The logo was unveiled for Hamilton's new Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) team. They'll be playing at FirstOntario Centre...

• Video Link

https://i.imgur.com/sTSyErw.jpg
source


Info:
- cebl.ca
- honeybadgers.ca

What a joke of a league. Doubt there’s a market for amateur basketball.

haha I'm sorry, but all I can think of is the honey badger video..

• Video Link

I had a chuckle and WTF-moment seeing the name at first. Didn't know the animals were such nasty, tough little bastards. ;)

I wish they would have picked a name with some local or regional connection though. But tigers had nothing to do with us either when that name was originally used for football, and true to form it's likely Honey Badgers don't give a shit. :haha:

honey badger don't care - honey badger smacks the shit out of it :P

‘No-strings-attached’ offer from Carmen’s to City of Hamilton
The push is on to look at redeveloping city’s aging entertainment venues, writes Andrew Dreschel

https://www.thespec.com/opinion-stor...y-of-hamilton/

City staff are seeking approval to spend up to $200,000 on an independent study assessing the needs and redevelopment potential of Hamilton's aging downtown entertainment venues.

The study would also weigh the merits of locating an arena outside the core, which is consistent with Hamilton Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer's offer to help build a new, smaller facility elsewhere in the city.

Councillors will consider the staff proposal Monday. But thanks to a local consortium led by the Carmen's Group, they'll also have a related private sector proposal to chew on.

A delegation from the consortium is expected to offer to partner with the city on developing a comprehensive "precinct plan" that delivers the "next generation" of sports, entertainment and convention facilities in the core.

In short, Carmen's and its partners are willing to pay the lion's share of a study to examine the feasibility of redeveloping the city-owned FirstOntario Centre (formerly Copps Coliseum), FirstOntario Concert Hall (formerly Hamilton Place) and the Convention Centre.

According to consortium co-ordinator Jasper Kujavsky, the study would be offered to the city on a "no-strings-attached basis," meaning the group expects no business benefits in return.

Kujavsky says the group endorses the staff proposal and is eager to partner with the city to avoid overlapping and duplicating work.

He says the consortium is also happy to work with Andlauer, as long as any arena project — a renovation or replacement — is in the core.

So who is in the consortium?

In essence, they're the same players who in 2016 financed a $240,000 report on options for overhauling the arena, options which boiled down to a $68-million renovation and a complete $252-million rebuild.

Back then the publicly-named members of the consortium consisted of Carmen's hospitality group, the Ron Joyce family, LiUNA, Fengate Capital, and FirstOntario Credit Union.

FirstOntario Credit Union recently bowed out. A spokesperson couldn't be reached, but Kujavsky says the company decided the proposed precinct plan has political implications that didn't fit the parameters of its membership.

However, a new financial institution, Meridian Credit Union, has come aboard. Wade Stayzer, a senior vice-president with Meridian, says his company, the largest credit union in Ontario, is "pleased to be a part of the group."

Stayzer notes that Meridian, which last year formed a sponsor partnership with the Hamilton's Farmers Market, is committed to help build strong communities. "And we see the precinct plan as part of that."

What's in it for the consortium if there are no strings attached?

According to Kujavsky, though the group isn't presuming it will benefit from any redevelopment proposals that may emerge from the proposed study, it clearly hopes it will.

"But no matter what, whether it's us or somebody else, there will be a benefit to the community because of the private sector investment we're putting in."

PJ Mercanti, president and CEO of the Carmen's Group, made a similar point while recently addressing council. Mercanti touched on the notion of a precinct plan during his pitch to have Carmen's take over management of all three downtown venues. Carmen's currently only operates the Convention Centre.

"Ultimately, our desire is very simple," Mercanti said. "We want Hamilton to compete with the best in Canada ... we want Hamilton to win more big, fun events and in order to do that we need the right infrastructure in place."

Regarding Carmen's play to operate the three venues, council voted to consider both its bid and that of Spectra, which currently runs the arena and concert hall.

What will councillors do with the offer to pay for a precinct plan study?

