Polo Park
Encyclopedia
Polo Park is Winnipeg
's largest retail and entertainment district. It is the largest mall out of the eight malls in the city. Situated on the former Polo Park Racetrack
, the Polo Park Mall was built in 1959. It was the first enclosed shopping mall in Winnipeg when a roof was added in 1963. It was one of the earliest covered malls in Canada, the first being the Park Royal Shopping Centre
in 1962.
The mall of Polo Park has over 200 stores including Zellers
, The Bay
, Sears
and the Cineplex Entertainment
movie theatres. It is the 12th largest shopping centre
in Canada and the largest between Toronto
and Edmonton.
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.
The district was also the home of the Winnipeg Arena
(demolished) and continues to be the home of the Winnipeg Stadium (now the Canad Inns Stadium
). The Winnipeg Velodrome
was adjacent to the arena and the stadium. It was torn down in the 1990s to make way for a strip mall that includes Home Depot and Chapters
.
The CKY
building was situated near the stadium and the arena. Until 2006, it housed the city's CTV Television Network
affiliate, CKY-TV
. For many years, it was also the home of CKY
radio and FM 92 CITI
. The building was also the original home of the WTN
network.
In April 2010, Corus Radio Winnipeg announced that it would relocate its radio broadcast facility to 1440 Jack Blick Avenue, as part of a lease agreement between Corus Entertainment
and Cadillac Fairview
. The relocation to Polo Park was originally slated for January 2011. CJOB 680, CJGV-FM 99.1 and CJKR-FM
97.5 would become the anchor tenants, occuping the entire second floor of the three story building. This move will expand its radio, production and business operations to 17500 square feet (1,625.8 m²). The move was completed at the end of February 2011. All three stations are now operating from this state of the art location.
In 2007 Polo Park earned itself a $30 million expansion and renovation, adding 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²). There were talks about Polo Park expanding and attaching to the new proposed Canad Inns Stadium if the stadium was built in the near future. This will not happen due to the stadium being built at the University of Manitoba. However, with the adjacent arena gone and the building that housed the CKY and CTV studios presumably slated to be demolished, there is room for expansion. Also, once the stadium is relocated it is likely the existing one will be demolished leaving some of the most valuable retail/commercial land in the city vacant.
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
's largest retail and entertainment district. It is the largest mall out of the eight malls in the city. Situated on the former Polo Park Racetrack
Polo Park Racetrack
The Polo Park Racetrack was a Canadian horse racing facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Considered one of the finest racetracks in Western Canada, it was built by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee R. James Speers. The six furlong track opened in 1925 under the charter of the Winnipeg Jockey...
, the Polo Park Mall was built in 1959. It was the first enclosed shopping mall in Winnipeg when a roof was added in 1963. It was one of the earliest covered malls in Canada, the first being the Park Royal Shopping Centre
Park Royal Shopping Centre
Park Royal Shopping Centre, opened in 1950, is a shopping mall located in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Park Royal is officially Canada's first covered shopping mall. Park Royal currently markets itself as five star shopping and has undergone significant changes to attain this...
in 1962.
The mall of Polo Park has over 200 stores including Zellers
Zellers
Zellers Inc. is Canada's second-largest chain of mass merchandise discount stores, with locations in communities across Canada. A subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company , it has 273 locations across the country....
, The Bay
The Bay
The Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
, Sears
Sears Canada
Sears Canada Inc. is a retailer, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, that operates in all provinces and territories across Canada with a network of 196 corporate stores, 195 dealer stores, 38 home improvement showrooms, 108 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide home maintenance, repair, and...
and the Cineplex Entertainment
Cineplex Entertainment
Cineplex Entertainment LP , is the largest film exhibitor in Canada and owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 130 theatres with 1,351 screens. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex operates theatres from British Columbia to Quebec...
movie theatres. It is the 12th largest shopping centre
Canada's largest shopping malls
The following is a list of Canada's largest enclosed shopping malls, ranked by reported total retail floor space, or gross leasable area . In cases where malls have equal area, they are further ranked by number of stores.-See also:...
in Canada and the largest between Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Edmonton.
The original mall department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
anchors were Eaton's
Eaton's
The T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue...
and Simpsons Sears
Sears Canada
Sears Canada Inc. is a retailer, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, that operates in all provinces and territories across Canada with a network of 196 corporate stores, 195 dealer stores, 38 home improvement showrooms, 108 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide home maintenance, repair, and...
. In 1986, they were joined by Bretton's
Bretton's
Bretton's was a high-end department store in Canada from 1985 to 1996.The first two Bretton's stores were opened in Ottawa in 1985 by the parent company, Comark. Comark, owned by the Brenninkmeijer family of the Netherlands, had owned many retail chains including Ricky's Bootlegger, Clark Shoes,...
but the department store folded in 1996.
The district was also the home of the Winnipeg Arena
Winnipeg Arena
Winnipeg Arena was an indoor arena located at 1430 Maroons Road in Winnipeg, Manitoba, across the street from Canad Inns Stadium and just north of Polo Park.Built in 1955, it was owned by community-owned Winnipeg Enterprises Corporation...
