Raise the Hammer

Lawrence Thomas may be all he claims to be, however what he lacks is the knowledge of Hamilton history, pre Ivor Wynne naming, and the fight and passion of residents then, who fought hard to keep and prevent "their" Civic Stadium from being stolen and falling into the clutches of big business. How many of those passionate and civic minded folks are around today, who can relate and testify to the pre Ivor Wynne days when Civic Stadium was in use, sometimes seven days a week, for amateur soccer, football, school sports days, Marion Day events, Highland Games and was really a venue belonging to all of Hamilton's residents. As for demographics, will it come as a surprise for Mr Thomas to realize that the great majority of Hamiltonians have never visited or viewed a Tiger Cat Football game, including many of the people who live in the area around the Stadium. Many reasons for this but most of them are economic. I grew up in the East End and I can recall when on a Sunday my father would walk with my sisters and I, down to Civic Stadium to see "what was going on" and there was always something "going on". The Tiger Cats were not precluded from use in those days, they just didn't have a monopoly on ownership. Is Mr Thomas aware that when paying for artificial turf came before City Council it was defeated due to the outrage expressed by the citizens. Is Mr Thmas aware that Vic Copps and CHML's Perc Allen led a campaign to raise money from business to buy the turf against the wishes of the community, and then rammed it through Council. Is Mr Thomas aware that when the Civic Stadium was renamed, that ninety-five per cent of Hamiltonians had to be informed of who Ivor Wynne was. And finally, does Mr Thomas relize that the great majority of the people who enjoy the game and create the noise in the neighbourhood around the stadium, are the first to cry about noise in their own neighbourhoods.