

Ledohowski, president of the Canad Inns chain, said he's ready and raring to go again, in the wake of a city committee's recommendation Wednesday that the city spend $7 million in an attempt to leverage enough private investment to build a water park.

Ledohowski has made previous proposals for water parks combined with football stadiums in the St. Boniface neighbourhood and in Headingley, just west of Winnipeg.

Now, he says he has pulled together a group of international consultants to shape his next proposal for Winnipeg.

Downtown location possible

Mayor Sam Katz said Wednesday he would prefer to see thewater park located downtown; city officials have floated the idea of using the soon-to-be-vacated site of theCanada Postprocessing plant,or the parking lots across from the convention centre.

Ledohowski would not directly comment on what he thinks of those sites, but said in order for a water park to fly, it has to be part of a complex.

"A freestanding water park is not enough. It has to be part of a larger destination concept," he said. "You need restaurants, you need lounges, you need guest rooms, a whole series of things.Secondly, these things chew up a lot of land."

Ledohowski said he knows of at least two downtown sites that could work with his concept.

The city would require a developer to enter an agreement that would guarantee public access to the facility for 25 years, among other conditions, according to a report on the matter.

Ledohowski said he would use a model similar to thatof the Canad Inns' 40,000-square-foot water park in Grand Forks, N.D., which is fully open to the public.

Entrance fees for people over six years of age range from $11 US for weekday evenings to $17 US for full days on holiday weekends.

Could cost $25 million to $35 million: mayor

The city's executive policy committee recommended Wednesday that council put out a request for proposals on a privately owned and operated water park.

Mayor Sam Katz said the move is the only way to get such a facility built.

"I think the city's goal is to get the facilities built and running and make sure that the citizens can utilize them," he told CBC News Wednesday morning. "The bottom line is a facility like this could easily cost $25 million to $35 million."

Winnipeggers have been mulling over proposals for an indoor water park in the city for years. Much smaller cities have water parks, Katz said, so it's time for Winnipeg to have one, too.

The proposed schedule for the project would have the city select a developer by spring 2008, and have the water park operational by late fall 2009.

Kildonan pool improvements downsized

The $7 million would come from a $9-million fund the city had planned to use to upgrade pool facilities at Kildonan Park into an "urban oasis." However, escalating construction costs meant the city could not afford to make the desired improvements within the project's allotted budget.

Instead, the executive policy committee is recommending the city spend at least $2 million to redevelop the park's pool, and an additional $813,000 to develop a splash park.

Revisions to the project require approval by city council and the Canada Manitoba Infrastructure Secretariat.