Raise the Hammer

The 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games scorecard as of today:

Toronto

Toronto is committed to spending $96 Million so far.

Toronto will get:

*Pan Am Athletes Village consisting of at least 6,000 residential units to be built near the Toronto waterfront all or most of which will be sold after the Games are done

*Aquatics Centre in Scarborough

*Pan Am Athletics Stadium at York University

Hamilton

Hamilton is committed to spending up to $60.5 Million so far.

Hamilton will get:

*a new 22,500 seat stadium where its old 29,000 seat stadium used to be

*little to no preliminary input from its elected officials or its taxpayers on the stadium and precinct plan

*one less soccer field

*one less school

*the possibility of three less baseball diamonds

Hamilton has also committed $5 Million for a velodrome but it remains to be seen where the velodrome will be built and whether it will it will be a permanent or temporary facility.

It also appears as though a special events GO train platform might be built near Gage Avenue North (about a block away from the Hells Angels clubhouse) or near Lottridge Avenue North or possibly near either Sherman Avenue North or Ottawa Street North (each being about a 25 minute walk from the stadium).

Next Steps For Hamilton

In his aggressive attack on the members of the Waterfront Trust earlier this week, Mayor Bratina professed to be looking out for the taxpayers' interests. Why then has he been so cavalier about how little Hamilton is receiving for its $60.5 Million commitment to the total rebuild of Ivor Wynne Stadium? And why didn't he inform Hamilton city council the same day he found out about the Ivor Wynne Stadium total rebuild?

It is incumbent upon Mayor Bratina and Hamilton city council to revisit the stadium file immediately and publicly. Is the $60.5 Million stadium expenditure a wise long-term investment for Hamilton or is the money better spent on other important Hamilton projects? How much additional money will the taxpayers be expected to invest in this project and what benefits does the city expect to achieve? Hamilton taxpayers need and deserve transparency from their municipal elected officials and city staff on these questions. And, as the contributor of 44 per cent of the stadium construction cost, the City of Hamilton should be demanding more transparency from Toronto 2015 and Infrastructure Ontario as well as greater city input at the preliminary stadium and precinct design stage.

Comment edited by RenaissanceWatcher on 2011-11-19 23:02:40