Planned Timmins open pit gold mine via Timmins Times
This story makes me very sad for some reason.
Shania Twain's hometown of Timmins, Ontario, Canada made the decision recently to close down the Shania Twain Centre after years of it losing money. The last day for the failed tourist attraction was Friday, February 1.
But that's not the end of the story. Turns out that the city has sold the property to gold mining company Goldcorp who will officially take possession of the property in June. The sad thing is, the company plans to demolish the building and will turn the 65 acres of land into an open-pit gold mine.
According to reports, the center has racked up millions in debt since opening 12 years ago. Before opening the doors, the government had projected some 50,000 tourists a year would visit the Centre by 2005, but in actuality it only drew in less than 15,000 visitors per year.
Turns out that each resident in the town of 47,000 had been shelling out $7 a year just to keep the lights on.
"We probably should have taken a better look at the numbers to ensure the expectations could be met," Mayor Tom Laughren said of the Centre's planning.
Shania's people have brought much of the memorabilia from the tourist attraction to Vegas to be on display for her Las Vegas show, but the rest has been for sale to fans for up to 75% off normal prices. Anything left will reportedly be placed on display at various places around Timmins.
A sad end to the Shania Twain Centre, but in these tough times it's not surprising. Just sad that the land will now be turned into a giant, gaping, gold-producing hole.
