[Optimist]

Hey Pete, I'm not leaving Fred out of it. If the "Kitty-Cats" are so unimportant as you seem to imply, I'm sure a smart man like Fred Eisenberger wouldn't have cared less about a new stadium in Hamilton or any "threats" from them to leave. Men like FE don't fail often, look at the position he is in now as head of the Canadian Urban Institute I belive it is.

The stadium is a wonderful opportunity for Hamilton and I love it that it will be smaller and more intimate. Look at the ACC with the Leafs, they could have built an arena that holds about 21,000 like Montreal or actually 25,000 or more but they went smaller, a bit more demand for tickets, a bit cozier feel. Right now Hamilton doesn't even have a sports facility as nice as the London Knights, an amateur team in the OHL where you have 37 corporate suites sold out for every game and each game sold out or close to at 9000. What does Copps have, like 6 suites or something? And IWS right now with wooden bench seats with splinters and magic markers, shown on national television where CFL games often outdraw even "major league" teams like the Raptors, really needs an entire makeover as it's doing.

Again, I'll repeat my wife and myself, not from Hamilton originally, have fallen in love with the area around IWS, a real "feel" to the area, love Gage Park before games, Ottawa St. N, going to Pearl Co. events a bit more west of the area etc where apparently it's all crack users although the 10 or so times we've been there, at night most of the time, we've never felt threatened at all going back to our cars. No more so that some of the burbs we've been in any city.

Those that think this is a huge 'fail', however that is defined, well, that is their right. I think it's more than a huge 'win', it's a fantastic win-win all the way and I love that the Future Fund money is going to a part of inner city Hamilton. I'm very excited and those that wish to harp the 'fail' song can keep doing so, I won't be joining you in the least.