Winnipeg 2015

[thurmas]

Here is my list of what already has been done is being done or has a very high probability of happening in winnipeg in the next 5 years.

New NHL team the recently moved phoenix coyotes returned as the winnipeg jets for the 2010-2011 season and in their 1st year back won the stanley cup for the good people of winnipeg. It also happens to be the first canadian stanley cup winner since 1993 when the habs last won the cup. The new jets become canada's team selling more merchandise than any team in canada with their cup win and their image as the team of the little guy ala the green bay packers.

New CFL stadium: the bombers opened their beautiful new 33,000 seat home in 2012 and have won 3 grey cup's in coach Paul Lapolice's tenure as coach rivaling that of bomber legend Cal Murphy. They name the new stadium Bud Grant park at Great West Life field in honour of the great bomber coach of the 50's and 60's Bud Grant.

Remodled zoo: with a huge philanthropic campaign assiniboine park zoo has been completley remodled and now rivals any zoo in canada and boasts the world's best polar bear exhibit.

Good and Bad downtown: downtown winnipeg still has some troubles with attracting people downtown but it comes to realize what it is and what it's not in that it tries to lure smaller business and more residential instead of large government mega projects. It has a re-done avenue bldg. and mitchell copp bldg. and met theatre with restauraunts and business offices occupying them. There are also big new projects like the canadian museum of human rights, a redeveloped downtown bay that just had a $50 million renovation that has the uofw and manitoba lotteries occupying the top 4 floors while the bay kept the bottom 2floors but had them re-done. There are also plans for an expanded winnipeg convention centre and hotel, new condo towers built atop portage place and rebuilt police hq just replaced the canada post bldg as well. Red river college has bought and re-done the old police hq adding 1500 students to downtown winnipeg.

New shopping: with the recent development of ikea and other attractions around it on kenaston and the development of the elms on the old winnipeg stadium site the old addage that there is no good shopping in winnipeg is thrown out the window. Shoppers from northern ontario, saskatchewan, and north dakota flock to do some weekend shopping in winnipeg.

Transit and Commerce with a new rapid transit plan already part way completed (after the province forced mayor katz to make a decision on a brt because they couldn't afford lrt)with a brt line running from the uofm to queen elizabeth there are plans for a line for south east winnipeg going from lag to the uofm and an airport line going from the airport to polo park. Centre Port is well under way now making winnipeg the transport hub of western canada and adding hundreds of millions if not billions to the local economy.

All in all the winnipeg of 2015 is a far cry from the winnipeg of 2000 which had crumbling infrastrucure no new buildings or development on the horizon and no population growth. The winnipeg of 2015 boasts 800,000 citizens and is growing at a clip of 15,000 people a year and the future just keeps getting brighter.