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Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelTown (Post 7983209)

New Hamilton arena in Bulldogs owner’s playbook

https://www.thespec.com/sports-story...er-s-playbook/

The owner of the Hamilton Bulldogs says it's time for this city to build a new arena to replace the antiquated FirstOntario Centre. And he's ready to put his money where his vision is to make that happen.

Michael Andlauer says he's been contemplating this for years but he's now reached the point that he's prepared and eager to get rolling.

"I'd love to do something," he says.

While Mayor Fred Eisenberger sounds decidedly noncommittal about getting involved in any project of this scale, he says the city is willing to listen.

Andlauer, a part-owner of the Montreal Canadiens who's owned the local team for nearly 15 years and has kept it in the FirstOntario Centre, says he'd like to see a new 5,000-10,000-seat facility built somewhere within the city. He expects it would cost between $60 million and $100 million, depending on size and amenities.

At 32 years old, the arena formerly known as Copps Coliseum is approaching relic status among North American venues. In February, the city lost out on hosting the Memorial Cup in large part because the organizing committee said the arena simply wasn't good enough.

A month later, a consultant's report said it would take $68 million to make the kinds of changes that would update the facility to extend its life. However, council voted to pass on that option and simply pay for maintenance and repair as needed.

Asked for his thoughts on their decision at that time, Andlauer offered no comment. But he now says it's time to get started on a new project.

"We have to look at the future of sports and entertainment in this city in terms of facilities," he says. "I mean, it happens everywhere across North America. I'm open to suggestions. I'm open to participating."

He points to London's 9,100-seat Budweiser Gardens, Oshawa's 5,500-seat General Motors Centre, Mississauga's 5,000-seat Hershey Centre and St. Catharines' 5,300-seat Meridian Centre as guides for what Hamilton could emulate: a modern facility with up-to-date amenities that are more appropriately sized for most of the events that come here — and far more appropriate for an Ontario Hockey League team — than the 17,000-seat arena.

The most recently built of those is the Meridian Centre, which came in at about $50 million. Which really brings us to the crux of the whole thing.

What about the money?

It's become abundantly clear that the city isn't interested in forking out endless millions for such a project. Not when FirstOntario Centre is still standing. And not when Hamilton has a $3-billion-plus infrastructure deficit hanging over its head.

"Obviously, cost and who bears the cost is going to be the central issue," Eisenberger says. "If Mr. Andlauer is prepared to finance something like that, that makes the conversation a lot easier."

While Andlauer says the city would likely have to be part of the project — whether that's all cash or a combination of cash and land is unclear — he's prepared to pay a significant portion of the cost out of his own pocket.

How much, exactly?

"I would jump in (with) whatever makes sense," he says.

Of course, owners of other franchises in cities all over the world have said similar things to get the ball rolling on a stadium or arena but have then begun squeezing their wallets when it came time to fork out. Should we not be concerned about the same thing happening here?

"No," Andlauer says. "I'm talking something substantial."

If a new arena was built, FirstOntario Centre could either be kept as a larger venue for concerts and events or it could be removed and the land on which it stands could be redeveloped publicly or privately to continue the growth of the downtown. This, of course, suggests a new building would not be constructed on the same footprint and might be located outside the core.

While no specific potential locations have been made public by anyone, Ward 7 Coun. Donna Skelly told The Spectator's Matthew Van Dongen that Lime Ridge Mall is the top property taxpayer in the city but is now in flux with Sears closing and the retail sector facing challenges from online commerce. Creating something in that area could be intriguing.

"We've had very, very, very preliminary conversations with him to see if there was an opportunity somewhere in the central Mountain," she said.

However, Eisenberger says he believes keeping any arena in the downtown would be key.

"Creating critical mass on sports and entertainment in the central part of the city, I think, is the right thing to do," he says.

Andlauer's not getting far ahead of himself to begin locking into specific sites yet. He simply wants the city to approach him with an idea. Or at least to show a willingness to explore what they might do together.

