They're trying to expand Woodbine as a destination by giving people who go there more reasons to go there, and to give people who have yet go another reason why they should. Where's the surprise?

After the Finch West LRT makes it to Humber College, we'll likely be talking about this place as a stop on the LRT extension on the way to the airport.

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Towered said:
It's a nice design, but it seems odd to build something like this in such a wasteland of an area that has very poor transit access.
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Agreed, it takes about an hour to get there from downtown. I can't see it being a popular venue over Downsview or the many locations in the core.
 
I am not sure how much of a draw the venue will be in and on its' own - my understanding is that concert tickets are often given out as "freebies" (like overnight stays) at the Niagara and Rama to high value casino customers.

AoD
 
Lots of people pay actual money for shows at both Fallsview and Rama. For Torontonians, this venue would be closer, whether they have a car or not. If Woodbine wants to, they can run shuttle buses, just like the other casinos. In the end, it has far more to do with who's playing, than the venue they're playing at. If you love Band X, you're going to go where they are playing.

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interchange42 said:
Lots of people pay actual money for shows at both Fallsview and Rama. For Torontonians, this venue would be closer, whether they have a car or not. If Woodbine wants to, they can run shuttle buses, just like the other casinos. In the end, it has far more to do with who's playing, than the venue they're playing at. If you love Band X, you're going to go where they are playing.

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It would be interesting to compare their business case against say Molson Amphitheater (which seem to cater to a different clientele). In fact I think there was an article awhile ago about O'Keefe couldn't draw the acts because the casinos are basically underwriting the fees at their respective venues.

AoD
 
Bets on for more gaming and entertainment on Woodbine Racetrack lands
This is a first step in terms of formulating plans to have this area move ahead in an exciting way,” Lawson said of WEG’s longer-term vision to develop the Woodbine site around expanded gaming uses approved by the city this past summer.

“As we said back in July to the City of Toronto, gaming expansion really is the catalyst to allow this site to proceed. We have approximately 300 acres of developable land here...and ultimately there’ll hopefully be phases of institutional, educational, office and retail uses. There’s also residential potential here.”
More.............http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-s...nd-entertainment-on-woodbine-racetrack-lands/
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
It would be interesting to compare their business case against say Molson Amphitheater (which seem to cater to a different clientele). In fact I think there was an article awhile ago about O'Keefe couldn't draw the acts because the casinos are basically underwriting the fees at their respective venues.

AoD
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That is the point I was making earlier......to fill a venue of that size you need pretty decent "name" acts......but with only 5k seats to sell and a theoretical limit on what the public will pay per ticket you have to find other revenue from which to pay the acts....the reason casino concerts are so prevalent (around north america) is the subsidy that the venues can provide from the expected gaming revenue that comes from drawing large numbers of people. Stand alone venues of this size would have great difficulty in covering the cost.
 
interchange42 said:
Lots of people pay actual money for shows at both Fallsview and Rama. For Torontonians, this venue would be closer, whether they have a car or not. If Woodbine wants to, they can run shuttle buses, just like the other casinos. In the end, it has far more to do with who's playing, than the venue they're playing at. If you love Band X, you're going to go where they are playing.

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Maybe, but I've personally passed up many concerts at sound academy due to how out of the way it is. Although the terrible sound quality there doesn't help either.
 
If the venue sucks, naturally that is going to colour your decision. One would hope for something good here.

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Venue like this should be able to take a lot of the Casino Rama and Niagara Falls acts, the amount of near sold out acts for those old Italian singers will surprise you, my parents are one that got excited by this since they won't have go all the way to Rama anymore
 
I found some more renderings of the proposed concert hall on this site.

Woodbine%20interior1%20500.jpg


Woodbine%20VenueSection%20500.jpg


Woodbine%20VenuePlan%20500.jpg
 
Saw that article, found this one as well:

A casino and mixed-used development will fill one of Toronto’s last, large undeveloped sites
By Wil Barlow • July 25, 2016

A group of U.S. firms have been selected to help design one of Toronto‘s major undeveloped sites, a 683-acre property where a mixed-use urban neighborhood will be built. These include the Laguna Beach, California-based office of SWA Group, San Francisco-based BCV Architects, and New York-based Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates. The site—about 1.5 miles north of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport—is currently owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group; the development will be built around the existing Woodbine Racetrack, which hosts live horse races four days a week.

The group’s gaming offerings will be the focus of the development, and a new casino will join the racetrack on the site. Woodbine, who’s working with development consultant Live Work Learn Play, will also add biking and walking trails, retail and restaurants, and housing.

The project will also experiment with growing feed on the premises for its resident thoroughbred horses. Planning will take place over the next six months, while construction might be a decades-long process.
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http://archpaper.com/2016/07/mixed-use-toronto-woodbine-entertainment-group/

Looks like of the roughly six running we have:

- Caesars
- Genting Group
- Graeme Roustan + Casino Partner

As a guess, MGM will also probably be trying again, as well as the Sands.
 
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Hmm, two development sites, could Ontario Place be in the mix??

Caesars Entertainment in running for Toronto casino project

In July of 2015, the city of Toronto voted to approve a casino that would offer live table games if a venue was included in the entertainment complex. A minimum of two development sites are already being considered within the city limits. According to the NYPost, a decision on who will win the opportunity to build the casino should be announced by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. next summer.
https://news.worldcasinodirectory.c...t-in-running-for-toronto-casino-project-32948
 
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