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Examining The Hamilton Mess

Written on August 12, 2010 at 01:24, by HTTN

by HTTN’s Hamilton based writer - James Scarfone

hamiltonsky

Look, it’s about time you guys in the rest of Canada learnt about what’s going on here in Hamilton. I’ve listened to a lot of people who don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to our stadium situation. I have read about it for months and I’m confident I know more than some guy from Regina or Toronto. Surprisingly, even more than “journalists” who write for the national media.

Hamilton’s New Stadium

This is not about the Tiger-Cats. It was never supposed to be.

It’s about Hamilton getting a piece of the federal and provincial pie to build badly-needed sports infrastructure. This planned infrastructure just so happens to be in a ramshackle part of the city that is near the waterfront.

Hamilton’s council has voted to place the new stadium awarded to the city by the Pan Am Games committee in an area called West Harbour, and all levels of government will be chipping in. It will clean up brownfields, it’s expected to revitalize the downtown core and it will bring a community together in a part of town that’s been neglected for too long.

proposedstad1proposed stadium in Hamilton’s West Harbour

The intended use for the stadium after the Games will include concerts, high-performance athletics, soccer games, university and high school sports and community events along with the Ticats.

The Issue With the Tiger-Cats

The Ticats won’t go for West Harbour.

They complained it won’t be accessible by car, even though car dependency is set to decline. They claimed there was little to no parking (an exaggeration to strengthen their cause, and again, less car dependence in the future). They said no one could see it from the highway (Montreal seems to do okay, and does Vancouver’s two-laner even qualify to be called a highway?).

proposedstad3

West Harbour has been supported by several groups ranging from planners, developers, local businesses, students, young professionals, artists, entrepreneurs, traffic consultants, engineers, and most importantly, the citizens. Yes, council actually voted in line with the people on this. Democracy works.

The football club, on the other hand, has not shown any valid proof why this site won’t work, so it’s difficult to believe their argument. Instead, the team has resorted to bully tactics (threats of relocation) to try to get their way.

Bob Young, owner of the Ticats, has championed a so-called compromise location on Hamilton’s East Mountain. It’s practically in the suburbs and does not provide any city-building opportunities, unlike West Harbour. He hasn’t submitted a business proposal for this site either.  And here’s the clincher: East Mountain will cost more to the taxpayer.

bobyoung1Bob Young – Owner of the Tiger-Cats

The City is More Important than the Team

Though we’d be happy to take their hockey team, last time I checked, we weren’t in Glendale and we don’t support professional sports teams that aren’t financially viable.  As much as Young has done for the city, supporting the deadbeat franchise we all love, we cannot go into debt as a city to support a football team.

I’ve seen the Ticats lose games and money my entire life. Sure they’ve won a Grey Cup here and there, but this team hasn’t been a proud franchise for a long time.

City council’s decision, rightfully, wasn’t about the Ticats. It was about a vision for the future of Hamilton and the future of amateur sport in Southern Ontario, with or without a football team. Of course we’d rather have the team involved, but coming out of a major recession, there are larger concerns than a pro sports team.

-to see James Scarfone’s previous post on the August Blue Jays click here
-to see James Scarfone’s previous post, on the rise of Hamilton click here
-follow James Scarfone on twitter: @jamesscarfone

  • http://www.barelkarsan.com Saj

    Thanks for this, James. For some reason, I couldn’t find out why the Ti-Cats were against this site on the major sports websites. The explanation as per your article is surprising – it seems everywhere else, sports owners are clamoring for downtown, non-suburb stadium sites, so it’s surprising to see Young demanding just the opposite. (Montreal is obviously a great CFL example of how the downtown site can help in a big way.)

  • http://facebook Kathy

    you neglected to mention concession rights for the new stadium, lack of a working business plan for the west harbor and municipal subsidies that have been provided to the Cats in the past. All these are also factors in the debate.

  • James S

    The other sports sites are only interested in the CFL perspective and not the city or business perspective. They heard the threat of relocation and decided to run with that.

    It is unreal in this day and age that a sports owner is rooting for a “driveway-to-driveway” experience, which the other location apparently represents, rather than a community-building initiative that West Harbour can be. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Vancouver, Toronto (SkyDome, BMO Field), Montreal and countless others have proven that downtown, tough to access stadiums can work.

    By the way, suburban stadium examples include Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Kauffman in Kansas City, Miller Park in Milwaukee. All get complaints due to their distance from their respective cores and suffer attendance-wise as a result. Accessibility by car should never be the only issue, but the Ticats have made it one.

  • http://headtothe.net HTTN

    From a Vancouver perspective:

    Downtown works: there is tons of infrastructure to get us in and out quickly. Having lived in Montreal for 5 years, I’d say it’s the same there.

    Empire Field – our version of out in the middle of nowhere, though it IS on the highway – is a major pain to get to. First, who even wants to drive to an outdoor football game? The more important thing to look at is the available public transportation, and trying to take the bus to Empire Field, we’ve already been rejected from full ones, several times.

    Going to a Canucks game (downtown at Rogers Arena) is a 4.5 hr outing. Going to a Lions game this season is more like a 6 hour outing. When it rains like it did this past weekend, it’s probably not worth the fuss.

  • James S

    I have no reason to believe the city wouldn’t offer the same concessions at the new stadium. It hasn’t been an issue yet because the city and Ticats first have to agree on the stadium site before they can move on to subsidies. The heart of the matter has been the location the whole time. There’s been no bone of contention on concessions etc.

  • James

    This article hits the nail on the head. As much as we love the Ti Cats we love our city more. The key word is “sustainability” and the City Of Hamilton needs both the Federal and Provincial cash ( only our share) as well as a kick start to the next decade of growth. The Stadium in the core will benefit drivers and non drivers alike and will enhance the value of the inner city and encourage residency and investment.
    The Ti Cats should hunker down and negotiate a fair long term package that will assist the teams viaiblity.Young should make some money and it is only a matter of how he can get a slice of the pie for his sticking with us.The Ti Cat Brand is international and it is connected to Hamilton not Milton or Quebec City

  • Paul

    everyone also forgot to mention that the west harbour area is nasty, old, full of bums and thugs and no one wants to go in that area because it is full of crime. I’ve lived in the hammer for 35 years and have not been to that area in 10 years because it is scum. I also have not been to a ticat game in years becuase of the location of the stadium and the fact there is no parking you have to walk for hours. If they move the site to east mountain you have a new season ticket owner right here baby.

  • James S

    Paul, there’s a new generation of fans that may not want to drive to sporting events, let alone have that as the only option. This is what you would get if you put a stadium in a random meadow far from transit.

    Do you think they would build a stadium without revitalizing the entire area filled with, as you point out with utmost hyperbole and gross ignorance, bums and thugs? I’m sure the city and team would do more for the area after building the main piece.