Published on July 31, 2010 2:37 PM
Commissioner Mark Cohon raises the ire of local politicians with what is seen as a threat or bullying tactic, but I see it as not retribution, but logical that if one franchise was to leave over profitability, the CFL would hesitate going back, even with someone who wanted to work with whatever facility is in Hamilton.
To keep this Single Point shorter, I will just link to some related stories.
Q & A with Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger
Editorial questions the local council’s focus
Hamilton hires consultant to lobby provincial government
Situation is less clear as required decision approaches
Lost track and field events known about for weeks
Published on July 29, 2010 7:32 PM
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.
Published on July 28, 2010 8:54 PM
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.
Published on July 27, 2010 10:10 PM
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.
Published on July 26, 2010 11:30 PM
More locations, more ways to get bonus entries and instant prizes. It keeps getting better.
Published on July 26, 2010 8:46 PM
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.
Published on July 23, 2010 5:53 PM
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.
Published on July 21, 2010 10:47 PM
Just sad. I guess “the world’s greatest fans” would get confused and spend their money on the wrong Rough Rider merchandise.
Published on July 17, 2010 12:47 PM
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.
Published on July 14, 2010 11:14 PM
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.
Published on July 5, 2010 9:30 PM
Reebok sponsored social website/contest that asks participants to earn “yards” by voting for videos, answering trivia, inviting friends and purchasing Reebok merchandise. The top 50 yard accumulators will be entered into a draw to win a trip for 2 to the 2010 Grey Cup in Edmonton.
Published on July 3, 2010 1:50 PM
I’ve been thinking about this for a few days I can’t figure out how this ends this way over the location. Surely the talks should be over what each side wants and finding a partnership, not trying to pick who’s right about the location. If the city wants the West Harbour location, can they offer financial guarantees if the fans don’t come? It appears Hamilton isn’t interested in Bob Young/the Tiger-Cats managing the stadium, so what does the city propose for the football club to generate revenue streams? Who else is going to use this stadium for the next 50 years?
If this ends with either the stadium going elsewhere or the Tiger-Cats leaving town, this will be the biggest municipal political bungle in Canada’s history. Hamiltonians better start putting pressure on their mayor and councillors, not about caving to location demands, but offering the Ti-Cats something more in return than a tenant in new stadium with poor accessibility and parking.