News   Apr 26, 2024
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Hamilton - Tim Horton's Field

Looks like Hamilton is now going to look at putting the stadium up on the mountain again - according to the CBC news today. This would be a stunning reversal and a bad one!
 
From CBC Sports:

The Tiger-Cats lease at Ivor Wynne, seen here on opening night, expires after next season. (Adrien Veczan/Canadian Press)
City councillors in Hamilton have voted 13-2 in favour of a motion to negotiate a Pan Am Games stadium location that is suitable for the Tiger-Cats and the city.

Earlier this month, council voted to build a new stadium at a downtown location, over an East Mountain site favoured by the CFL team.

Under the new proposal, both sides will look at several mutually agreeable alternate sites.

The motion also proposes the remediation of the downtown site without a stadium.

City manager Chris Murray is to report back to council by mid-September.

The Pan Am Host Corp. has given the city a new deadline of Sept. 14 to select a stadium location.
 
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City Council and the Tiger Cats support a move to locate the stadium at Longwood and Aberdeen, west end of Hamilton. It's near the 403, McMaster University, next to the Innovation Park, steps away from the B-Line route, behind the CP rail line, Niagara Escarpment in the background, downtown skyline to the East and not on the Mountain.
 
Everyone: Interesting topic on a possible new stadium for the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats here...
Isn't Ivor Wynne Stadium considered the "Lambeau Field" of the CFL?

What is Ivor Wynne's seating capacity compared to what the proposed new stadium will be?

I do think that depending on the condition of Ivor Wynne Stadium a move for a new stadium with the Pan Am games
in mind is a good idea provided that the taxpayers of Hamilton aren't holding the full bill...I am no fan of taxpayers providing funding for private profitable sports teams unless those funds can be raised in a creative way...my favorites from the 90s being Cleveland and Baltimore in which sin taxes and/or a special Lottery funded stadiums in those cities...

Thoughts from LI MIKE
 
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We now have Frank Gehry interested at the West Harbour.....

"The potential next stage in its development was introduced by Forum Equity Partners Inc.

President Richard Abboud called Hamilton the “sleeper” in southern Ontario development and said if a few problems could be addressed, the west harbour was a “great waterfront location.”

He told council superstar architect Frank Gehry has looked at the site and would be interested in designing an “iconic” building to show the new Hamilton."

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/252780--two-weeks-to-hash-out-stadium-site
 
Gehry floats iconic building proposal for west harbour site
Top architect's firm expresses interest

Paul Morse
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/a...conic-building-proposal-for-west-harbour-site

World-class architects don't come any bigger than Frank Gehry.

And, if everything works out, Gehry will design a building for the city's west harbour lands that will put Hamilton on the map, says Richard Abboud, president of Forum Equity Partners.

"There is a unique opportunity to reposition Hamilton with an iconic building that would redefine its waterfront and hopefully redefine the city," Abboud told The Spectator yesterday.

Gehry's Los Angeles-based firm has "confirmed their interest through a letter and proposal to participate with Forum in the development of the iconic building," Abboud said. "It would be one that was big enough to have the desired effect."

He would not reveal how many of the city's 20 west harbour acres a Gehry building would require.

"We want to do something that will have a meaningful impact on the west harbour and on repositioning the city of Hamilton, and that can't be done with a small building."

Abboud said the building would house a single client, whom he refused to identify. "Oh yes, we certainly have uses contemplated for this building. It's a single-use."

He refused to provide any other details of his envisioned plan, saying it was simply too early.

Gehry's city-changing star power is no idle boast.

The Toronto-born Canadian-American architect's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, is universally hailed as one of the most important buildings of the 20th Century. It transformed Bilbao into one of the most popular tourist destinations in Spain.

Among Gehry's other world famous works are the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A., the Dancing House in Prague, and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.

Forum Equity burst into the Hamilton stadium debate spotlight on Tuesday when Abboud, 44, presented a development proposal for west harbour to council. Forum Equity has been interested in a west harbour redevelopment for a while, he said yesterday, but remained behind the scenes until the emergency council meeting Tuesday necessitated a public presentation.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger said an iconic building in west harbour would add value to the downtown and the waterfront.

"When we hear Forum Equity, in association with Frank Gehry, talk about their interest in west harbour, that's a pretty exciting opportunity to look at what kind of iconic building could be put there that would a signature for Hamilton," Eisenberger said. "It could potentially be a major attraction that would bring people to Hamilton."
 
City Council and the Tiger Cats support a move to locate the stadium at Longwood and Aberdeen, west end of Hamilton. It's near the 403, McMaster University, next to the Innovation Park, steps away from the B-Line route, behind the CP rail line, Niagara Escarpment in the background, downtown skyline to the East and not on the Mountain.
That's a pretty good location and I've often thought that's exactly where the TiCats shoudl be playing.

The other idea was to dig out Bayfront Park and plunk the stadium into the middle of it. The excavated land would expand the size of the little peninsula, and other fill could be used to expand it even more - maintaining a nice park around the outside of the stadium. Designed right, THAT would be a statement building that alters their lakeshore and skyline. You'd have to build a (cool) pedestrian bridghe over the rail lands, but the current city-chosen stadium site along Stuart would be the location of a couple of parking structures that woudl ideally feature ground level retail/offices around the perimeter. The pedestrian bridge - if built properly - could actually serve as a place to congregate or tailgate, have some vendors, etc...
 
See, this is where I have no choice but to say "I told you so". There was nothing to worry about all along.
 
The 403 and Aberdeen is a decent compromise over a Kanatistic car-centric stadium and one that will be in an urban setting. It's not an ideal location, but it's between McMaster and Downtown. West Harbour would have been better though for downtown revitalization though. I thought that the Spectator property would be a perfect compromise, as it would be closer to the transit corridor while having highway exposure.
 
Looks like Hamilton City Council will approve city staff recommendation tomorrow for a new stadium at the CP Aberdeen rail yard, not on Innovation Park land. Also the city will begin negotiation for more money towards an upgraded stadium from 15,000 to 26,000 seat stadium.

You can see the yard below.
052ea7a54a3780300c872af0ee0d.jpeg

http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/0f/87/052ea7a54a3780300c872af0ee0d.jpeg
 
So is that plot on the west side of Longwood, facing the highway, the site chosen - or are we talking the actual railyard south of Aberdeen where all those trailers are visible in the photo?

Former would be far better than the latter.

And why only 26,000? If it's going to be a Pan Am soccer stadium and the expense of the track and such will not exist, couldn't they squeeze 20,000 for the Pan Ams and push it to 30+ afterwards?
 
So is that plot on the west side of Longwood, facing the highway, the site chosen - or are we talking the actual railyard south of Aberdeen where all those trailers are visible in the photo?

The site with the trailers and all the land north of the rails until Aberdeen Road. Almost doubled the total land the Innovation Park has. It was actually the CP that approached the City willing to sell the land.
 

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