TORONTO -- Trying to get people to come to Toronto this summer, David and Ed Mirvish said yesterday their award-winning production of Disney's The Lion King will close Sept. 28. "We have determined that Toronto needs a compelling and urgent reason to motivate visitors to visit our city this summer," the Mirvishes said in a statement that really didn't need to mention SARS, the disease that has severely hurt Toronto tourism.

They said the early closure of the still-popular show is intended as an incentive to people who want to see it but have been avoiding Toronto this year.

The show's more than 1,300 performances have been seen by more than 2.3 million people, bringing in more than $160 million for Mirvish alone since it opened 3 1/2 years ago.