"As long as it makes sense for all parties, then it's worth doing," Andlauer says. "I think there's an opportunity to make something worthwhile, I really do."

He can build it on that area by the lake they leveled to build the stadium which never got used.

Also I wouldn't be entirely sad to see copps go and have something useful built there. I wouldn't be sad to see a lot of that complex disappear in all honesty.

As long as it's private money used to build a new 5,000-10,000-seat arena, more power to them. However, Hamilton still needs FOC so we can host larger events - so a new smaller arena would have to be built somewhere else.

the area down by the waterfront would be ideal !!!
seeing a stadium up on the mountain would be a disaster and such a bad move on the city's end.... i still cant believe that they built that beautiful board of education building and hid it in a cul de sac behind suburban homes LOL what a joke !
losing out on the revenue that a sports event brings to the core before and after an event would be such an amateur move

Quote:

Originally Posted by HamiltonBoyInToronto (Post 7983344)

yeah that would be another death stroke to the core if they built it up on the mountain - they need to start refocusing entertainment in the core.

any stop that is feasible along the LRT ..... with an expansive underground parking garage as part of it, maybe even beside Tim Horton Field.

Quote:

Originally Posted by King&James (Post 7983373)

maybe even beside Tim Horton Field.

I can't see that being a good thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chronamut (Post 7983395)

I can't see that being a good thing.

why not?

I agree with the LRT ideal. I could see the city providing land/tax breaks for this if the building was done without municipal money. If that's the case they should definitely also make the case for it to be on the LRT line.

Although nothing will likely come of this any time soon and he is likely just testing the waters to see if their was any appetite for city hall to give up some cash for hockey infrastructure... wondering if we will see the "bulldogs will be forced to move" threat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ihateittoo (Post 7984751)

how many subdivisions would they have to demolish to put it there?

It was a mistake putting the stadium where it is, why double-down on the mistake with an arena?

In any case, I'm sure a new smaller arena doesn't happen anyway.

What's the future of hockey in Hamilton? Junior? Maybe another AHL team? If that's the case then perhaps they ought to just use Mountain Arena and stop being silly about a new arena. Unless, of course, it's privately financed in which case they can do what they like...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ihateittoo (Post 7984751)

wondering if we will see the "bulldogs will be forced to move" threat.

To Laval, QC or St. John's, NL, perhaps.

It's a measure of how little people care about this team that it's already forgotten that the threat was already made and acted upon during the Katz-Otters debacle, and that the club is now only three years old:

Quote:

The details will follow, but in short, Katz made the deal with Bassin not because he was interested in the welfare of fans in Erie. Instead, if he could quietly buy the Otters, he could move them to Hamilton and take control of his ultimate prize – the hockey lease at Copps Coliseum – even though a fellow NHL owner, Michael Andlauer, was the existing leaseholder at the Hamilton arena. Andlauer, who made his fortune in the transportation and logistics industries, has a minority stake in the Montreal Canadiens and also owns their American Hockey League farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Bassin agreed to be his front man in the Hamilton transaction because Katz insisted on a low profile. No one is saying it straight out, but the timing of Katz's move on Copps in late 2012 suggests he may have been interested to use the Copps lease as leverage to get more public funding in Edmonton in a deal to build a new downtown arena for his Oilers.

Despite Katz's efforts to be discreet, rumours quickly spread in Hamilton civic circles that he was the power behind Bassin. Some city councillors and power brokers were happy to play along because, as always, Hamilton longed for an NHL team. And there were rumours that Andlauer might deprive the city of any professional hockey by moving the Bulldogs to the Montreal suburb of Laval when a 10,000-seat arena in that city was completed.

City officials kept Bassin's identity hidden at first, which angered Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina. He wanted to know why it was taking so long to renew Andlauer's lease at Copps. Bratina, who did not run in the 2014 municipal election, said he was initially told the delay was due to a potential new tenant whose identity was confidential. But once he learned it was Bassin on behalf of Katz, Bratina had no doubt about what was happening.

