{"id":355644,"date":"2025-12-19T14:33:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T14:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/355644\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T14:33:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T14:33:12","slug":"frustration-grows-in-niagara-falls-ont-with-no-clear-progress-on-fate-of-marineland-and-belugas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/355644\/","title":{"rendered":"Frustration grows in Niagara Falls, Ont., with no clear progress on fate of Marineland and belugas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Residents in Niagara Falls, Ont., continue to wait for news on the future of Marineland\u2019s property and dozens of animals, including up to 30 belugas and four dolphins \u2014 nearly two months after the federal government turned down the theme park’s request to export the mammals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The shuttered park and zoo once attracted millions of visitors and employed hundreds of seasonal workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its real estate is vast, stretching about 324 hectares on the doorstep of Canada\u2019s most popular tourist destination \u2014 Niagara Falls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I drive by, it makes me really sad,\u201d said local Realtor Shelby Tomlinson. \u201cI see it sitting empty and I feel like we could use that space for something really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AShelby Tomlinson, a real estate agent in Niagara Falls, Ont., wants to see the Marineland property bring jobs to the local community again. (Carly Thomas\/CBC)<\/p>\n

At Falls Manor Restaurant, not far from Marineland, everyone CBC News spoke to had a personal connection to the property and an opinion on what should happen to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vince Forte worked at the theme park for two summers in his teens, at the deer park and in guest services.<\/p>\n

He said he would like the property to \u201cgive the residents or the kids of Niagara Falls jobs like they did for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, there\u2019s really not much for them.”<\/p>\n

Whales complicate investment possibilities<\/p>\n

Another restaurant patron, Barry Baumour, said deciding Marineland’s fate is \u201cvery urgent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He wants the property to bring jobs to the community again, and that may include turning it into \u201ca massive entertainment centre that would draw not only the kids, but also for adult entertainment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ABarry Baumour would like Marineland property to be turned into a massive entertainment centre that could drive more tourism to the area. (Carly Thomas\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Founded in 1961, Marineland didn’t open this past season and\u00a0has been closed to the public since the end of summer 2024. The park is attempting to sell its assets, including its rides, but has faced financial and other challenges. <\/p>\n

After the passing of the amusement park’s owners, John Holer in 2018 and his wife and successor Marie Holer in 2024, the estate was placed in a trust. <\/p>\n

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said there\u2019s been interest from land developers to build homes on the Marineland site, but that would be a mistake. <\/p>\n

The property could fit three theme parks the size of Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida and is prime tourism land so close to the falls. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a big employment opportunity, it was an investment generator, economic development,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s got the potential to do that again.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there remains a major complication: what to do with the belugas.<\/p>\n

Diodati said he regularly meets with investors interested in buying the property, \u201cbut they\u2019re all scared off by the liability of the creatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cost of caring for the belugas and four dolphins has been estimated at $2 million a month.<\/p>\n

In early October, after Marineland Canada’s application for permits to export the belugas to an aquarium in China were turned down, the park asked Ottawa for emergency funds to care for the animals or it would “face the devastating decision of euthanasia.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AA Marineland staff member interacts with one of Marineland’s belugas in October. (Patrick Morrell\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Once one of the most popular tourist spots<\/a> in the Niagara Region, Marineland has been in a difficult position since the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act<\/a> came into law in 2019, banning the use of whales, dolphins and porpoises for breeding or entertainment in Canada. <\/p>\n

Marineland has also faced years of controversy over allegations of animal abuse. At least 19 belugas\u00a0have died at Marineland since 2019<\/a>. The last\u00a0orca, Kiska, died in 2023. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re kind of caught in between what it used to be and what it’s going to be,\u201d Diodati said about the park.<\/p>\n

Many ideas have been floated on how to rehome the whales. <\/p>\n

A proposed seaside sanctuary in Nova Scotia<\/a> called The Whale Sanctuary Project was announced five years ago, but could be a long way off from becoming a reality. Project officials have said the site could only accommodate eight to 10 whales.<\/p>\n

Some experts say moving the whales would be challenging, with their current health status not publicly known and the stress of transport a concern.<\/p>\n

U.S.-based company proposes entertainment complex<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we see is the best option and the most humane and compassionate option is to keep the whales close to home,\u201d said Leah Caruso, chief marketing officer at Knapp Capital Management.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The New Jersey-based company is proposing a $4-billion entertainment complex on the Marineland site.<\/p>\n

\"AThis AI-generated concept shows the indoor skating rink and ski hill that are included in a proposal by Knapp Capital Management called The Niagara Experience, which would involve turning Marineland into a multibillion-dollar entertainment complex. (Knapp Capital Management)<\/p>\n

The Niagara Experience and Oasis of the Falls would include hotels, casinos, a sports complex, an entertainment venue and a whale sanctuary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Caruso said they’re ready to immediately take on the care of the belugas and dolphins, and would hire all the current staff to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ThisAI-generated concept of a whale sanctuary is part of the Knapp Capital Management proposal, called Oasis of the Falls. (Knapp Capital Management )<\/p>\n

The plan also includes an on-site data centre, which would generate revenue for animal care. <\/p>\n

But talks with the Ontario government on getting approvals for the data centre have stalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re not asking the taxpayers to pay for anything. All we need is partnership from the government,\u201d Caruso said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was in Niagara Falls announcing a multibillion-dollar plan to create new attractions and bring more tourism to the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asked about local concerns regarding the lack of progress on Marineland, he said, \u201cMarineland\u2019s in charge of it. It\u2019s not a government site.\u201d<\/p>\n

But on any requests to the province related to the property, he said \u201cwe\u2019ll look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBC News reached out to Marineland for comment on the proposal by Knapp Capital Management, but a response wasn’t received by publication time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like we haven\u2019t landed on the exact right opportunity yet.\u201d Diodati said. \u201c But we\u2019re very open to it. We\u2019ll meet with any group that\u2019s got an idea.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Residents in Niagara Falls, Ont., continue to wait for news on the future of Marineland\u2019s property and dozens…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-355644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}