Stadium plan $53.7 million short
Decision on Pan Am site will be left to team elected on Oct. 25
Emma Reilly
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...-million-short
The city is still months away and millions of dollars short of resolving the Pan Am stadium debate.
At city council's penultimate meeting Tuesday, council did not officially approve the CP rail yard site at Aberdeen Avenue and Longwood Road because crucial pieces of information weren't available.
The city still has to finalize several key details, including how it's going to bridge a funding gap of at least $53.7 million.
That means the final decision on the Pan Am Games will be left to the councillors set to be elected Oct. 25, sparing the current council from making a controversial decision less than two weeks before voters go to the polls.
“In the middle of an election process at this point in time without all the information, it would be irresponsible of us to make a decision other than to say, let's keep moving forward,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger. “The next council will have some challenges to deal with, one way or another.”
One of the biggest hurdles facing the next council will be financing.
According to city finance chief Rob Rossini, the total construction costs for the stadium are $166 million. The total funding currently committed from the three levels of government totals $125 million. That leaves a gap of $40.7 million for construction of the stadium alone, not including land acquisition, remediation, business relocation and demolition.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have told city officials they'll commit $8 million to $10 million over 10 years to help with construction costs.
That lessens the capital funding gap to between $30 million and $32 million.
However, Cats president Scott Mitchell made it clear at Tuesday's meeting that the city should not count on the Tiger-Cats for any further money and the team has reached its limit in terms of financial contributions.
“We're at our threshold financially. Certainly, much like the city, we're all in and want to get to a solution,” Mitchell said outside the council chamber.
The city is also short when it comes to the velodrome and west harbour redevelopment.
The city has spent $9 million on land in the west harbour, formerly earmarked as the stadium site but abandoned after the Tiger-Cats said the team would refuse to play there.
There's also a $14-million funding gap to build a permanent velodrome.
Added to the $32-million shortfall for construction of the stadium, that leaves the city looking for an additional $55 million, plus funding for land-related costs such as remediation.
The city and the Ticats are looking to the upper levels of government to come up with extra funding.
Though the province has sent positive signals about bumping up its funding levels, the federal government says it needs more time to decide whether to commit extra funding.
That's one of the reasons
why staff advised councillors to put off a decision until after the election.
Though the city and the Tiger-Cats are co-operating, neither side is entirely happy with the site.
Mitchell told councillors that private funding hasn't come as easily because the city didn't choose a suburban green field with lots of space for development.
“If you want private sector involvement, development's going to be a large part of that … If you're going to want to attract a vast amount of private sector investment, you have to go to where the private sector is going to make a lot of money.”
Eisenberger made it clear his preferred location is still the west harbour. He expressed concern that the city hadn't allocated “a dollar” to west harbour redevelopment so far.
“My preferred option has been the west harbour. That would have been, in my view, perfect,” he said. “But compromise is working through and finding solutions for everyone.”
Though several councillors mentioned they were pleased with the city's progress on the CP site, councillors Sam Merulla and Brian McHattie — the only two councillors who voted against moving forward with the CP lands — told council the public doesn't want a Pan Am stadium.
Merulla said the city keeps trying new sites and not finding workable solutions.
“Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same results,” he said. “At what point are we going to end the madness?”
The next Pan Am update will be delivered to the newly elected council in January 2011.
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