Tim Hortons Field | 40m | ? | Complete

[NorthEndRules]

I think that Mr Eisenberger has shown conviction and true leadership in all of this. Clearly, he has a vision of what to do with the Future fund money the city was going to use for the stadium. This money was desiganted to make Hamilton a better place to live in: Clean contaminated lands, showcase a better image of Hamilton to the country and the world, invigorate the urban economy, and make the urban part of Hamilton a destination. Real cities are designed to attract people from the periphery inward.
To the other councillors, you should grow a spine and stick to your principles. Don't let the private interests scare you into selling out the city.
To the PanAm organizers, nice job in dividing this community. If it's true your bid book had a bayfront stadium proposal and yet you've been sabotaging this with comments like today's, you have no principles.
Mr Young, it's time you sold the team. I don't think you ever bought the team to move it out of Hamilton. Did you?

[realcity]

So..... ? where are we?

Still betting my 5% chance that it will be built at WH? When did I say that? Like 13 months ago?

White Star is nothing serious. ... it's rather coincidence that we've never heard anything from them until "PUBLIC MONEY" $ was involved. Sounds like all the other downtown developments.

[realcity]

WH was never a go. I think we should look into who owns the land around the WH site.

[realcity]

^ aaaa oookay... even more the reason to build a larger 25k stadium at York. Forget it maan. Hamilton stubbornly insisted on WH and lost.... bc WH sucks for a CFL stadium. That's the end of the story. Give it Up man. If I was wrong then the Ticats would be building there right now as I write this.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by realcity

^ aaaa oookay... even more the reason to build a larger 25k stadium at York. Forget it maan. Hamilton stubbornly insisted on WH and lost.... bc WH sucks for a CFL stadium. That's the end of the story. Give it Up man. If I was wrong then the Ticats would be building there right now as I write this.

Did you even comprehend what I said or are you off your meds again.

I didn't say anything in that post about the West harbour or any other location in this city.

Just for your information I am not neccesarily pro WH as much as I am pro putting the stadium downtown and unless the Ticats are going to put their own money into the stadium I don't really care what they think. Tenants who don't pay rent have no business complaining about getting a new home no matter where it is. I would rather see the city not build a stadium at all, if it's not going to serve the city's interests in the future.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

Just for your information I am not neccesarily pro WH as much as I am pro putting the stadium downtown and unless the Ticats are going to put their own money into the stadium I don't really care what they think. Tenants who don't pay rent have no business complaining about getting a new home no matter where it is. I would rather see the city not build a stadium at all, if it's not going to serve the city's interests in the future.

I agree. Cheers to the Hamilton Mayor for not caving in and putting a stadium on the East Mountain where almost everyone must drive to the stadium and park in a 7,000 car parking lot that will be deserted most of the time.

[realcity]

Do you own the Ticats? Are you building a new stadium?

Next response typical of the WH maniac, is "it's our money". Please it's our money that is building the new Central Library, It;s our money that is building the new Farmers Market, It is our money that is rebuilding the Lister Block, It is our money that built a replica of the City Hall." All this stuff is cool right? Until you want to pull the 'tax card'. next time you need a MRI let me know if I want to pay for that>

[realcity]

You know what? I'd really like to hear suggestions for how this $60mil could be spent for 'city development'?

Please lets have a conversation about how $60mil could be spent?

Considering City Hall cost what $80mil... keep that in mind. and lets discuss how FF $ could be spent. Because I have no idea. Other than build a new TiCat Stadium, Im seriously at a lost. Since you are all experts, and want to kill any stadium if its not built at WH. Tell me what you would spend a measly $60mil on?

Tell me how you would spend the $60mil FF

[mattgrande]

Originally Posted by realcity

You know what? I'd really like to hear suggestions for how this $60mil could be spent for 'city development'?

Please lets have a conversation about how $60mil could be spent?

Considering City Hall cost what $80mil... keep that in mind. and lets discuss how FF $ could be spent. Because I have no idea. Other than build a new TiCat Stadium, Im seriously at a lost. Since you are all experts, and want to kill any stadium if its not built at WH. Tell me what you would spend a measly $60mil on?

Tell me how you would spend the $60mil FF

- Cleaning up toxic waste sites
- Charging delinquent owners (The people who have bought up factories and warehouses over the past 20 years and let them rot so they're now falling down)
- More bike lanes
- Randall Reef
- Tearing down falling buildings
- Investing in local businesses
- New parks
- Waterdown wants a new library

This is just off the top of my head, and all very general. But yeah, I guess a new stadium for the Ti-Cats, with about 30,000 fans, is the best use of this money for a city of 500,000.

You say in another thread "stay away from this city. it's cheap for a reason" but you can't think of anything better to spend your money on than a new stadium for a second-rate football team that hasn't won more than half their games since 2001? Why are you even still living here?

[emge]

Originally Posted by realcity

You know what? I'd really like to hear suggestions for how this $60mil could be spent for 'city development'?

Please lets have a conversation about how $60mil could be spent?

Considering City Hall cost what $80mil... keep that in mind. and lets discuss how FF $ could be spent. Because I have no idea. Other than build a new TiCat Stadium, Im seriously at a lost. Since you are all experts, and want to kill any stadium if its not built at WH. Tell me what you would spend a measly $60mil on?

