Raise the Hammer

The May 28, 2012 Stadium Precinct Subcommittee report will be presented at the Hamilton GIC meeting on June 20, 2012. http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/4CB5...

A few highlights of the report are listed below:

1. The RFP for the stadium closed on May 22, 2012.

2. The winning stadium design bid will be made on August 17, 2012.

3. The public will be informed of the winning stadium bid on September 26, 2012.

4. Details of the two stadium designs not selected by Infrastructure Ontario will not be released to the public.

5. Co-chair Morelli commented that “…there will be ongoing public meetings on the issue to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to express their ideas and be involved in the process.”

6. Mayor Bratina asked for clarification that the “City of Hamilton’s financial commitment is still capped at $45 Million“. and staff responded that this is correct.

7. A proposed capital budget of $2.82 Million to hire a Director, Manager, Administrator and communications Officer and a proposed business plan budget of $1.49 Million from 2012 through 2015 for the Hamilton part of the Pan Am Games.

And now, a few observations.

On January 31, 2011, Hamilton city council, with its feet held to the fire by Bob Young, Mayor Bratina and Toronto 2015, voted to spend up to $60 Million (the figure was not capped at $45 Million) to build the new Pan Am stadium at the Ivor Wynne Stadium site instead of the originally preferred west harbour site. No public consultation occurred prior to that vote. http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/F7A1...

On October 21, 2011, the three stadium design bidders paid a visit to Hamilton. No public consultation occurred prior to or during their visit. http://www.thespec.com/news/article/6128...

On May 22, 2012, the RFP on the new stadium closed. The three bidders’ stadium designs have been finalized. They cannot be changed until after Infrastructure Ontario chooses the winning stadium design on August 17, 2012.

The upshot of all of this is that the Hamilton community, other than a few city representatives and Bob Young, were given no opportunity “to express their ideas and be involved in the process” before the stadium design bid competition ended despite contributing up to $60 Million (44%) of the stadium cost. A stadium design with no prior public consultation will be imposed on the Hamilton community on August 17, 2012 and announced on September 26, 2012. Stadium construction will commence in December, 2012. Any local input between now and then will consist of tweaking the stadium design imposed on the Hamilton community. It will be a bit like choosing the colour of the walls of the kitchen in a house design you did not select on a lot you were coerced to build upon whilst paying 44% of the total cost. If this type of experience happened to consumers in the housing market in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada, the media and government officials would be calling out the project manager. In this case, the project manager, Infrastructure Ontario, is getting a free pass from the media and government officials on the Hamilton Pan Am Stadium debacle. Why?