Still hope for a bare-bones stadium opening on time
Matthew Van Dongen thespec.com March 25, 2014
Builders aim to open Hamilton's new stadium in time for the Tiger-Cats' first home game — with or without working beer taps.
Council received a letter last week from Ontario Sports Solutions, the consortium building the stadium, warning of construction delays of up to six weeks due to the December ice storm, ongoing frigid weather and the loss of a major masonry subcontractor to bankruptcy.
Site supervisor Garreth Barkey told a city subcommittee Tuesday the consortium is still aiming to have the $145-million stadium finished before the Ticats' scheduled season opener July 26.
But the construction team is also in talks with the city's fire and building departments about opening the stadium before all construction is finished. This would essentially involve "cordoning off" unfinished areas that aren't needed to play football.
"It's something we're looking at," Barkey said, adding any work affecting public safety would need to be done.
City public works head Gerry Davis said interior office space and even concession stands, for example, wouldn't necessarily need to be done come game day.
"You could bring in temporary food stands for hotdogs, or if the draft (beer) lines were not working, maybe you serve (out of) cans," he said.
Davis emphasized fire and building officials would have to be satisfied the building is safe for public use. "There could be no major deficiencies," he said.
Ticats president Glenn Gibson said though the team has a confidential backup plan in case of a six-week delay, he still expects the stadium will be done before July 26.
Gibson noted the builder is working to give the Ticats early access to allow the team to fix up change rooms and install signs, a scoreboard and furniture before game day.
"We're going to be working very closely with them," he said. "If we can reclaim even two weeks (of the projected delay) we'll be playing there on the 26th."
Three dedicated Cats fans who showed up at the committee meeting Tuesday said they were heartened by the commitment from the builders and team.
"We wanted to hear directly from (the builders) how bad it actually is," said Claudio Raposo, who has been photographing the construction as it progresses. "I'm glad six weeks is a worst-case scenario … It sounds like they can still get it done in time."
More than 280 workers are now routinely on site daily, said Barkey, and double shifts and six-day work weeks are now the norm as the contractor plays catch-up.
The builder refused to guess at a revised completion date Tuesday, but promised a new estimate by mid- to late April.
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