Consider this: The staff report plainly states there's a "substantial and increasing need for capital reinvestment" in the fading facilities. On top of that, the Carmen's initiative sprouted wings from a council-approved motion from Sam Merulla to explore potentially partnering with the private sector to redevelop them.

Can you turn down an offer to help under those circumstances?

This project HAS to happen downtown right? I don't see how the city can tout downtown revitalization this and LRT that then go ahead and build this in the suburbs, no way lol.

I think there are a good contingent of Hammerites that still believe in the NHL dream , and replacing 18500 seats for something that has max capacity of 9-10000 will kill it.

Kujavsky's slides show a potential convention centre & hotel on the SJAM site, & also where the Swiss Chalet is now. When Carmen's won the convention centre mgmt bid, they promised a 44-storey hotel. PJ Mercanti has said that's still in the works but they don't have suitable land

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DkfROdcWwAAf5UC.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DkfRRa4XcAA5UUc.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DkfRT7TX4AAKYxo.jpg
Samantha Craggs
https://twitter.com/samcraggscbc?lang=en

On the SJAM land: You can see it here on Kujavsky's slide. It's in red because it's already been studied in 2016. Kujavsky's group wants the school board to "sit down" & have "collaborative & conceptual" discussions before it decides what to do with that land

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DkfPiSnXsAM6V4F.jpg
Samantha Craggs
https://twitter.com/samcraggscbc?lang=en

I kind of don't think they should tear down the church. I've always thought it was really cool, and one day if the church is done with it, it would be a really cool club location, away from most houses and such.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.25978...7i13312!8i6656

Agreed. Hate to see it torn down.

Would like to see it turned into a small little concert venue.

Time to move on downtown ‘game-changer’
Hamilton Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer says any new arena in the city needs to built in combination with housing.

Sitting in his Montreal hotel room, not far from the Bell Centre where the Canadiens play, he says he used to see parking lots when he looked out the window.

That was just eight or nine years ago. Today? Three huge condo towers block his view. Which is a good thing. Thousands of people live there now. A thriving neighbourhood exists where things were once a little bleak.

"They just hurried up and made it happen," Michael Andlauer says. "Why can't Hamilton do the same thing?"

He may sound exasperated but he insists he's really not. In fact, the longtime owner of the Hamilton Bulldogs says he's feeling optimistic about the city's plan — pending a vote at council next Wednesday — to launch a $200,000 study to accelerate some decision on what to do not just with FirstOntario Centre but with all the downtown entertainment venues.

Economic development director Glen Norton says he wants such a study done and in front of city council by June.

"It's really a game-changer for our downtown, or could be," he told The Spectator's Andrew Dreschel a few days ago. "Let's not hold this up any further. Let's get on with what needs to be done."

Andlauer's delighted to hear this. He says he believes in the concept of private business being involved in some rebuild of the facilities. Based on his interest — just over a year ago he offered to match the city's contribution to a new arena dollar for dollar — and that of the Carmen's Group, there's plenty of evidence to suggests it legitimately exists.

But, he says the city has to make a decision about what it wants to do before private investors spend any more time trying to figure out what they can do.

"Once and for all, create a vision for this downtown core," he says.

While he has explored a variety of options of his own for arenas in the city, including locations outside the downtown and on the mountain, he says his preference is to work with the city within its eventual plan.

It just has to have one first.

Andlauer doubles back to what's happened in Montreal. A new arena by itself will do little to change the area. It has to be in combination with housing. There, the new condos have spurred other new development. Stores and restaurants have sprung up.

If Hamilton council could come up with a plan that would allow private interests to construct a new arena and convention centre in exchange for rights to the vertical space above those buildings for residential units and other development — or some other creative solution — the same story would likely play out here, too.

"It's where people want to be," he says.

Not really sure about making this decision based partially on an OHL team. The history of hockey in Hamilton has been so up and down I'm skeptical of putting city money for a small OHL sized arena, even with matching funds. I do like pairing it with housing, especially if it allows higher builds.

I don't think it makes sense for us to be in the arena business at all.

