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Timmins council agrees to keep supporting the Shania Twain Centre

Council preparing to spend up to $200,000 to enhance tourist attractions

Timmins Times
By Len Gillis
June 23, 2011

Up, Up, Up, there's no way but up from here .... That verse from a popular Shania Twain song has to be echoing in the ears of the manager and volunteers at the Shania Twain Centre following a decision by Timmins city council this week to eventually spend $200,000 to enhance both the Shania Twain Centre (STC) and the nearby Gold Mine Tour (GMT).

Council's decision came after more than two hours of debate Monday night where, at one point, it was suggested that the Shania Centre could be shut down.

In the end the issue was decided by a five to three vote. Councilors Pat Bamford, Mike Doody, John Curley, Andrew Marks and Gary Scripnick voted to move forward with the enhancements. Councilors Steve Black, Todd Lever and Noella Rinaldo voted against.

City council took the action this week following a report tabled by tourism consultant Fran Hohol of PKF Consulting. It means the city will sit down with a group of stakeholders and committee members to work out of five year plan aimed at getting more visitors.

Hohol's report was commissioned to find out why the visitor numbers have declined over the past ten years and to explore solutions and alternatives.

Once a business plan is hammered out and some potential partners are identified, the plan is to spend $100,000 each on both the Shania centre and the mine tour. City of Timmins tourism manager Guy Lamarche was pleased.

"The capital investment of approximately $200,000 for both attractions represents a one-time investment and every effort to bring interested partners to the table will be made as we go forward with the development of a five-year business plan. This will include government and private sector partners that have a vested interest in tourism and support enhancements of the two attractions," said Lamarche.

He added that the continuing operation of the Shania centre will mean an increase of $7,000 a year to 2016, by which time the subsidy will be roughly $310,000 per year.

Hohol said there are several ways to "enhance" the two tourism attractions.

"We've discussed long lists of items. A number of opportunities were brought forward by different stakeholders, but at this point now the hard part starts as to which ones make more sense than others, what are the realities around them, what are the costs around them and so on," she said

"If I could just speak to the Gold Mine Tour, there's certainly opportunities there and challenges with respect to adding to the tour from an open pit mine operation. So that will definitely add to the overall attractiveness of the tour itself and add a new element," she said. "But there will be challenges with how that gets coordinated with an active mining operation happening right next door."

As for the Shania Twain Centre, Hohol said there may be a move toward less focus on Shania herself and more focus on music in general with other Northern Ontario artists, in the hopes there will be more a "buy in" from the community.

Hohol added that recent announcements about Shania Twain's new songs and her upcoming engagements in Las Vegas can only be seen as a positive thing.

"That's definitely positive. Again I say you're still located in Timmins. So that comes with market realities of being in a more remote location, away from the greater population, which brings challenges," she cautioned.

Council's decision to move forward on the two attractions was welcomed by two key players on the city staff.

"The staff and I look forward to working with PKF Consulting and our many tourism stakeholders on the next phase and developing a business plan that will be well received by the residents and visitors to our community. We have much to be proud of!," said tourism manager Lamarche.

"We're very excited to move forward at the Shania Twain Centre and the Gold Mine Tour," said Tracy Hautanen, the lone paid employee at the STC.

"We are looking forward to working with PKF on the five-year business plan and to quote Shania, we can only go up from here," she said.

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