Your eternal optimism is refreshing, but its more a case of neither stadium being good enough for the CFL. Moncton punched way above its weight with its stadium while Hamilton has done the opposite. Hamilton's is still better, but not by much.
I am optimistic, but in this case I was being mostly ironic.
And that rumour, any validity to it? Would have huge respect to City Council if they did do it. West Harbour was awesome if you asked me. Personally, I thought a lake-side stadium near Confederation Park would be the best location, but that's not to be.
West Harbour was by far the best location, not even a competition.
The Confederation Park location would be aesthetically pleasing, and good in theory, but the transportation to and from the stadium would be an absolute nightmare, which is why it was thrown out.
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Hope is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of our greatest strength, and our greatest weakness.
No kidding, the CFL should tell Hamilton to shove their proposed high school stadium and move the Ti-cats to Atlantic Canada. Can Hamilton get anything right.
There's nowhere for a CFL team to go in Atlantic Canada. Moncton's facility is basic (on the order of $20M cost -- and people are complaining about Hamilton's $100M+ stadium!) and was just built 2 years ago with taxpayer dollars. A major stadium there would be a very large, difficult to fund project. I suspect the CFL doesn't really want to set up shop there but that Moncton is a good way to maintain a bit of visibility and maybe put pressure on Halifax to build a stadium.
A $60-100M stadium project would be fairly easy to fund in Halifax but for whatever reason there's never quite been enough leadership to build a proper stadium. There was actually a CFL team in Halifax in the 1980s but they folded when a stadium deal fell through. Since then there have been half a dozen serious bids or schemes that have also failed, typically because of mismanagement and snap decisions on the part of city council.
West Harbour was by far the best location, not even a competition.
Agree. It was a huge opportunity lost and Hamilton will have to live with the repercussions for many decades to come.
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There's nowhere for a CFL team to go in Atlantic Canada. Moncton's facility is basic (on the order of $20M cost -- and people are complaining about Hamilton's $100M+ stadium!) and was just built 2 years ago with taxpayer dollars. A major stadium there would be a very large, difficult to fund project. I suspect the CFL doesn't really want to set up shop there but that Moncton is a good way to maintain a bit of visibility and maybe put pressure on Halifax to build a stadium.
A $60-100M stadium project would be fairly easy to fund in Halifax but for whatever reason there's never quite been enough leadership to build a proper stadium. There was actually a CFL team in Halifax in the 1980s but they folded when a stadium deal fell through. Since then there have been half a dozen serious bids or schemes that have also failed, typically because of mismanagement and snap decisions on the part of city council.
Not to nitpick, But Halifax never actually had a team. They had a conditional franchise if and when a stadium was built. No stadium, thus no team.
'What the heck am I missing?
The old Ivor Wynne stadium has 29,000 seats and the new one is going to have 24,000 seats and look the exact same as the old stadium but it is going to cost 150 million to remake a stadium that was built in 1928 with less seats?'
If City Council doesn't walk away from this deal then they're dumber than they look.
While it's true the TiCats are responsible for this 🞵🞵🞵🞵-up, the City of Hamilton is, at the very least, complicit. The plan was to locate the new stadium in the West Harbour but new mayor, Bob Bratina, bent over and let the Kitty Cats have their way with him.
Pull the plug on the stadium and let Bob Young sell the team if he wants to. End this nonsense once and for all. But let it be known that this is the only way a stadium will ever get built in Hamilton. It has to be linked to some sort of amateur sporting spectacle. That's where the dough is.
A few years back someone posted a rendering of a potential Hamilton stadium near the lake that kind of resembled Edmonton's Commonwealth stadium, sure as heck doesn't look like the 1960's college stadium they now want to build.
Heck even the city of Regina (population 210K) has their sites on a 34K stadium with partially covered stands.
One thing I've noticed about Investors Group Field, especially now that they're working on the field, is how small the lower deck is -- I counted 27 rows.
One thing I've noticed about Investors Group Field, especially now that they're working on the field, is how small the lower deck is -- I counted 27 rows.
The goal was to try and keep every seat as close to the field as possible. I tested the seats at the top of the upper deck and truthfully there isn't a bad seat in the house.
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"But a city can be smothered by too much reverence for its past. The skyline must keep acquiring new peaks, because the day we consider it complete and untouchable is the day the city begins to die." - Justin Davidson - May 2010 Issue of New York
The city started to demolish the hippodrome to make way for the new arena. In the earlier stage of the project, it was decided that the facade would be preserved and integrated to the design of the new arena. This decision was overturned for two reasons. First, the structure of the hippodrome, which dates back to 1917, had been previously weakened. The second (and real) reason is monetary: it would have been very expansive to reinforce the facade so that it would keep it structural integrity during the construction. The City is adamant that it will respect its budget so it choose not to integrate it. If they are to respect the budget, now is the best time to do it because engineering and construction firms are particularly vigilant in light of the Charbonneau Commission. Allready, the excavation work cost 11% less than the city had anticipated.
Honestly, I would have preferred to see the facade integrated to the new arena in one way or another because it was a beautiful building with great historical relevance...
The city started to demolish the hippodrome to make way for the new arena.
Is horse racing going down the tubes in QC or did it just move to new digs? It did look like a great old track.
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It seems like a dying dinosaur. I think the only track left operating is in Trois-Rivières although there are plans for a new one in Montreal.
That's a shame. I suppose cultural changes and that's all there is to it. Maybe 100 years from now, the NHL will be defunct and this new arena will be torn down to build a cricket field.
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Yep, horse racing is pretty much over in Quebec City. I remember going to the hyppodrome with my grandfather to watch the races when I was younger. Here is the track, a ghost of its former glory!
It is so unfortunate how horse racing is dying. It is such a good time. For whatever reason my office has a lot of people who really enjoy it and we go as a huge group (75-100 people) every year for the evening. People who have never gone are always amazed at just how much fun (and affordable) it is.
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Lana. Lana. Lana? LANA! Danger Zone
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