I think we should sell the site to a developer or firm that will redevelop it into a complex with an arena at least OHL-sized (ideally larger), and then give them height and density exceptions so they can offset those costs with residential towers. If the Bulldogs owner wants a brand new stadium dearly, he can pair up with a residential developer and match the cost of a new stadium with them.

It makes for an interesting debate on what if any community based facilities should or need to be city owned. I mean, just this single arena, or all, and then why not swimming pools, community centres, tennis courts, golf courses .... There is a huge laundry list of municipally owned assets that are arguably run better by the private sector.

The best part of this article is that it sounds like hes moved away from an arena at limeridge mall and wants to work with the city. The arena needs to stay downtown IMO, not the mountain.

I agree with it keeping it away from the mountain but we need to have a bigger pedestrian space outside of the arena. And if they do decide to relocate the arena somewhere else in the downtown zone, let's not pull a THF and put it in the east end, it doesn't suit the area. I'd try and push for it to be near the harbour, maybe near West-Harbour GO or keep it in the same spot (really need to figure out pedestrian areas).

Setting aside the fact that the Bell Centre is the largest indoor venue in the country (and that the Canadiens’ home game attendance is around four times that of the Bulldogs), Radley's opinion piece frames things very selectively, if not backwards.

Canadian Manufacturing, October 2015:

“Geoff Molson, the team’s president and CEO, who also runs the Bell Centre and event promotion company, Evenko, has unveiled plans to flood the rink with a $100 million investment. The funds are earmarked for improvements inside the arena as well as for the surrounding area.”

Montreal Gazette, October 2015:

"Much is being done outside the arena, as well. Molson has presented a plan to the city of Montreal to transform Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal (as de la Gauchetière was renamed between de la Montagne and Peel Sts.) into a pedestrian avenue, complete with a glassed-in entryway to the arena.

And on Thursday morning, a ribbon-cutting will officially open La Place des Canadiens on the east side of the Bell Centre. This is the rebranded “Centennial Plaza,” which stood on the west side of the arena — complete with statues of the legends, retired-jersey monuments, historic-moment markers and thousands of fan-purchased bricks — from its inauguration on Dec. 4, 2008, until it was given the boot by the first phase of the Tour des Canadiens high-rise condo project, still under construction.

Molson said details of a major sports restaurant, to be housed in the condo attached to the arena, soon would be announced.

All of this work, he explained, is being undertaken “to maintain the standard of excellence and quality of experience for visitors to the Bell Centre,” which regularly is near the top of North American arena rankings.

Molson spoke of the Canadiens’ home being in the heart of a real-estate boom, about a dozen new buildings around the arena expected to generate $70 million in annual tax revenues."


That real-estate boom predated the Molson $100M plan by several years, and overshadows it by an order of magnitude.

Montreal Gazette, September 2018:

On Wednesday, developers Cadillac Fairview and Canderel, along with their partners the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ and the Canadiens, announced that construction has begun on what they’re calling the Quad Windsor Skybridge, an elevated glassed-in pedestrian bridge that will be built above St-Antoine St. It will link the Bell Centre and the Deloitte Tower, which is immediately to the east of the Habs rink, to the Tour des Canadiens 2 and 3 just on the other side of St-Antoine St. It will be over 200 feet long,20 feet above the ground and will be open to the public.

The developers are calling the area around the Bell Centre ‘Quad Windsor’ and Cadillac Fairview, which owns much of the land just south of the arena, has big plans to build other towers between the Bell Centre and Griffintown. The lead partners in the Canadiens towers project are Cadillac Fairview and Canderel.…

The first Tour des Canadiens opened in 2016. It contains 555 condos and is completely sold out. The second tower, with 585 units, is also 100 per cent sold. It will open in the summer of 2019. The third tower is currently a hole in the ground and is scheduled to be completed in 2021. It has 574 units and is almost sold out. Each tower cost around $150 million to build. The price range for the condos in all three towers are from $350,000 to more than $1 million.

