PNE, set to undergo theme-park makeover, is apparently a big baby

Just over a month ago, on June 15, Vancouver city council approved $1.5 million in city cash to go toward detailed designs and a funding strategy for a $120-million, 10-year expansion of Playland.

The project would see the PNE—which the city now owns—expanded into a theme park-style attraction, with different areas such as “Adventure Land”, “Main Street”, and “Coastal Village”.

Poorly timed, then, are some current advertisements on the back of Vancouver buses. “Always be yourself” read the placards, “unless you’re a big baby.”

The PNE and its accompanying Playland have stayed largely the same since 1997, when a large portion of Hastings Park was restored.

Capturing nostalgia has long been the PNE’s game. With the park set to change so drastically, however, the fair’s marketing campaigns will have to undergo a similar change.

One wonders if the new expansion would see legal roadblocks or reluctant city councillors if the grounds were privately owned. As it stands, only Green councillor Adriane Carr voted against the expansion.