"My sense was [Hamilton] was going to be used against the City of Edmonton as leverage for their deal," he said in an interview. "That's my opinion."

Through the fall of 2012, when it looked like Bassin just might grab the lease to Copps, Katz maintained his hard line with Edmonton council. But in December, Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc. (HECFI), the agency that then managed city properties, voted to negotiate a lease exclusively with Andlauer.

The HECFI vote came on Dec. 7, 2012. Five days later, without Hamilton's leverage, Katz agreed to go back to the table with Edmonton along with a mediator in a final attempt to make an arena deal. With the rhetoric suddenly turned down, Katz and Edmonton reached an agreement on the new arena in January.

However, that was not the end for the other people in this story.

Bassin, now 75, had wanted to sell his hockey team to Katz to pay his debts and ensure his own financial well-being. But he became collateral damage. The Oilers called his loan in June, 2013, demanding he sell the team to pay them back. Even though the Otters have a rebuilt arena, and McDavid's star power has boosted the team's attendance to more than 4,700 fans per game (fifth-best in the 20-team league), Bassin didn't earn enough from operations to pay back the Oilers.

In pushing for a quick sale, the Oilers were still intent on taking over the Otters. Documents show that Katz's people interfered with Bassin's attempts to get a new arena lease in Erie in 2013. Katz himself wrote a letter to OHL commissioner David Branch in October, 2014, threatening to make the legal dispute with Bassin public if he did not transfer ownership of the Otters from Bassin to him.

In yet another twist, the Oilers' ambitions may also have been to keep the Otters away from Andlauer who, ironically, is now in position to be the saviour of the OHL team. He is one of at least two parties negotiating with Bassin to buy the Otters, and it's apparent the Bulldogs will move to Laval no later than 2017. Andlauer's lease at Copps, since renamed FirstOntario Centre, calls for him to provide a hockey team as a tenant, without specifying it must be an AHL team.

But then, thanks in part to Bratina's support, Andlauer won the HECFI vote and eventually signed a three-year lease in March, 2013, with an option for two more years. His only obligation is to provide Hamilton with a hockey team, and he retains the rights to the Bulldogs name if they move. In April, 2013, he said he would like to buy an OHL team and build a new arena in downtown Hamilton...

One inescapable problem for the OHL Bulldogs is their position in the food chain.

OHL players can move laterally within the CHL or graduate to the AHL or NHL, and AHL players can graduate to the NHL, but OHL is age-limited and relies on AAA talent.

On top of that, NHL scouts render their verdict on players to watch — i.e. a team's draft prospects — after a just half-dozen home games. That's great for attendance and morale if you have first-round picks flagged but potentially problematic if your profile with the scouts is thin. Consider:

2015-16: 5 C Rated
2016-17: 2 A Rated, 2 B Rated, 1 C Rated
2017-18: 1 C Rated

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce (Post 7984899)

Mountain arena is not up to AHL or OHL standards. not even close. the leagues wouldn't allow teams to play there

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berklon (Post 7983234)

agreed on the private money part. Agreed on the smaller arena having to be built somewhere else(so whats even the point), no way Hamilton can support a 17,000 and 5-10,000 seat arena. Not enough events to go around to make them profitable.

I would be more comfortable with the city pitching in to the proposed venue at the Main/MacNab church versus this. I might be able to tolerate a land deal but that's about it. In my opinion it should remain in its current location, meaning Copps should be torn down & replaced/renovated

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidcappi (Post 7985961)

I agree with this. The ACC is at the centre of Toronto, right beside Union. Hamilton moving the stadium away from easy outside access, as well as access to those in the city would be disastrous. Plus as Coops gets busier as Hamilton grows, it will feed the restaurants, bars and nightlife around the stadium.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidcappi (Post 7985961)

In my opinion it should remain in its current location, meaning Copps should be torn down & replaced/renovated

Replaced with a 5,000-10,000 seat arena?