“You understand what this area was back in 2005, 2006,” Salpeter said. “This area was really run down and it took a lot of vision. At Cadillac Fairview, we started to (buy) all the lands around the Bell Centre to really transform Montreal and we’re really proud to not only deliver the Tour des Canadiens towers but also the Deloitte tower, which is Cadillac Fairview’s.”

That would be the same Cadillac Fairview that built Hamilton's Eaton Centre in 1990, selling it at a 95% loss a decade later when its namesake retailer went bankrupt.

We do have pedestrian space outside copps. Lots of it. Jackson sq upper courtyard. Its just underutilized. If they keep the current location i agree that space needs to be better utilized!

Also i dont believe they would classify barton and gage as “downtown”. But you never know.

Well just because you make something an open space doesn't mean people will utilize it. There is really nothing up there for people to do - no stores or anything surrounding it - not enough plants and trees to not make it feel like a concrete jungle, and usually sketchy people hanging around the stairs which makes it feel like if you go up there you're going to get jumped by a bunch of hoodlums. The front of jackson square is still full of weirdos - whether its crazy religious fanatics or people punching each other in the face (I've seen that unfold right in front of me). It's a little TOO isolated up there - and the space is really just kinda unuseable. They should use it more for concerts imo. Set up a stage there, maybe have weekly charity concerts or something, sorta like the festival of friends. Maybe rebuild part of it to have some sorta arena seating. It would be the perfect space for a kinda outdoor odeon seating outdoor stage - you could then have an indoor arena and an outdoor stage.

That or just make it all gardens in there.. although it would have to be super monitored so that hoodlums don't tear it all up and destroy it - but the original plan for that area before a lot of it got canned called for gardens.

You can read more about it here:

https://www.academia.edu/16885107/Th...newal_Movement

and here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_D._Jackson_Square

Consensus on a plan would be challenging given the different leaseholders and stakeholders with varied priorities and operational time frames. Jackson Square is First Real Properties, around a third of the way into a 99-year lease. The arena has been operating on five-plus-one year lease cycles, and the Bulldogs’ tenancy agreement comes up for renewal every three. Then there’s the City Centre, whose third level also backs onto the rooftop plaza (and which has been sought by developer Brad Lamb for what would presumably be a substantial residential condo complex).

If I’m not mistaken, this area is a de facto fire route for adjacent towers, which presents additional challenges.

The biggest issue with amplified sound on the rooftop plaza, however, is the splash-and-slap you get from the ring of buildings at varied heights and angles. It’s a terrible place to stage live music, and having hotel and conference facilities directly off that area doesn’t help.

One issue with building an OHL sized arena is the loss of the ability to host bigger concerts. Dierks Bentley was at First Ontario last night. Would he come anyways if the venue was smaller? First is big enough that it is a regional draw for entertainment acts for Hamilton and I think it would be unfortunate to lose that.

Also I would be curious to know the total rent the OHL is paying versus all the rest of the acts. I would think the gate revenue for last night's concert would be many times what one OHL game would be.

This completely. Def Leppard is playing there soon, and they have had countless international acts play there. I live downtown and it is packed around downtown prior to, and following an event.

Is the idea to build a smaller arena and get rid of FOC, or have them co-exist?

I agree that something the size of FOC is needed to attract larger concerts/events. I just don't think we need a new large size arena, but I'm will to accept one (or even a small one) if it's 100% privately funded.

There won't be 2 arenas. There will be one or the other.

Then it's either a new NHL level arena 100% privately funded or no change at all. Not going to tear down FOC for a smaller arena.

If we somehow manage to get ourselves a smaller arena, that is a big loss for the city in creating additional revenue. Additionally, surrounding businesses would lose business if we downsize since big concerts and events draws people to eat and sleep nearby.

FOC needs to get a massive renovation or be rebuilt (mostly private).

Also, how busy is the concourse when the arena is full with 17,000+ spectators? Scotiabank Arena (Formely ACC) is extremely crowded and they have 2 concourses (one for upper, one for lower bowls).

