A new Richmond night market - run by the owner of the original - moved a step closer to reality this week.
Raymond Cheung's Fireworks Productions received city council committee approval at Tuesday's planning meeting and will now go forward to a public hearing in two weeks.
Cheung wants to resurrect the original Richmond Night Market this summer on a large area of vacant land at the north tip of No. 3 Road and adjacent to the River Rock Casino.
But the operator of the current Summer Night Market - Paul Cheung (no relation), who took over his namesake's lease in 2008 at the Vulcan Way site before the pair got embroiled in a legal battle - fears the two events may cancel each other out if they go head-to-head.
"They are obviously going to be our competitors and we might need to adjust, such as giveaways and our pricing structure," Paul Cheung told the News on Wednesday.
"My only concern is that this is very much an event, a community event that people are attracted to from all over because of its size.
"If either or both of us have to reduce in size, then I think the attraction might suffer overall. It's the size that attracts the visitors."
However, Raymond Cheung told the News back in December, when he first revealed his plans to return to the night market scene, that the amount of people the markets can attract can sustain both locations, adding that his new location - an 18-acre site known as Duck Island - will have the advantage of being close to the Canada Line.
The casino had objected when Raymond Cheung's plan was brought forward earlier this year, citing traffic control issues that would hinder parking and customers getting to and from the casino.
But he has since tweaked his traffic control plans to allow free parking as opposed to toll booths, thus decreasing the chances of traffic line-ups.
If successful at the public hearing later this month, Raymond Cheung's market would run for the next three years from May until October.
It would be in direct competition with Raymond Cheung's old foe, Paul, who filled the void left by Raymond when he didn't renew the lease for the old Richmond Night Market.
Raymond tried to pull the plug on Paul's market, citing, among other things, copyright infringement with regard to the naming of the event. But a court ruled in 2010 that Paul Cheung could continue under the heading of the Summer Night Market.
Paul Cheung told the News that he submitted his application for a new three-year permit at the Vulcan Way site on Feb. 5, saying that city staff "don't see any issues as far as I've been told."
"It's going to be quite tight competition, that's for sure. It's not like any other business with millions of customers," he said.
"And the vendors, there's only so many of them. It's not just about having enough visitors, it's more about the vendors.
"We have pretty much signed up our vendors for this year. We signed them up when we closed in October.
"They might want to look at how the other market does before making any decisions (to move)."
Paul Cheung said, provided he gets a new permit, he intends to open the season May 11, while Raymond Cheung is scheduled for May 18.
Paul Cheung said he "probably won't" lodge a formal objection to Raymond Cheung's application at the public hearing this month.
"City council knows what's best for the city, so I don't see the point in me getting involved," he added.