Tell me how you would spend the $60mil FF

of the 75-ish or so buildings that immediately surround it, buy up every single decrepit building around Gore Park. Have a 10-year budget to hire people to clean up, enforce bylaws and put different activities in the park every day and fill it with varied types of people doing different things - kids playing and art and grandmas doing tai chi and fitness classes and drum circles.... but just NOT the default activities, whether that's drug deals or obnoxiously loud religious services (is there no bylaw about that?!?!).

Fill the park up with just about anything: movie nights, dog-walking, rib-eating contests, theater, ice-skating, pet shows, a splash pad, have a knitting circle for all I care but fill it with a variety of people and a variety of destinations and make it aesthetically appealing so that first-time visitors and long-time citizens go "wow" and not "ugh"

Spend the remaining 10-20 million or so on attracting entrepeneurs to the buildings and cutting amazing deals on those who want to open good businesses and lease or buy those buildings -- including all the upper stories and building a base of residential tenants. Man. what i'd do...

for the stadium, I certainly don't think the Longwood site is ideal, but if any of the MIP stuff ever spun off to another area that needed it more I'd be impressed/amazed.

[NorthEndRules]

Hamilton should use the $60 million on buying up the rail lands near the harbour and making part of it parklands for picknickers, baseball diamonds, a soccer pitch and an outdoor hockey rink. The rest of the remediated lands can be auctioned for residential and commercial developments. It's time to start reclaiming these industrial lands. The rest of the money and any proceeds can go towards refurbishing the exterior of Hamilton Place, the Convention Centre and Copps Colisseum. These public facades are very uninviting. I would love an IMAX/planetarium. We could use a destination piece like a planetarium and the GTA doesn't have one. I think the Football Hall of Fame needs a better more visible location as well like the pier.

[SteelTown]

If the money can't go towards a West Harbour stadium than it's simple, use the money towards LRT. That's city building.

[dennis1]

This is tomorrow. Wow.

[SteelTown]

Bob Young sending new letter to council

Rick Zamperin
8/30/2010
http://www.900chml.com/Channels/Reg/...spx?ID=1271565

Ticats owner Bob Young is sending another letter to city council regarding the proposed Pan Am stadium site at Aberdeen and Longwood.

The letter comes as councillors prepare to meet tomorrow to discuss that location.

City staff are also expected to tell councillors the west harbour plan may not survive as is, and Pan Am organizers would only fund a 5 to 7-thousand seat stadium.

In Young's letter, he writes the Aberdeen and Longwood location addresses the team's requirements of highway exposure, accessibility, public transit and a commercial-industrial area.

Young adds the Ticats will engage in constructive talks with the city, should councillors move forward with the Aberdeen and Longwood stadium site.

[SteelTown]

BREAKING NEWS

Young open to Longwood stadium

Ticat owner Bob Young is open to looking at a new alternative for the Pan Am stadium, he says in a letter to Mayor Fred Eisenberger.

[SteelTown]

Young set to talk about west-end stadium site
Writes to Mayor Fred Eisenberger saying he’s open to an alternative

The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/news/article/...d-stadium-site

Ticat owner Bob Young is open to looking at a new west-end alternative for the Pan Am stadium, he says in a letter to Mayor Fred Eisenberger.

Young said he likes several facets of the site, which is across Longwood Road from McMaster Innovation Park at Aberdeen Avenue.

“While we have not conducted comprehensive due diligence at the ‘Longwood’ site,” he wrote, “it does present the essential sports stadium requirements of highway exposure, access and egress for stadium visitors, public transit and being situated in a commercial/industrial area conducive to hosting as many large audience events as possible without disruption to a neighboring residential community.”

Young said the Ticats “will engage constructively and urgently with the city to conclude a definitive Pan Am stadium agreement in a timely manner.”

City council sits Tuesday in a special meeting to consider a scaled-down stadium at the city’s west harbour location and the possibility of examining the west-end site.

It was looked at in the past but was wasn’t promoted by the city because a stadium and parking would take up key revenue-generating employment lands.

[SteelTown]

August 30, 2010

Mayor Fred Eisenberger,
Subhect: Pan Am Stadium

Dear Mayor Eisenberger,

I understand City Council is conferring Tuesday, August 31 to consider (among other topics) a proposal to site the Pan Am Stadium at the Aberdeen/Longwood Road precinct.

While we have not conducted comprehensive due diligenece at the "Longwood" site, it does present the essential sports stadium requirements of: highway exposure, access and egress for stadium visitors, public transit, and being situated in a commercial/industrial area conducive to hosting as many large audience events as possible without disruption to a neighbouring residential community.

Our goal for the new stadium will be to create the "sustainable legacy" facility, as required by the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, to promote the City of Hamilton across Canada and around the world long after the conclusion of the Pan Am Games. The stadium should bring as many events as possible to Hamilton.

These will include the Hamilton Tiger-Cats CFL Football team, a new franchise in the North American Soccer League, a high performance soccer academy, as well as a number of other event opportunities.

Through this letter, I want to assure you and members of Council, should it be the will of Council, the Hamilton Tiger-Cat organization will engage constructively and urgently with the City to conclude a definitive Pan Am Stadium agreement in a timely manner.

Sincerely,

Bob Young
Owner, Hamilton Tiger-Cats Football Club

[go_leafs_go02]

Count on it. This will be the site.

I prefer it to West Harbour to be honest.

[Jon Dalton]

I hope not. We really need jobs in Hamilton. Pro sports are nice, but I'd really like a decent job in my Hamilton future.

[c@taract_soulj@h]

I would love this site...in a nutshell