Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Study Synopsis
Attendance:
o 260,000 per year, 80% arriving by car with 2.1 people per car
o 50 concerts per season, average of 5,000 per concert
o 52,000 (20%) will be new visitors, the remainder will be in Niagara already
Programming:
o Classical and pops, jazz, popular, blues, world, opera, musical theatre, dance –
using a “curatorial approach”
o Master classes for young artists, initially conducted offsite
o Hands-on, participatory concerts for children
Financial Plan:
o Capital Cost: $76.5 million; $25.5 million each from the Federal and Provincial
governments and private donors
o Start Up Costs: $3 million a year for 4 years ($12 million total) – to be sought
from the Federal and Provincial governments
o Break even in Year 3, with costs and revenues at $19 million – assumes $5
million per year in fundraising
Benefits (per Ministry of Tourism’s standard “TREIM” model):
o Construction: $106 million, 500 jobs
o Operations: $93 million, 707 full time equivalent positions (33 permanent)
Site Plan:
o Amphitheatre, concessions and support buildings
o Seating: 2,000 people in the amphitheatre, 8,000 on the lawns
o Four parking lots, accommodating 2,010 cars
o Trees and acoustic barriers to absorb sound
o No mention is made of public access to the battlefield site
Future plans:
o 2017: addition of gardens, onsite food preparation, and a
“rehearsal/recital/lecture hall to extend the season” and add “variety to the
cultural offering”. Cost estimate is $24.5 million. No funding plans are disclosed.
o 2022: “completion of the campus concept including a year-round concert hall” –
800 seats, location and cost details are not disclosed
Governance: “an independent national cultural institution”, separate from both orchestras
Parks Canada: Project Niagara and Parks Canada are discussing a “partnership” which
“moves beyond a traditional lessor/lessee arrangement.”
Rehearsal space will (initially) be offsite, possibly in the St. Catharines/Brock Performing
Arts Centre
Accommodation for artists will be in (less expensive) locations across the region
Food: concessions will initially be outsourced; patrons “will be welcome to bring their
own food and beverage”
Dependencies:
o $5.6 million required for direct road upgrades
o Sewage lagoons need to be relocated (direct cost: $15 million)
o Parks Canada will complete a Environmental Assessment “to guide (Project
Niagara’s) activities”
Concerns: residents’ concerns over the environment, costs, parking and noise are
acknowledged, and Project Niagara has committed to work with the four levels of
government to address them.