Raise the Hammer

Burlington’s stadium cost? $0.00

NO MONEY Ticat VP Doug Rye, president Scott Mitchell, and developer Angelo Paletta met with Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring Wednesday.

Kaz Novak/The Hamilton Spectator Related Stories

Burlington supports stadium report Burlington council has voted 5-2 to have city staff explore a Pan Am Stadium in Aldershot. BURLINGTON A Burlington Pan Am Stadium consortium has proposed a $90 to $120 million stadium for Aldershot that would not require a municipal contribution from the City of Burlington.

That was the offer Tiger-Cat president Scott Mitchell and consortium partner Angelo Paletta made to Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring in a 90-minute private meeting Wednesday.

“I think we tried to provide a solution that mitigates any financial risk or obligations to the City of Burlington,” Mitchell said following the meeting.

Mitchell said as part of the deal, the private consortium would manage and operate the 22,000 seat stadium for the municipality.

“We have tried to give them a compelling business case,” he said. “What we are proposing involves no financial contribution from the City of Burlington.”

“We have tried to give them a compelling business case that will result in tens of millions in revenue for the city and region.”

And Burlington appears ready to play ball.

“How can we not look at this?” Goldring said afterwards. “They have come with an offer we can’t refuse to look at.”

Goldring briefed his council after the meeting and believes he has sufficient support to have city staff explore the stadium offer. And he said that if resolution to do that passes, he will be on the telephone to Pan Am organizers and the province to seek an extension to the Feb. 1 deadline for a site selection.

The proposal depends on the Pan Am organizing committee providing $70 to $100 million in funding that was to go to a Hamilton stadium, before Hamilton council ran out of sites.

Goldring said Burlington would be responsible for the infrastructure needs for the area but acknowledged the city would be paying for that in any event, stadium or no stadium.

“Clearly this is a great opportunity for the city to investigate,” he said. “This is something we have to strongly consider.”

Asked why Hamilton would be asked for $45 million for a stadium and Burlington might get there without any contribution, Goldring said it was his understanding there were bigger challenges involved with some of the other Hamilton sites.

Mitchell had stated previously that the city would have to make a financial contribution to the project.

The huge sweetener comes from Paletta, who told the mayor and city staffers that the stadium would be the catalyst to kick start more than $100 million in development on the adjacent 125 acres of land he owns.

“I think it was a good meeting. I think we have alleviated a lot of concern on the financial side,” he added.

Paletta, who is the key figure in the Burlington consortium, is offering the private land as part of its portion of a $30 million contribution for the project, said the development would include a hotel, restaurants, retail and a training centre for sports excellence.

“It’s huge,” Paletta said of the associated development, most of which would begin alongside the stadium construction. “A lot of it will go hand-in-hand.”

Paletta said he has already received overtures from investors ready to proceed with the development should the stadium receive the green light.

Mitchell and Paletta said the next step belongs to city council. They hope council will give a staff direction Thursday to explore the stadium project.

Mitchell, Tiger-Cats vice-president Doug Rye and Paletta, president of Paletta International Inc., met with Goldring, his chief of staff Frank McKeown, city manager Roman Martiuk and Burlington Councillor Rick Craven.

Burlington council is set to meet Thursday morning to consider Goldring’s recommendation to have city staff explore the Aldershot stadium issue.

Martiuk has suggested if the recommendation wins support, he would report back in two weeks on a list of questions the city would seek answers to on the stadium.

But timing could be crucial. The Pan Am host committee has insisted the stadium site must be settled by Feb. 1.

And Hamilton council is expected to revisit recommending Confederation Park as the stadium location when it meets again Wednesday.

kpeters@thespec.com

905 526-3388

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Burlington’s stadium cost? $0.00

• Guys, see how "nice" the T-C treated Hamilton after all these years of supporting!!!

• And I do not understand why our Mayor Bob still supporting Confederation Park or East mountain for a stadium at this late timing???

  [From the above article: Despite Burlington Play, Hamilton at 2nd and Goal The Aldershot financing plan depends on $70 million in Pan Am Games funding from Toronto 2015, but the City of Hamilton still has the first shot at securing that money by February 1.

By Ryan McGreal Published January 06, 2011

...Bratina is still trying to persuade Council to reconsider a Confederation Park site for the stadium after the Committee of the Whole rejected it in late December. Bratina even suggested revisiting the previously-rejected East Mountain site or introducing a new site at Speedway Park on Stoney Creek mountain....]

Comment edited by whitehorse on 2011-01-06 15:14:58