A waterfront entertainment zone
Jeremy Grimaldi
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jun 30, 2010)
Casinos, hotels, restaurants, student residences and office blocks are just some of the venues that Hamiltonians might expect in a potential entertainment district.
A report commissioned by Katz Entertainment Holdings Corporation, which is being advised by AEG -- the world's largest owner of sports teams and events -- and presented to Hamilton council yesterday, outlined its view of a west harbourfront sports and entertainment district.
Daryl Katz, the owner of the Edmonton Oilers, is proposing to take control of Copps and the Pan Am stadium. Part of that proposal involves the creation of an entertainment precinct around the Pan Am stadium.
According to the document, the waterfront land would not only be an ideal location for the new Pan Am stadium, but it could also support hundreds of thousands of square feet worth of development worth billions.
Currently the Katz Group and AEG have a proposal in front of the city of Edmonton for a $1.5-billion entertainment district centred around an 18,000-seat rink.
In that city, where councillors have just put the plans on ice until the fall, the group has also drawn up controversial plans to build a sprawling, above ground bubble dubbed "the winter garden" which would link to surrounding amenities.
In Edmonton, the Katz Group wants the city to pay for and own the $400-million arena. At last word, the Katz Group proposed it would kick in $100 million toward Edmonton's proposed entertainment district.
Although AEG has seen successes in London, England and Los Angeles, a Kansas City mayor's office spokesperson said an eight-block district in the city's downtown is losing money every year.
Joe Miller warned any city interested in a new entertainment district to beware "because there are hundreds of ways to get zapped" on similar deals.