Posted Jul 17, 2014, 1:27 AM
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Pan Am Games hampered by facility delays
(Toronto Star, Jennifer Pagliaro, July 13 2014)
Regardless of whether it’s built yet, the Games will come.
While Pan Am Games officials take to podiums and send press releases to declare that all 25 venues across the GTA will be ready on time — and under budget — the on-the-ground realities one year out from the opening ceremony are already starting to derail.
Just this week, new Minister of Sport Michael Coteau admitted the provincial government can’t guarantee the event will be on budget.
A massive $600-million construction project has been underway since the fall of 2012, involving 10 new complexes and several major retrofitting and upgrades to existing facilities.
However, completion of some buildings has lagged, holding up test events, while slow progress at a few smaller venues has had an impact on local businesses.
Construction delays have already marred what was to be the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ big CFL homecoming at a new 22,500-seat stadium. Two games have been pushed to the nearby McMaster University campus with no official word on when the stadium will be ready.
The CFL game would have served as an important test event to work out any issues before the venue — which is hosting soccer — was cast into the international spotlight for the Games....
Each venue’s construction contract has dates marked for substantial completion so test events can be held and volunteers can move in.
The date for Hamilton’s new soccer stadium has slipped from June 30 to early October — creating what organizers acknowledge is the most substantial setback so far.
The earlier date would have seen the stadium ready well ahead of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ home opener against the Ottawa Redblacks on July 26.
When it was clear progress was lagging, the City of Hamilton said the team would need a temporary occupancy permit just to play, but that the stadium would be ready for fans.
Just weeks out from the planned occupancy of Tim Hortons Field (formerly Ivor Wynne Stadium), there was no turf on the ground, no concessions or even finishings, according to Hamilton’s general manager of public works, Gerry Davis.
On July 7, the city announced both the home opener and a July 31 game would be moved because the stadium would “not be safe and ready for occupancy by then.”
The state of the facility appeared to be lagging more than anyone predicted.
Davis said the setback — which was caused by winter delays and a subcontractor in charge of masonry going bankrupt — was concerning. The city was hoping to welcome football fans home with some finesse. Now the city is on the hook to recoup any losses — estimated at $1 million per home game — incurred by the delays.
“There’s another hundred items on the list, I’m sure,” Davis told the Star last month. “We want it done.”
In an attempt to catch up, some communities are looking for new ways to meet deadlines.
Earlier this month, the City of Hamilton amended a bylaw to allow construction crews to work from 6 p.m. to midnight, seven days a week, to speed up the process.
Read it in full here.
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