Raise the Hammer

I love where IWS is, been going there for years for games, it's a great site for the city owned stadium, better public transit access than the WH and the use of the FF money for this part of Hamilton is an excellent use IMHO, this area needs all the help it can get. This is city-building extraordinaire IMHO and I'm excited about it. Again, repeat this is a city owned facility.

I disagree with your assessment of Bob Young entirely but you are entitled to your opinion. Also consider from the Spec some of the details:
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“It is a risky manoeuvre when a provincial government steps outside an international games funding policy that has already been agreed to,” said Councillor Brad Clark. “There's always a potential that that could come back and bite them at a later date. They did the right thing and I am very grateful for that.”

City councillors spent much of Monday's meeting behind closed doors debating the MOU between the two sides, one of the final steps in the long process of solidifying the city's Pan Am pitch.

The MOU outlines the details of the rent arrangements, naming rights and parking revenues, and community use of Ivor Wynne.

The team has agreed to pay $450,000 in rent a year for football games and has offered another $150,000 per year to use the stadium for soccer.

The Cats have also agreed to guarantee the city $9 million in naming rights, 10 per cent of the team's net income after four years, and 50 per cent of offsite parking revenues.

The city will also receive 25 per cent of suite rental revenues above $4,000.

According to general manager of finance Roberto Rossini, the terms of the MOU are “equal to or better than any of the other CFL leases we've seen.”

The MOU also outlines the community use for the stadium. According to the city report, the new facility will offer three times the community use than before the renovations and will house 23,000 community soccer participants each year.