Playland at the PNE Poised for Multi-Year Expansion

Playland amusement park, located in Vancouver, Canada at the Pacific National Exhibition has announced plans to embark on a 13 year, $80 million renovation schedule that will modernize and expand the park.

When complete, Playland will see an additional eight acres of rides and attractions that will have a "softer" more appealing look to them.  Playland is a part of Hastings Park, which is also where the yearly Pacific National Exhibition fair is held, along with the nearby Hastings Racecourse and Coliseum.  During the annual fair the number of rides on property increases dramatically, but Playland also operates as its own facility during the typical amusement park season - even through Halloween.

The park's current map of attractions.

This news story about the expansion shows that the park generates $10 million in revenue on its own, another $10 million during the fair, and $3 million from Halloween.  The expansion will only grow those revenues over time, leading to more success for Hastings Park at large.  No details on new rides that would be added were given.

Playland first opened in 1958, and currently is home to two large roller coasters.  The Coaster is a wooden ride that dates back to the park's opening, and Corkscrew is a Vekoma ride with, as you would expect, two corkscrew inversions.  Both rides, along with Playland in general, have been in many films and TV shows, due to the popularity of filming in Vancouver.

The expansion plans still need to be approved by city counsil, but that isn't expected to be a problem.  I can't wait to see what direction the park goes in, could we see some larger rides coming on board to make a major impact?