What makes you say that? The city doesnt want to maintain an nhl arena without nhl tennants. FOC needs $40m in basic rehab over the next 5 years which the city cant afford. The bulldogs do not want an nhl sized arena and the city cant afford it. There isn't a business case for a privately run NHL size arena with no major tennant as well as an OHL size arena in Hamilton.

All signs point to a public private partnership at an arena smaller(how much smaller still TBD) than the current 17.5k FOC. Bulldogs probably want something around 10k and they are willing to pay for half, with any luck global spectrum or carmens group will front some capital costs and the citys investment will be minimal. Would be great if the private sector owned it eliminating the need for the city to sink million in operating and capital upkeep.

Perhaps a best case scenario would be something similar to Winnipeg at around 15K seats, but if the bulldogs(Andlauer) are putting in half the money and they say its too big, it'll probably get chopped down.

https://www.thespec.com/news-story/9...-it-worth-it-/

Andlauer said last year he'd like to build a new, smaller OHL-sized arena and offered to split the estimated $60-million-plus bill with the city.

It's great that the owner of the Bulldogs is willing to put in his own money, but the concept of a $60 million dollar arena is way too small-time for a city the size of Hamilton. It would help cement Hamilton as a bedroom community.

Moncton is a fraction the size of Hamilton and that city just built a $113 million arena:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4435982/a...-event-centre/

The 17,000-ish capacity of FirstOntario Centre has served the city very well and brought so many great events (Gretzky to Lemieux!) over the past few decades. Let's keep the arena size there. I would also like to never say never with respect to the NHL. Things can change much quicker than anyone can predict.

It is really annoying that people keep downsizing things in Hamilton....we are a good sized city with a lot going for us ...the FOC needs to remain the same size and get a complete facelift...there should also be a mixed use component incorporated into the reno (condos and retail).... I think the only people that would want to see Hamilton lose its competitive edge by having a venue the size of FOC would be outsiders who are threatened by Hamilton....I've heard stories of business owners and corporations from Toronto and other cities doing some shaddy things in order to keep Hamilton on the down and out .... Suggesting that we lose FOC and build something smaller and somewhere other than downtown sounds like one of these conspiracies lol

These are all great attitudes but who is going to front the bill for a $300 M to $500 M facility. Is there a business plan that can be made to recoup that money? I hope there is, just wouldnt bet on it. The realist in me based on what I have seen from major players says we’re going smaller than FOC. Hope im proven wrong.

THIS is the business case to keep an NHL size arena! http://www.coreentertainment.ca/news...r-ranking-2018

58th BUSIEST IN THE WORLD 4th IN CANADA! Let that sink in...

We lose the current capacity and we lose the big AAA concerts and events that bring people to our city's downtown hotels and restaurants! The city would cut off one of their best tourist draws and revenue generators!

Were also the only city that ever has mega acts such as BTS, Garth Brooks & Britney Spears perform 3 or 4 sold out shows in a row. No other city not Toronto or New York can ever claim that! What that does for our city is phenomenal!

It would be asinine to move the arena and or especially make it smaller!

Thats not a business case. Thats a listing of some big acts and how awesome it is for our city. A 10k arena would still bring awesome events to our city and downtown.

The arena barely breaks even now for global spectrum even with a sizeable annual operatinng subsidy from the city. Global spectrumcurrently makes a bit of money, the city loses money. If you build/ renovate an nhl new arena you have debt repayments to the tune of $300 -500million. The operations would be a massive money loser based on the current formula.

And that number you quoted is for concerts and events excluding the primary tennant. Its not the 4th busiest arena in canada. The 7 nhl arenas are ahead of it if you include the main tennant.

Again what is the business case for either the city or private company to sink 300 to 500 million into a new facility. They arent going to do it unless they can make money off of it. Its great that it gets some big shows, but is it profitable? Right now its not and thats before you even add repaying hundreds of millions of debt.

For refernce attached is documentation confirming the city subsidizes operations at the arena to the tune of $2.5M. This means that despite all the great acts you posted above and the bulldogs, the arena loses $2.5M a year.

https://pub-hamilton.escribemeetings...umentId=177081

By mid-year. 86th by year end (fifth in Canada).

