Gord's Crystal Ball

Honestly, no one can compete with him when it comes to predicting the future

I happened to be going through some old newspapers recently and look what I read:

• Gord Henderson Column, January 8, 2005
  
  The city, according to my crystal ball, is in line for a double dose of good news in 2005: the imminent announcement of a major Casino Windsor investment and the unveiling this month of a border infrastructure plan that city hall insiders think will knock the socks off most residents....
  
  Details are fuzzy, but it appears the province will soon deliver on long-awaited plans to develop the former market site west of the casino. I'm told the plan, which includes a convention centre with entertainment facilities designed to host major international acts, will demonstrate that Windsor's provincial cabinet ministers, Dwight Duncan and Sandra Pupatello, can lug home a Dave Cooke-sized hunk of Queen's Park bacon.
  
  With a new convention/entertainment centre in the works, Windsor could jettison plans for a multi-use facility on the Western Super Anchor site and make that property available for uses that could include a trendy urban village being promoted by a U.S. developer. The city, which has budgeted $15 million for an arena, could then build an arena for the Spitfires at a location that would have ample parking. It would also enable the city to push ahead with plans to unload its Cleary International Centre albatross."

Whew, was that ever accurate about the arena and the Cleary and I am not so sure that he was that far off the mark about the Son of Sam Plan that Eddie is hatching up with Ontario Minister Cansfield.

If that is so, then we should take seriously the comment in Gord's column today too:

• "My gut feeling, given the uncompromising stand taken by Francis and council, is that they have a Capitol game plan. If so, it probably includes lining up a partner for their facility that could be St. Clair College, the University of Windsor, one of the school boards or even the casino. Nobody has mentioned this recently. But the city will regain control of a strategic asset, the former Salvation Army building that was obtained in a land swap and leased to the Capitol as a workshop and rehearsal hall."

Gee, I wonder if this will come true too.