Victoria Day opening for Aquatarium

The people behind the Aquatarium now have a firm date for the facility's spring 2015 opening.

We can say with some credibility and some definitiveness that Victoria Day will be opening day, Tony Barnes, chairman of the facility's steering committee, told city councillors earlier this week.

Bill Rogerson, the Aquatarium's executive director, had previously promised a revised opening date between March and May of 2015.

The new date was only the latest in a series of delays in the opening of the interactive tourist attraction, previously slated to open on the June 2013 weekend of the Tall Ships Festival, then bumped to World Water Day last March 22.

City officials hope the $21-million Aquatarium, now being built at the foot of Broad Street adjacent to the Tall Ships Landing condominium tower, will be Brockville's signature tourism attraction.

Council members this week seemed concerned about the new opening date, noting, among other things, the incomplete roof.

Mayor David Henderson said Thursday that reaction was not skepticism, but caution.

He added he wants to ensure the steering committee is building in enough leeway to make sure that we are not over-promising.

This is one area where it has consistently happened, said the mayor.

Barnes acknowledged there is some siding and some roofing on the building that remains incomplete, but that's not the real potential worry.

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Victoria Day opening for Aquatarium