Two years after the completion of the brand-new events centre at the Fallsview Casino Resort, the 5,000-seat venue is still not operational.
Everyone had high hopes when the building of the new multifunctional events centre at the Fallsview Casino Resort was completed in 2020. However, two years down the line, the venue remains eerily empty. Last summer, the casino announced several live entertainment events at the centre, although this has all been placed on hold until further notice.
The new Fallsview events centre project was first unveiled back in 2017, with the initial opening scheduled for early 2019. However, due to a provincewide metal-sheet industry strike, this was delayed to late 2019. Work continued into early 2020, coming to yet another halt in March that year due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
No Official Fallsview Events Centre Opening Date Available
As a result of the pandemic, Fallsview Casino Resort closed its doors in March 2020, and it remained shut until July 2021, when Ontario relaxed its health protocols. The casino announced some events at the unopened multi-million event centre last summer. However, these were relocated to the currently used venue, the 1,500-seat Avalon Theatre.
However, to everyone’s surprise, neither the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation nor Fallsview Casino Resort have provided an update on why the event centre has still not been opened. Niagara Falls mayor, Jim Diodati, expressed his frustration since he hoped the new theatre would be a crucial contributor to the city’s summer tourism season numbers.
Previously, the president of Fallsview Casino, Richard Taylor, stated that the company is working hard on the launch. He revealed that further updates would be made available soon since the opening and show dates are still subject to change.
Jim Diodati commented that there are several issues with the specs of the building and that there is some finger-pointing happening now. Diodati said that he does not know who is at fault and just wished to see the events centre up and running. He added that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation reassured him that it’s committed to launching the new Fallsview events centre by October 2022.
