The Hamilton Tiger-Cats saga lurches ahead, as an end-of-the-week deadline nears for picking sites for the 2015 Pan Am Games:
- After two Ontario legislators said that the provincial government wouldn’t help fund a stadium at the city’s preferred downtown site, other provincial and federal legislators insisted nuh-uh, funding will go to whatever site the city chooses.
- The Hamilton city council is set to vote tomorrow on both stadium sites, but several councillors say they don’t have enough information, according to the Hamilton Spectator: “Councillors Lloyd Ferguson and Bob Bratina say the issue remains unclear on what will happen to the funding if council supports the west harbour. They also note there are no answers to a staff report saying the east Mountain stadium would cost taxpayers between $55 million and $80 million more than the west harbour site.”
- Ti-Cats fans are split on which site they prefer, but most don’t buy the threat that the team will leave: “People leave when they have somewhere to go,” one told the Spectator, while another argued: “I don’t think they would leave because Hamilton is better in Hamilton.” Tough to argue with that.
Hi… Cats are just what they are. Unpredictable.
One must pet them but must watch them for because they can get turned on you for no reason at all.
One will never know just why they acted as they did.
Their nature is limitless they wonder through all territories, when they got hungry of tired of hurt then they head for their home. Cats are basically ungrateful for all the attentions and all the love they receive. But, when they need your love they do not scratch, they me uh , and they know that your heart turned to their ways because we are humans with a highly animated animal soul. So, you Cats do not want to break a contract with our city, of Hamilton, you want to play your cat and mouse games with us for another year, why are you not trying out the new territory right now, speaking of next year you never know who will scratch your fur when you me uh you probably think there be a new horizon for all the things to come about. I believe that all you cats should be more then grateful that you still could come home, our animal spirit soul is taking pity on you. But, do not push it. Be happy with your good fortune that you have such a good home and we are offering you a real good one. We know you don’t like water, but we promise we will not through you into it. We like you to much to that to you. This message is for the cat master Bob. Young.
Well, Council voted for the site they preferred (the one the team said they would ‘never’ play in), and the one that was least expensive, by a decisive margin of 12-3. But the night before the vote, the Ticats owner sent a letter to the Mayor saying he was withdrawing from negotiations with the city and taking his offer for his preferred site off the table. He stopped short of saying he was moving the team, but said the team would ‘play out their days at Ivor Wynne” (the existing City stadium that is under lease until 2011 – they pay $27,500 per year in rent).
According to the blog run by the team’s beat reporter “There will be no official response from Ticats tonight on council vote. I’d publish the unofficial reaction but this blog is still affiliated with a family newspaper”
So with $102M of public money on the table ($45M of it from the city), the total cost for the City’s preferred site was $189M and the team’s preferred site was $210M. For the PanAm Games they need a 15,000 seat stadium, but the Tiger-Cats need 25,000+. Not clear what’s going to happen next. There’s alot of tension, or so it seems.