Rick Hunter of ProSlide Technologies. (Photo supplied)

With construction of two Ottawa-area water parks swinging into high gear next month, questions are being asked over the fairness of a $2-million provincial grant given to one operator, but not its future competitor.

Last August, the provincial government awarded the grant to The Nation municipality and Village Vacances Valcartier, a Quebec-based company building the $50-million Calypso Park in Limoges, roughly half an hour from downtown Ottawa.

At the time, the government said the money, which came from the province's rural economic development program, was an "investment" in jobs and tourism in eastern Ontario.

But the owner of the planned Alottawata Park, located off Highway 416 south of Barrhaven, said public subsidization of his competitor is unreasonable.

"I don't think public money should compete with private money. I don't think that's fair," said ProSlide Technologies president Rick Hunter. Although he said he doesn't promote the use of public funds for these types of private ventures, Mr. Hunter reasoned that if Calypso receives government support, so should Alottawata.

The provincial politician for Alottawata's future home, Tory MPP Lisa MacLeod, agreed with Mr. Hunter and added the government is creating an uneven playing field for the two water parks by "picking winners and losers."

But Ms. MacLeod's counterpart in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Liberal MPP Jean-Marc Lalonde, said Calypso will benefit the entire National Capital Region. Lalonde said future economic spinoffs generated by the water park was a key consideration in awarding the grant, adding that following the park's official announcement his office has fielded multiple calls from businesses interested in establishing restaurants along Highway 417.

Village Vacances Valcartier president and CEO Guy Drouin was out of town last week and unable to immediately return phone calls.

While Mr. Lalonde said he does have concerns about the ability of the market to support two new water parks in the Ottawa area, he said the area's francophone character will be a key selling point for tourists from Montreal and other areas of Quebec.

"Most of those people who have not been in Ontario before will be very surprised at the fact that they can be served in French ... and they will end up in the city of Ottawa," said Mr. Lalonde, suggesting those staying in Calypso's campground will also venture further down the highway into the city.

The MPP's predictions of tourists flocking to Ottawa's water parks must materialize if both ventures are to survive, suggested David Sangree, the president of the Cleveland-based consultancy Hotel and Leisure Advisors.

"I am sure the area cannot support two water parks without a significant tourist infusion," said Mr. Sangree. While he noted many markets support multiple water parks, Mr. Sangree said having two new parks open their doors around the same time will pressure both operators financially.

"It creates a pricing pressure on each because, you assume, one is going to try to price themselves a little bit lower than the other and it limits how high either can go," said Mr. Sangree.

While both parks are slated to open in the summer of 2009, neither is likely to immediately realize its potential, said Mr. Sangree. The number of visitors typically grows in the first three years after a water park opens, as tourist guides and websites are updated, directing out-of-town guests to the new attractions, he said.

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From customer to competitor: A tale of two business models

While both companies constructing water parks in the Ottawa area are no strangers to the industry, both competitors have distinct business models.

ProSlide, which is building the Alottawata Water Park off Highway 416, also owns Mont Cascades Waterpark north of Gatineau. However, its core business is designing, developing and delivering water rides to parks around the world.

ProSlide president and CEO Rick Hunter said the practice of vertical integration will increase ProSlide's knowledge of what goes into a water park business model and aid the company's "value-added" approach, which will benefit the company and its customers.

However, the arrangement is raising eyebrows in the water park industry, said David Sangree, the president of the Cleveland-based Hotel and Leisure Advisors.

"It is unusual because they are aggressively marketing themselves to both indoor and outdoor water park developers and here they are building their own ... I'm not aware of any other company that is doing that," said Mr. Sangree.

ProSlide will be competing with its former customer, Village Vacances Valcartier, which has purchased at least a half-dozen rides from ProSlide since 1992 for its park in the Quebec City area, including two "Twisters" and 10 kids' rides in 2005, according to ProSlide's website.

Village Vacances Valcartier, which has expanded its Quebec water park into a family theme park that includes accommodations and an adventure division featuring river rafting, is following the more traditional path, said Mr. Sangree.

"That is definitely the more typical model, where an operator who learns how to do it in one place well opens another facility and has that experience to add to it," he said.