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidcappi (Post 7985961)

I concur. I think all of jackson should be renovated personally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berklon (Post 7986135)

Replaced with a 5,000-10,000 seat arena?

how much is copps ever filled to full capacity out of curiosity?

Bulldogs owner offers marching dollars for new arena

https://www.thespec.com/sports-story...for-new-arena/

The owner of the Hamilton Bulldogs has followed up his public call for the building of a new, smaller arena to replace FirstOntario by saying he'd be willing to personally pay for half of it.

Michael Andlauer had previously said he'd be willing to cover a "substantial" amount for any such project. But pressed for a more-precise figure — tough to do when nobody knows exactly what a rink would cost — he offered the 50-50 proposition.

"If I said I'd match what the city would put in, would that be deemed substantial?" he asked.

Even with that now out there, there's a question about whether city council will be willing to seriously entertain such a discussion.

Andlauer has said he'd like to see a 5,000- to 10,000-seat arena constructed somewhere in town, which he expects would cost between $60 million and $100 million, depending on the bells and whistles attached. He says he understands that relying totally on public money when budgets are tight isn't feasible.

"That's why I'm willing to put money into it," he says. "A lot more than anybody else in this city's ever put into sports."

While suggestions were offered by Ward 7 Coun. Donna Skelly that somewhere on the central Mountain could be an ideal location — the Lime Ridge Mall area was mentioned — Mayor Fred Eisenberger said last week that he believes keeping any new facility in the downtown core would be a priority.

Others might disagree and make the case that removing an arena from the corner of Bay and York and using that prime downtown property for future development would be a better, and more-lucrative, use of city land.

Andlauer says nothing is yet out of the question. In fact, other than saying demographics would have to be taken into account, he took a soft line on possible locations.

"I have had some preliminary talks with the city and I've asked them, 'Here's a clear canvas. You go ahead and paint your canvas,'" he says. "I don't want to dictate where it's going to go. I don't know any better (than others). I think the city councillors who represent all the citizens in the city, they should have their voice and they should know what's in the best interest.

Where it might be built is secondary, however. Eisenberger had previously cited the cost of building a new arena as the central issue in any discussion. Which makes sense since the city is facing a $3-billion-plus infrastructure deficit.

During a radio interview on 900CHML this week, he proposed the idea of private interests — as in, Andlauer by himself or with partners — making a go of this alone. Leaving public money out of it completely would make this a very different discussion, he said.

The owner says putting 100 per cent of the economic load on him might not work. However, he added that a new building would remove city requirements to continually pay for repairs and maintenance (a transformer fire in the arena's hydro room left the entire building in the dark for most of Thursday afternoon). This would potentially mean that once the initial capital investment was made up front, the city would no longer have to subsidize ongoing expenses.

Which all leads to the question of whether the bread crumbs Andlauer has now laid along the path will be enough to lead the issue to the council table for a serious discussion.

"No," says Coun. Sam Merulla. "Not at all. At this point we have nothing to put forward because we can't afford it."

He believes the majority of his council colleagues — who have been through the angry stadium debate and the contentious LRT fight — would share that opinion based on how quickly they dismissed talk of spending over $200 million to bring FirstOntario Centre up to NHL standards (or even modernizing the bottom bowl at a cost of close to $70 million) as suggested in a consultant's report. And how disinterested they were in entertaining the idea of hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

Skelly, on the other hand, says they shouldn't be so quick to throw it aside.

"I believe it would be irresponsible not to engage in that discussion," she says.

Something has to be done with the arena eventually, she says.

On that radio show this week, Eisenberger agreed — with the first part of that sentiment, anyway.

"Sooner or later we're going to have to deal with this issue," he said. "Because it is aging."

They should speak to McMaster University, I know McMaster explored the idea of a hockey arena for the Marauders. I also know David Braley was willing to donate millions towards an arena, however the idea just faded away as they focused more towards the stadium.

Let's say it's $100 million than $50 million from Andlauer, $25 million both from McMaster and the City. Could probably bring the price tag down if we got donations from Braley or even Joyce.

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