Still up from 2017, but the business is cyclical (and this is solely based on ticket sales of live events and concerts).

10-Year Challenge:

In 2018, the FOC box office sold 201K tickets to concerts & family shows.
In 2009, the Copps box office sold 210K tickets to concerts & family shows.

FWIW, Spectra also manages London's Budweiser Gardens, which is about half the capacity of FOC, yet ranked 107th on Pollstar's 2018 chart (FOC was 106th in 2017). Here's the Spectra case study.

For me my dream proposal would be:

FirstOntario places becomes Hamilton's new flexible Convention Centre with extensive renovation.
Current Convention Centre sold to a developer to include retail and mixed income condos (sells out right away because of the transit terminal)
MacDonald high school property is the site of the new arena, with 15,000 seats with ability to expand to 20,000 or more to meet NHL standards.

That would be great if it happened. I know carmens was eyeing that sir john A land for an entertainment precinct. Heard the public board may not want to sell though.

It seems the trend of nhl Arenas has gone towards the 17 to 18k range with more luxury options. Keep the ticket scarcity and prices up.

For example Ottawa has cut Capacity from close to 20k to under 18k. Winnipeg of course is at 15k. Rogers place in Edmonton is at 18.5k. Rinks built in the last 10 years in pittsburgh, jersey, vegas are in the 17k to 18k range(save for detroit). New arenas being built for seattle and the islanders are in between 17 and 18k.

Of course im not getting my hopes up that an nhl team comes to hamilton. Bettman has made clear he isnt interested and quebec city cant even get a team with a beautiful new arena and deep pocketed potential ownership.

We should invent a new sport.

I have some skepticism towards this. First gets a fair amount of shows because Scotiabank arena has the Leafs and Raptors as major tenants and is incredibly busy during the winter months and can rarely accommodate multi-night events like BTS.

I think one could make a business case to be made for repairs amortized over a number of years. If I remember correctly, the city was losing more money during the tale end of the HECFI days back then they are losing now so the city has spent more money before. Plus the city seems willing to make the business case for putting money into Juno, CCMA and Grey Cup bids for what are one-off events, so the city putting some money each year towards upkeep of First Ontario doesn't seem outlandish.

I would vote in favour of enhanced upkeep of the existing arena.

A 10,000 seat arena is just not the right size for Hamilton:

- It would still bring in a number of shows, but it would also certainly take Hamilton out of consideration for many, many large-scale events.
- It would also be arguably too large for an OHL team or even an AHL team, so it would hardly be a right-sizing for those groups.

A 5k to 6k arena is probably the proper size for the OHL, but I really hope that that sized building is not on the table.

A side note is that the current video scoreboard should be replaced regardless. It is of extremely poor quality/resolution and I am not sure if any other OHL arenas (much less NHL) have anything so lacking.

Councillors seem to be hinting the city should not be in the business of entertainment facilties. Some would like to see the private sector take over. Council seems to be prioritizing roads transit and social housing. I think they fear the backlash from constituents if their property taxes go up say $200-$300 a year to pay for an entertainment facility instead of core assets. This brings up a larger question, is a professional enterainment facility something tax payers should be subsidizing? Especially when our community centres, transit network, social housing stock and road network are in need of hundreds of millions in investment. An interesting question. There are pros and cons to both public ownership and private ownership.

Also yes the scoreboard needs replacing. That board was paid for by the bulldogs owner. Hed probably pay for a new one but hes waiting to see what the plan is for the new arena. If hes gunna put tens of millions into a new arena, no need sinking money into the current venue. I think the city is holding off on the $50 million in maintenance(not even upgrades) repairs needed on the arena until they know if theyre keeping it or building new. Hopefully the ice piping holds up so the bulldogs arent displaced! Sounds like the place needs more than a couple mil a year.

