Pan Am supporters ramp up sales spiel
February 11, 2009
Andrew Dreschel
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/511350
The great Pan American tub-thump is on.
Today, former premier David Peterson, chair of the 2015 Pan Am bid, will be pitching the games at a Hamilton Chamber of Commerce lunch.
Yesterday, Ticat owner Bob Young was all over the local media promising to bring millions of private-sector dollars to the table to build a new stadium for the games and, incidentally, his team.
And, next week, Mayor Fred Eisenberger and members of the local Pan Am advisory committee are slated to meet with The Spectator's editorial board to talk about why it's important for Hamilton to take part in the bid.
Clearly, the campaign to rally political and community support is ramping up as Feb. 23 draws near.
That's the date city councillors will be asked to make a financial commitment to the games and choose a site for a new stadium to replace Ivor Wynne.
What does the push signify?
For one thing, Eisenberger is as good as his word.
The mayor vowed he and others would be beating the drum for Hamilton's participation in prep for the big vote and that's now in full play.
On the other hand, the amount of muscle-flexing also suggests the opposition may be gathering strength.
The ABCs of the city's financial undertaking and pros and cons of the potential stadium sites will be unveiled at the Feb. 23 meeting.
But, basically, the debate is boiling down to whether the city should ante up about $94 million to build a $150-million stadium, with the $56-million difference being paid by senior government.
Most councillors are waiting for the presentation before they formally commit.
But, in the meantime, the no side has found the perfect foghorn in Councillor Sam Merulla, who maintains the city can't afford to get aboard given the long backlog of roads, bridges and rec centres that need repairing.
In that vein, Merulla keeps referring to an infrastructure deficit of up $180 million.
I don't know about that. According to acting city treasurer, Tony Tollis, the infrastructure deficit varies from year to year, but right now it's in the neighbourhood of $100 million.
Still, there's no question many of this city's capital programs are seriously underfunded.
And that problem is compounded by the economic downturn, growing pressures on the operating budget and a teeny assessment growth of 1 per cent.
Against that sobering backdrop, Merulla is taking a buzz saw to the pro-bid planks.
They talk about a vision for the future; Merulla talks about their blindness to fiscal realities.
They talk about creating a community legacy; he talks about the better bequest of speeding up the replacement and repair of aging infrastructure.
They talk about the excitement of a major international event; Merulla dismisses the games as an obscure "third-rate event with fourth-rate athletes."
When they talk about contributing millions of private- sector dollars to build the stadium, Merulla asks for hard numbers not vague promises.
When they talk about Hamilton being part of a Golden Horseshoe bid, Merulla points out that, officially, it's known as the Toronto bid and yet Toronto is only promising to kick in about $47 million -- half the cost of a new stadium for Hamilton.
As they rev up the campaign to bring Hamilton into the fold, Merulla plunges deeper into his populist persona.
See the scrappy east-ender sticking up for the little guy in the face of pressure from business bigwigs such as David Braley, Ron Foxcroft and Bob Young.
That's an unshakable tenet for Merulla: He's convinced the power brokers are out of touch, that the "average Hamiltonian" wants no part of the games.
And he predicts that, no matter how hard the pro-camp pumps and stumps its cause through open and back channels, the Feb. 23 vote will still be very, very close.
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