Major Amusement Park in Halifax?

[Wishblade]

Could happen someday....
I always thought we should have one:



Dad: Amusement park would bring tourists

By MICHAEL LIGHTSTONE Staff Reporter
Thu. Aug 21 - 5:36 AM

It’s been said metro needs many things to become a major Canadian city, including a large sports stadium, a cultural arts centre, an aquarium, a landmark "icon" on the waterfront and a new convention centre.

But what about a giant amusement park?

John Assoun-Gritten wants to convince Halifax city hall that a site the size of Canada’s Wonderland north of Toronto should be built in Halifax Regional Municipality. He wants to call it Pier Land.

Last week, he started a petition he intends to present to regional council once enough people sign it.

So far, he said, about 100 people have signed the petition, which is available online. Mr. Assoun-Gritten said Wednesday he wants 10,000 signatures.

The Dartmouth father of three said he’s pushing for an amusement park so local children, their parents and American tourists will flock to the site. He said it could cost between $500 million and $1 billion; the money to build it would come from the private and public sectors.

Mr. Assoun-Gritten, who does renovations for a living, said ideally the proposed project should be built somewhere along metro’s shoreline, perhaps in Eastern Passage. He said the Pier Land site could include an Olympic-class sports stadium.

"There’s no draw here," Mr. Assoun-Gritten said of Halifax’s lack of an attraction such as Wonderland.

"They build this and, of course, Americans love piers (with amusement rides), they love fun — and now it’s a draw."

Mayor Peter Kelly plans to meet with Mr. Assoun-Gritten and municipal staff at the end of the month to review his proposal. But the mayor said the proponent has a lot of hurdles to clear before his idea can ever be realized.