From KPMG’s 2011 facility audit:

The size and scale of Copps Coliseum is vastly disproportionate to the revenue potential from permanent (Bulldogs) and transient (entertainment) users. Due to its high-fixed cost structure, the venue's operating costs reflect building size, not its throughput. While the Bulldogs have been a tenant for numerous years, both attendance and ticket pricing at Bulldogs games is some 20% lower than the AHL average…

Since its opening in 1985, the attraction of an NHL team to Hamilton has been a primary goal of Copps Coliseum management. However, opinions vary widely on both the likelihood of this occurring and the impact on the current hockey tenant, the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs. Bulldog attendance is in the lower third of the overall league (while playing in an arena with the second largest seating capacity).…

The majority of AHL and OHL arenas in Canada are between 5,000 and 9,000 seats and therefore more appropriately sized for their host communities. In addition to hockey, these arenas are used for a variety of other events including ice rental (tournaments, charity events, corporate groups). Profitability is most often a function of the hockey team attendance.

Burlington Post, Jan 5 2011:

“If somebody approaches me and says we have a 9,000-seat building and would like an anchor tenant, of course I’d consider it,” says team owner Michael Andlauer.…

Andlauer says he actually looked at the site a couple years ago when he was exploring the idea of building an arena in Burlington. With its proximity to the highway and the GO station, he calls it a “site of the future.”

Further, he says moving the team there wouldn’t go against his commitment to keep the team in the Hamilton area.

Hamilton Spectator, Jan 20 2015:

Burlington business owner Tim Wilson says he's aware of an out-of-town buyer with deep pockets — he only knows the man's first name — who likes the city as a hockey market and is interested in bringing a major junior team there. Meanwhile, he says a local builder he wouldn't name, but knows personally, is ready to begin work on a new 7,500 to 9,000-seat arena, financed entirely with private money.

Hamilton Spectator, Nov 27 2017:

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.…

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.

I imagine that all but a handful of FOC bookings would be viable in a venue half its capacity. It would be a mistake to think that's not in the cards.

No new cash proposed for FirstOntario Centre fixes
(Hamilton Spectator, Teri Pekoskie, Jan 22 2019)

The city plans to assess the antifreeze lines under the ice at FirstOntario Centre in the coming off-season, but it still hasn't committed any cash to replace them.

In a tweet Monday, Mayor Fred Eisenberger confirmed that facilities staff believe it is "very unlikely" the lines will fail catastrophically — an event that would cause the ice to deteriorate and force the main tenant at the downtown rink, the Hamilton Bulldogs, to sniff out an alternate home.

Instead, the lines are subject to "gradual decline," he wrote, and a "thorough infrared under ice surface assessment" will take place at the end of the 2018-19 campaign. "Currently the ice surface is deemed to remain very good," he added.

In a separate tweet, Eisenberger also wrote that he believes "we may need to effect a repair sooner rather than later" given the age of the 33-year-old building. He said escalators and elevators in the facility will be fixed — which is something the city agreed to fund last year.

Council ratifies doing a study, with $200K in city $, to look at the future of Hamilton's downtown entertainment facilities (convention centre, FirstOntario Centre, FO Concert Hall). That includes whether they should be relocated, or in a cluster. Report back this summer

https://twitter.com/SamCraggsCBC

Another massive K-pop group is coming to Firstontario Centre. Blackpink just announced the only Canadian date for their world tour will be in Hamilton...

https://i.imgur.com/nx6Wjv2.jpg
Blackpink World Tour - North American Dates by ygent_official, on Twitter

LOL at Toronto.... "Toronto K-pop fans are suffering an identity crisis following a devastating announcement: Blackpink is choosing to perform in Hamilton instead of the 6ix. "

https://www.blogto.com/music/2019/02...pink-hamilton/

Hmm, now they know how it feels.

Yeah, pretty much all the facilities on that tour are second-rate. It's the time of year ie between the NBA and the NHL, everything's basically fully booked. I guess we should keep our 17000-seat arena, hey?

I'd be for keeping a 17,000+ seat arena even if this wasn't happening. But hey, this is just another good reason, eh?

New York fans must be equally butthurt that they have to go to New Jersey for the show.

I think you mean new joisey :P