stadium

Friday October 12, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Friday October 12, 2012

Stadium saga draws to a close

After half-a-dozen potential sites and years of political turmoil and debates that pitted neighbourhoods against one another, Hamiltonians are about to see the stadium that caused so much heartache.

TO2015, the organizing committee for the Pan Am Games, will announce the design of Hamilton’s new stadium Friday. Games officials, as well as representatives from the city, the province and the federal government will officially unveil the details of the $150-million soccer and football field at 2 p.m. at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

The Spectator has learned that Bouygues Building Canada Inc. and Kenaidan Contracting Ltd. beat the two other shortlisted contracting firms and will be in charge of building Hamilton’s stadium, Milton’s velodrome and a stadium at York University.

While Friday’s announcement marks the kickoff of one the biggest construction projects Hamilton has seen in recent years, it’s also tinged with the frustration that has permeated the process.

Councillors, who agreed to put $45 million toward the project, will meet with officials from Infrastructure Ontario (IO) Friday at 10 a.m. for a high-level briefing. However, IO won’t reveal the renderings of the new stadium or the full details of the project until the 2 p.m. news conference at Ivor Wynne.

Some councillors say they won’t attend Friday’s announcement, either due to scheduling conflicts or because of discomfort about the way the process has unfolded. Councillors on the Pan Am stadium subcommittee were forced to sign confidentiality agreements, and the rest of council — along with the constituents they represent — will be in the dark until IO reveals the details to the public. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Wednesday October 4, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday October 4, 2012

Pan Am stadium: Councillor says city got it wrong

Councillor Lloyd Ferguson thinks Hamilton made the wrong decision about the location of the Pan Am stadium.

In fact, Ferguson — a co-chair of the Pan Am subcommittee along with Councillor Bernie Morelli — thinks the city’s decision to rebuild Ivor Wynne Stadium was so misguided that he tried this summer to convince the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to reconsider the west harbour.

“I’m frustrated. I don’t know what to do. I feel helpless. I think it’s wrong, but I feel helpless. So I’ve decided to open up,” Ferguson said. “What I’m hearing clearly from my community is, ‘You shouldn’t have put it there.’”

However, Ticats president Scott Mitchell says agreeing to move the stadium so late in the game would mean jeopardizing the funding from the other levels of government.

“Any discussion about changing it could have put the total financial burden on the city alone in siting and constructing a stadium,” Mitchell said in an email. “In essence, it would have ceased to have been a Pan Am stadium and that certainly didn’t seem realistic.”

Ferguson’s comments come only days before Infrastructure Ontario (IO), the provincial development agency in charge of the Pan Am Games venues, is set to announce the design of the $150-million stadium. The plans and cost of the new Ivor Wynne will be revealed Friday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m., said TO2015 spokesperson Carlene Siopis.

Though the location of this announcement hasn’t been confirmed, Siopis said it will not take place during halftime at the Ticats game — a rumour circulating a few weeks ago. (Source: Metro News) 

 

Wednesday August 15, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday August 15, 2012

Councillors frustrated by stadium secrecy

The secrecy surrounding Hamilton’s new Pan Am stadium has led to one councillor threatening to step down from the Games subcommittee.

Bernie Morelli, whose ward will house the new venue on the site of the current Ivor Wynne Stadium, says he’s so frustrated by the process that he’s thinking of quitting the Pan Am stadium subcommittee. Councillor Brad Clark also expressed his frustration at Infrastructure Ontario, the province’s development agency.

“We’ve relinquished all of our responsibility to Infrastructure Ontario,” Clark said.

The comments came about after councillors dealt with a report about a cost-sharing agreement for the new Pan Am stadium at Monday’s general issues committee meeting.

City staff were asking for council’s approval to enter into discussions with Infrastructure Ontario to determine the “roles, relationships, joint and separate responsibilities, authorizations and obligations” for the Pam Am stadium.

According to the report, the capital cost for the stadium is $145.6 million. The operating costs for 2012 are $340,300. However, the staff report offered few details about how the costs and operating responsibilities of the stadium will be shared.

When councillors asked staff for more information, Gerry Davis, the city’s general manager of public works, said they would have to check with Infrastructure Ontario to see if they had permission to share those details publicly. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Friday July 20, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Friday July 20, 2012

Carmen’s has mega-plan for HECFI

Banquet hall owner Carmen’s has pitched a grand plan for Hamilton’s convention centre that includes eliminating its annual taxpayer subsidy and adding a 44-storey hotel and condo development.

Owner Peter Mercanti vowed to immediately cut the annual taxpayer subsidy by $1 million if the city turned over control of the money-losing convention centre to his group, which also includes local entertainment promoter Loren Liberman.

“You will not find people more passionate about Hamilton than us,” said Mercanti, who has already built a $10 million hotel next to his Stone Church Road banquet facility. “Our family has a track record of delivering what we promise.”

The pitch was one of four councillors heard from groups competing to take over all or part of the Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc.

There were five until Monday, when the world’s largest venue management company and its partner withdrew their bid to run Copps Coliseum.

The Spectator’s Andrew Dreschel reported Wednesday that Los Angeles-based Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Edmonton-based Katz Group notified the city Monday that they are no longer taking part in the privatization talks.

Taxpayer subsidies to HECFI are pegged at about $6.5 million for 2012, but most years they average $7.5 million to $8 million.

AEG/Katz’s withdrawal leaves four other proposals on the table for running the three city-owned HECFI facilities — Copps, Hamilton Place and Hamilton Convention Centre. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)