The Regal Constellation hotel on Dixon Road is now boarded up and scheduled for demolition.
The surrounding area is full of hotels, all trying to avoid the same fate as the former-landmark, Regal.
What is happening to the hotel industry around the Toronto International Airport?
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When I was a child, my male-bonding exercise with my brother and father was collecting sports memorabilia. Every Sunday, we would drive around the GTA and southern Ontario to attend card shows in Toronto, Oshawa, Guelph, Waterloo, and Ajax.
Most of the Toronto card shows were held at the Regal Constellation hotel near the airport.
During one of the shows in 1989, I spent all my money in the first half hour and found myself bored out of my mind. I knew that my brother and father would be mulling about the show for another 2-3 hours, so I began to wander around the hotel.
I saw a sign that said “Maurice Richard – This Way,” and so I followed the arrow.
Keep in mind, this was 1989 and right before the sports card boom hit; it was also in another era when sports stars weren’t as notorious as they are today.
I entered a large conference room and saw a line of about 10-15 people, and hockey legend Maurice Richard sitting at a table at the end of the line.
So, I joined the line! I didn’t know why, but I had nothing else to do.
When I reached the front of the line, the hockey legend looked up at me and in his thick French-Canadian accent he said, “Do yu have aneething for yu want to sign or are you just say ‘hello’?”
I was only nine years old, but I had meticulously memorized the entire NHL Official Guide And Record Book. So I asked Mr. Richard, “What does your brother do with all those rings?”
The Rocket’s younger brother, Henri Richard, had won eleven Stanley Cups in his 20-year career and thus he had eleven rings!
“He has more rings than fingers,” I said.
The Rocket then looked up at me and said, “Well den I guess he put one on his TOE!”
Rocket Richard passed away in May of 2000 and left behind a legacy in Montreal that will remain unmatched for all of time.
He is one of the top-five players to ever put on a pair of skates, along with Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, and Patrick Roy.
earth mother
at 7:54 am
Hey Dave — see what you can find out what’s planned for those properties — temples? mosques? nightclubs? — keep us posted!
hockeyfan
at 3:07 pm
Patrick Roy?
Top 5 of all time?
He’s not even the best goalie of all time so how he could he be in the top five along with icons like Gretzky and orr?
David Fleming
at 4:14 pm
Yes, Patrick Roy.
He is the greatest goalie to ever play the game.
He redefined the way the goaltender position is played by bringing “the butterfly” into the mainstream.
Take a look at 70’s and 80’s goalies and their “styles.” If not for Roy, we might still be seeing 11-6 games every night.
Terry Sawchuck was an incredible goalie but he played in an era when there were only six teams. There was very little competition.
Jaques Plante was a great goalie, but I feel he was more famous for “the mask” than anything else.
Martin Brodeur may have the best statistics ever, but he is a by-product of the most inventive defensive system ever incorporated into sports: hockey’s “neutral zone trap.”
Patrick Roy is the greatest goalie of all time, and he changed the way goalies play the game.
That puts him in the top five players to ever put on a pair of skates.
MP
at 5:33 pm
The hotel is supposed to be a “Hyatt” with a casino but the area was a Long term parking lot for travellers for sometime….. I’m not sure if they will proceed as in the last year I believe 800 rooms was just added in that vicinity by various brands ….and As Toronto is one of the most expensive airports that charge airlines for terminal fees, airlines make connections easier to negate the costs…..
The Sheraton down the road was a “Renaissance Marriott” as well but now rebranded by the owners. Previous to that it was a Delta about 7 years ago.
Average rates have gone down in the airport area but brand determines the price….some like the Sheraton at the airport (former swisshotel) goes for over $350 a night.
But the airport has too many rooms now…and many more to come. It drives rates down but it still creates jobs…
By the way owning the hotel if managed correctly can make you serious $$ ….. even if it is just a travelodge.