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Millions in repairs needed for Convention Centre, FirstOntario Centre
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, Nov 21 2017)

The city needs to find at least $2 million to fix the crumbling exterior of the Hamilton Convention Centre to avoid the future possibility of bricks falling on people below.

That capital funding request is just a fraction of nearly $7 million in convention centre repairs deemed to need "immediate action" this year or next - as well as another $4 million to replace failing escalators and elevators in the FirstOntario Centre.

A study of the convention centre brick earlier this year discovered loose or crumbling brick at various locations around the 35-year-old building, spurring immediate brick removal and repairs as well as unspecified "adjustments" to exit locations to ensure public safety, a new report says.

But more work is needed, soon.

"It is suggested that spalling brick faces will pose a safety hazard in the future, if not further addressed," say staff in the report, which note weakened areas of brick will worsen during freeze-thaw cycles.

The report asks council to approve $2 million as a priority in next year's capital budget. It also notes a study of the entire building has found $6.7 million in repairs that deserve "immediate action," but notes acknowledges the challenge of competing budget requests - including a separate and urgent $4 million for FirstOntario Centre.

The information comes in two separate reports headed to a city budget meeting Friday outline a combined $45 million in required - but unfunded - repairs to the city's three aging entertainment facilities in the core, which also includes Hamilton Place.

The $4 million request for the former Copps Coliseum would cover replacing four failing escalators, installing a new elevator and "modernization" of two existing elevators.

Read it in full here.