Quote:
Originally Posted by king10
I'd prefer the arena stay downtown, but if the private sector is going to pay for over 50% of the arena, we should hear what they have to say, especially if they are willing to take on operating costs.
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Or if their business undertaking makes sense as a business model.
Hamilton Bulldogs could be persuaded to move to Aldershot
(Burlington Post, Jan 06, 2011)
Don’t write off the Hamilton Bulldogs’ interest in a new arena in Aldershot just yet.
“If somebody approaches me and says we have a 9,000-seat building and would like an anchor tenant, of course I’d consider it,” says team owner Michael Andlauer.
As part of a proposed development that would include a new stadium for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Angelo Paletta has included an arena. Any such building would need a team of some kind.
Andlauer says he actually looked at the site a couple years ago when he was exploring the idea of building an arena in Burlington. With its proximity to the highway and the GO station, he calls it a “site of the future.”
Further, he says moving the team there wouldn’t go against his commitment to keep the team in the Hamilton area.
Paletta dreams of NHL in Aldershot
(Hamilton Spectator, Scott Radley, Jan 7 2011)
“Copps is too big,” he says. “It’s unfortunate but it was built for an NHL team and today you can have some Class A acts in much smaller buildings.”
Andlauer says he’d be willing to spend some of his own money on an arena if it made financial sense. At one point while investigating building a rink of his own, a 6,000-seat arena was going to cost something like $40 million.
OHL hockey in Burlington?
(Hamilton Spectator, Scott Radley, Jan 20 2015)
A local businessman says the pieces may be falling into place to bring an Ontario Hockey League team to Burlington.
Is he right?
Burlington business owner Tim Wilson says he's aware of an out-of-town buyer with deep pockets — he only knows the man's first name — who likes the city as a hockey market and is interested in bringing a major junior team there. Meanwhile, he says a local builder he wouldn't name, but knows personally, is ready to begin work on a new 7,500 to 9,000-seat arena, financed entirely with private money….
There's little doubt a new arena that size — and an OHL team occupying it — would have an impact on the Golden Horseshoe entertainment market. Many of the smaller concert offerings that presently perform at FirstOntario Centre might look there instead. And a building that size could be enticing to more than one team.
Back when Paletta threw out his idea four years ago, Hamilton Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer said if a 9,000-seat arena suddenly opened in this area, he'd at least consider putting his team there. It would certainly be more appropriate for an AHL franchise than where he is now.
Even still, I can imagine cheaper places to construct such a facility than some of the most valuable commercial real estate in the CMA.
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