Recent Stuff
Hamilton Stadium Decision Comes to Head
July 29th 2010 at 5:32 PM | 0 comments
Pan-Am Games track stadium has been moved to Toronto, Hamilton is to get soccer games instead, primarily over the plan to remove the track after the games. Meanwhile, the Ti-Cats propose the velodrome and an amphitheatre be built at West Harbour, which they will contribute to.
The White Star Group is still hanging around. It is going to take a while for this to all shake out and the outcome is known.
Hamilton Future Fund for Harbour Only
July 28th 2010 at 6:54 PM | 0 comments
Seems appropriate for council to focus on correcting West Harbour plan now rather than overruling the fund board by going to East Mountain. There may have been non-downtown use for funds in the past, but previous incorrect use of funds is no reason for continuing to misuse them.
Since You Didn't Ask
July 27th 2010 at 8:10 PM | Comments closed
Hamilton's Future Fund board of directors will discuss funding the proposed East Mountain site today, but Hamilton council will have the final say whether to spend the money. I would call that process broken and the board irrelevant if they have no ability to enforce the fund's mandate.
Strangely, Bob Young contributes a op-ed piece stating he is confident the facts will mean the right decision is made.
In another editorial, Herman Turkstra explains that favouring west harbour for housing doesn't make him a supporter of East Mountain.
Kick For a Million Goes Coast-to-Coast
July 26th 2010 at 9:30 PM | Comments closed
More locations, more ways to get bonus entries and instant prizes. It keeps getting better.
Decision on Hamilton's Future Funds
July 26th 2010 at 6:46 PM | Comments closed
If the money can't be spent outside the core, then I would say West Harbour wins. Somebody still has to put together a plan that addresses traffic, parking, access and development at the site.
From The Spec's Great Stadium Debate page, a landowner in west harbour has produced his own site plan which includes a stadium with a retractable roof. While there may be issues with a plan created without restraints, I wonder why the City of Hamilton has not produced anything of any detail on their chosen site. There are developers interested in West Harbour, but the city has not produced anything in terms of options or a vision that a supporter can hang their hat on.
For me, solve the access and parking issues (or at least address them) with West Harbour and the majority will fall behind the plan.
Hamilton Sites Battling on the Web
July 23rd 2010 at 3:53 PM | Comments closed
One thing about Bob Young, he will back up his position with studies and reports and isn't afraid to compare Hamilton to much larger centres.
Waiting for the new City of Hamilton site to be launched. I'm hopeful they will publish more detail on the West Harbour proposal, site and design. If there isn't more detail forthcoming, I don't know how they can be taken seriously.
Only Room For Roughriders
July 21st 2010 at 8:47 PM | 4 comments
Just sad. I guess "the world's greatest fans" would get confused and spend their money on the wrong Rough Rider merchandise.
Rulebook Updated to 2010 Version
July 17th 2010 at 8:25 PM by dbo
cfldb is happy to announce that the Official Playing Rules for the Canadian Football League 2010 are now available in our searchable permalink format.
I was going to write an apologetic post about the update being late, but I checked and this release is actually earlier than last year's update. I was checking the CFL's fan publication page the past few weeks for the release of the new version, forgoing a check on the PDF page home. In typical CFL fashion, the new rulebook is not ready at season start and its visibility when ready is lacking. I only stumbled on it this morning and worked to get the new version published today.
Arguing For West Harbour
July 17th 2010 at 10:47 AM | 1 comment
The debate is growing in Hamilton with passionate views on the benefits of West Harbour. These arguments are valid, but nothing changes the studies the Ti-Cats have showing they can't become a regional team in a waterfront stadium with no access. Using the Tiger-Cats home opener crowd of 25,000 as proof that big crowds will come to the waterfront is a bit of a strawman argument, especially since last night's game attracted 21,408.
West Harbour supporters should be putting pressure on the city to expand the scope of the West Harbour plan with more property (it is too small - hence no parking) and expanded rail and road access plans that are not 10 years down the road. With no concrete models of what the site could be (addressing the concerns of detractors) you cannot convince anyone. The biggest failure in this process is the city has not produced any detail of the stadium site at West Harbour (which any other stadium project [see Ottawa] spends millions on) or budged on rethinking access or parking in the area. The West Harbour Waterfront Recreation Plan deals only with the immediate waterfront, not the stadium area and the Setting Sail initiative focuses on high-level zoning changes.
East Mountain Opposition Ramps Up
July 14th 2010 at 9:14 PM | Comments closed
In addition to the organizing of opposition to the East Mountain site in favour of the West Harbour, there is shocking news that East Mountain will require expensive roadwork and the Ti-Cats really aren't worth that much to Hamilton.
Overlooked is the fact that the West Harbour proposal's flaw is lack of access. Any alternative site is going to have costs for roadway work to solve that issue. As for studies that belittle the economic contribution of the Tiger-Cats and state companies don't relocate because of sports teams are missing half of the equation. People look at activities available in a city in their decision to live there and the loss of activities can result in the loss of people and an increased difficulty of attracting new residents.