(demolished) and continues to be the home of the Winnipeg Stadium (now the Canad Inns Stadium
Canad Inns Stadium
Canad Inns Stadium is a Canadian football stadium located north of Polo Park Shopping Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Stadium, named for hotel chain Canad Inns, and originally completed in 1953, seats 29,533 for football...
). The Winnipeg Velodrome
Winnipeg Velodrome
The Winnipeg Velodrome was a cycling facility built in Winnipeg, Manitoba for the 1967 Pan-American Games, and managed by Winnipeg Enterprises. The facility was a banked short-track oval with a cement surface....
was adjacent to the arena and the stadium. It was torn down in the 1990s to make way for a strip mall that includes Home Depot and Chapters
Chapters
Chapters is a Canadian big box bookstore banner owned by Indigo Books and Music. Formerly a company in its own right competing with Indigo, the combined company has continued to operate both banners since their merger in 2001.-History:...
.
The CKY
CKY
CKY may refer to:*CKY , a rock band from Pennsylvania; CKY referring to "Camp Kill Yourself".**CKY , a series of videos released by Bam Margera, named after his brother's band...
building was situated near the stadium and the arena. Until 2006, it housed the city's CTV Television Network
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
affiliate, CKY-TV
CKY-TV
CKY-DT is a television station based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Television Network....
. For many years, it was also the home of CKY
CKY-FM
CKY-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a adult contemporary format on 102.3 FM in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is owned by Rogers Radio, and shares studios with sister station CITI-FM. CKY-FM competes with Hot 103 and Energy 106.-History:...
radio and FM 92 CITI
CITI-FM
CITI-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts classic rock at 92.1 MHz on the FM dial in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is owned by Rogers Radio, and shares studios with sister station CKY-FM....
. The building was also the original home of the WTN
W Network
W Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. W Network broadcasts lifestyle and entertainment programming aimed at women....
network.
In April 2010, Corus Radio Winnipeg announced that it would relocate its radio broadcast facility to 1440 Jack Blick Avenue, as part of a lease agreement between Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment conglomerate.Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's...
and Cadillac Fairview
Cadillac Fairview
Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited is a North American investor, owner, and manager of commercial real estate.The name "Cadillac Fairview" came into existence in 1974 as a result of the merger between Cadillac Development Corporation Ltd and Fairview Corporation...
. The relocation to Polo Park was originally slated for January 2011. CJOB 680, CJGV-FM 99.1 and CJKR-FM
CJKR-FM
CJKR-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 97.5 FM in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The station airs an active rock format branded as Power 97. It shares a studio location at 1440 Jack Blick Avenue in Polo Park, Winnipeg, with sister stations CJOB 680 and CJGV-FM "Groove FM". Currently CJKR-FM is...
97.5 would become the anchor tenants, occuping the entire second floor of the three story building. This move will expand its radio, production and business operations to 17500 square feet (1,625.8 m²). The move was completed at the end of February 2011. All three stations are now operating from this state of the art location.
Expansions
In 1986 the mall got a $75 million renovation that added a second story. Some downtown Winnipeg merchants foresaw how it would negatively affect their stores and spoke out about it during city hall hearings in 1984. However Council approved of the expansion plan regardless. The expanded shopping centre opened in mid-August 1986.In 2007 Polo Park earned itself a $30 million expansion and renovation, adding 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²). There were talks about Polo Park expanding and attaching to the new proposed Canad Inns Stadium if the stadium was built in the near future. This will not happen due to the stadium being built at the University of Manitoba. However, with the adjacent arena gone and the building that housed the CKY and CTV studios presumably slated to be demolished, there is room for expansion. Also, once the stadium is relocated it is likely the existing one will be demolished leaving some of the most valuable retail/commercial land in the city vacant.
Anchors & Majors
- SearsSears CanadaSears Canada Inc. is a retailer, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, that operates in all provinces and territories across Canada with a network of 196 corporate stores, 195 dealer stores, 38 home improvement showrooms, 108 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide home maintenance, repair, and...
(256,243 sq ft.) - The BayThe BayThe Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
(212,086 sq ft.) - ZellersZellersZellers Inc. is Canada's second-largest chain of mass merchandise discount stores, with locations in communities across Canada. A subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company , it has 273 locations across the country....
(97,201 sq ft.) - Silver City (77,567 sq ft.)
- The Gap/Gap KidsGap (clothing retailer)The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
(10,350 sq ft.) - Polo Park Lanes (15,132 sq ft.)
- Sport ChekSport ChekSport Chek is the largest Canadian retailers of sporting clothing, sports equipment and equipment destroy, with stores across Canada...
(20,004 sq ft.) - Apple Store opened 2009
- Hollister Co.Hollister Co.Hollister Co., sometimes advertised as Hollister or HCo., is an American lifestyle brand by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. The concept was originally designed to attract consumers aged 14–18 through its SoCal-inspired image and casual wear. Goods are available in-store and through the company's online store...
opened December 18, 2010 - Forever 21Forever 21Forever 21 is an American chain of clothing retailers with branches in major cities in The United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that offers fashion and accessories for young women and men....
(Largest in Canada at 38,000 sq. ft.)