Polo Park

Polo Park
Location 1485 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3G 0W4
Opening date August 20, 1959[1]
Management Cadillac Fairview
Owner Cadillac Fairview
No. of stores and services 200+
Total retail floor area 1,202,000 square feet (111,700 m2)
No. of floors 3
Website www.polopark.ca

Polo Park is a retail and entertainment destination in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is situated on the former Polo Park Racetrack near the junction of Portage Avenue and St. James Street and is the largest mall out of the eight malls in the city. It is the 12th largest shopping centre in Canada and the largest between Toronto and Edmonton.

History

The Polo Park Mall opened on August 20, 1959 and became one of the first enclosed shopping malls in Canada when a roof was added in 1963, the other being the Park Royal Shopping Centre.[2][3]

The district was once the sports hub of Winnipeg, with the Winnipeg Arena, Canad Inns Stadium, and Winnipeg Velodrome all formerly located at Polo Park. The Velodrome was torn down in the 1990s to make way for a strip mall that includes Home Depot and Chapters. The arena and stadium have also since been demolished and replaced by new retail and office complexes.[4]

The former CKY building is situated next to the mall. It once housed the city's CTV Television Network affiliate, CKY-TV, as well as CKY radio and FM 92 CITI, and was the original home of the WTN network. Corus Radio Winnipeg has occupied the building since 2011, as part of a lease agreement between Corus Entertainment and Cadillac Fairview. Studios for CJOB 680, CJGV-FM 99.1 and CJKR-FM 97.5 are located on the second floor of the three-story building.

Expansions

In 1986, the mall underwent a $75 million renovation that added a second level to the building. This addition was panned by downtown Winnipeg merchants, who voiced their objections to the plan at city council meetings in 1984; however, city council approved the expansion.[5][6] The expanded shopping centre opened in mid-August 1986.[7]

Another expansion took place in 2007, which added 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2). The cost of this addition was $30 million.

A new $49-million expansion to Polo Park opened October 1, 2014 in the former Zellers space on the mall's second level. The redeveloped space included 114,000 square feet of retail space and 17 new stores.[8][9]

In recent years, Polo Park has also added new retail complexes which are located on properties adjacent to the north of the mall. Polo North is located on the site of the former Winnipeg Arena, while The Plaza at Polo Park is currently being developed on the former Canad Inns Stadium grounds.[10]

Anchors & Majors

The original mall department store anchors were Eaton's and Simpsons Sears. In 1986, they were joined by Bretton's but the department store folded in 1996. Today, the mall has over 200 stores including The Bay, Sears, Marshalls, and the Cineplex Entertainment movie theatre, which also includes an IMAX venue.

Canad Inns Stadium was located just north of Polo Park

References

  1. ↑ Polo Park Shopping Centre, Shopping-canada.com. Quoted: 13 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Mall Turns 50". Winnipeg Free Press. August 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  3. ↑ "Our History". HBC. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  4. ↑ "There's a new Marshalls in town". Winnipeg Free Press. March 3, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Downtown merchants criticize Polo Park expansion plan". Winnipeg Free Press. September 7, 1984. p. 3.
  6. ↑ "Polo Park expansion approved by council". Winnipeg Free Press. September 6, 1984. p. 1.
  7. ↑ "Refurbished Polo Park mall overwhelms shoppers". Winnipeg Free Press. August 14, 1986. p. 2.
  8. ↑ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/were-talking-shopping-here-277852551.html
  9. ↑ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/were-talking-shopping-here-277852551.html
  10. ↑ "There's a new Marshalls in town". Winnipeg Free Press. March 3, 2013.

External links

Coordinates: 49°53′02″N 97°11′56″W / 49.8838°N 97.199°W / 49.8838; -97.199

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