Simon says opportunity
Eagles owner plans to renovate hotel, hoping for tourism boost
SYDNEY — Irwin Simon needs just one word to describe his recent purchase of the Cambridge Suites Hotel in Sydney. Opportunity.
The Glace Bay native, who finalized the purchase of the Sydney waterfront hotel on Monday, sees lots of opportunity to give back to the Cape Breton community in different ways.
“There's a lot of tax dollars that will come out of this hotel,” Simon said on the phone from his New York home. “Creating more and more jobs within the community is important to me as well giving people in Sydney a great restaurant to come and eat.
“I don't like to get involved in something unless I can make a difference and create something that's going to make it a better proposition for Cape Breton, the citizens and myself.”
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and some walking away from the hotel industry due to financial losses, Simon is optimistic the Atlantic bubble will generate tourism dollars this year.
“My whole thing is you have to get people out, you need to have them travelling, you have to get Nova Scotians that live in Halifax, Dartmouth and Truro to come to Cape Breton, and ultimately when the borders open, have people going to the island from Ontario and Quebec.”
Simons plans to significantly invest in the hotel and bring a modern and revitalized energy to the 30-year-old property.
“Ultimately, the complete hotel has to be renovated,” said Simon. “It will not be inexpensive to do this type of renovation — I've spent more money buying the hotel than I did buying a hockey team.”
Simon, who is also one of six partners in The Lakes Golf Club and Resort in Ben Eoin, didn't provide an estimated cost for the renovations, only noting it would be “in the millions.”
“There will be 140-plus rooms that will be redone over a period of time, there's hallways and event rooms, as well as the restaurant, so there's lots of work to be done,” said Simon.
“I see this as a great opportunity with the hotel to provide great accommodations for guests who want to come to Cape Breton and want to stay in a great hotel — upstairs has an unbelievable view, so there's good bones there with great space.”
Simon said he sees an opportunity to help increase tourism on the island and bring numerous events to the Cape Breton community.
“My job is to sell Cape Breton around the world — I have already done it,” he said. “A lot of people didn't know about Cape Breton, they knew about Nova Scotia, but not so much the island, so that will be part of my plan moving forward as well.”
Simon would like to help attract more events and concerts to the area, including one day hosting the Canadian Hockey League's Memorial Cup tournament as well as potentially bringing an NHL summer or training camp to Sydney.
Over the past year, Simon has been rumoured to be interested in purchasing Centre 200 from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. He didn't deny the rumours when asked Wednesday.
“If there was the right opportunity, yeah, because it's a great facility and there's a lot that can be done with it,” said Simon. “If you look at real estate, real estate assets have to be utilized 12 months a year.”
Simon moved to New York in 1983 and was part of the growth of the largest natural organic food company in the world, Hain Celestial, with close to 10,000 employees and 40 operating plants.
In January, Simon was officially named the new CEO of Aphria Inc., a Canadian company that produces highquality cannabis.
“There's 24 hours a day and seven days a week, but most important, I have good people working with me,” said Simon of his busy schedule.