I would like to know if you can simply say:
YES I would like to renovate Ivor Wynne Stadium.
NO I would like to see a new stadium built (site yet to be determined).
If we could have a count of people on this survey, to let City Hall know how we the taxpayers, feels about this issue.
Do necessary safety repairs on the stadium for the next 5 years while the city spends money fixing the storm sewers and roads in Hamilton....and fixing recreational facilities in all areas....
....then, after that program is over, spend the necessary bucks for a major retro-fit of Ivor Wynne......
..taxpayers will not go for anything else right now....
.....in fact a poll this week showed only 4 % of taxpayers will go for major money spent on a new stadium.....so I assume that translates the same as far as a major re-build.....it's just not the time sorry to say....
And a third possibility is that "IWS should not be renovated nor should any money be spent on a new stadium". Besides, a survey of football fans on the TiCats website is hardly an unbiased sample of Hamiltonians. If the city was interested in investigating the matter of IWS, they would initiate a proper survey of the community. However, my guess is that they don't want to open this particular can of worms.
I have to agree with mikey--it is not the time.
An Argo-Cat fan
this from 900 CHML today:
Hamilton well served by recreational facilities
Oct, 03 2007 - 5:30 PM
HAMILTON (AM900 CHML) - There’s an indication that local taxpayers may not be willing to put much money into a new football stadium.
A survey of funding priorities for community and recreation facilities in Hamilton, lists a stadium as a “top priority” for only 4% of respondents.
That compares to 23% who list youth centers as a top priority for their tax dollars.
Indoor pools are the priority for 22% followed by seniors centers at 15%.
The report also finds that based on population, Hamilton has more indoor pools and ice rinks than most other Ontario cities.
It also confirms however that many of those facilities are aging and in need of significant upgrades.
(there used to be a post here but having read it again, it was a bit off-topic.....so I nuked it myself....lol)
:lol:mike
The time is now! Or it will never happen. Build a new one. Ivor Wynne is a major reason this team is not as profitable as it could be. Its run down outdated and the laughing stock of the CFL. From a fan perspective its great to watch a game but its in a bad location and in bad shape.
You build a new Stadium and Prices will go up up up ..
Food
Beer
Drinks
Tickets
Will all go up
I agree with Mikey
fix IWS then do Retro Fit..
I love IWS it has so much charecter dont build a new one just make improvements to our home
Polls don't mean much. While maybe 4% might say it's a priority, I bet my bottom dollar that if a new stadium was built and Hamilton was host to successful Grey Cups in the future which have TV audiences in the millions, that 95% of the 96% that don't see it as a priority would be all proud of seeing Hamilton and the community portrayed as fantastic hosts and showing Hamilton as a fun spot and with great promo's from the views of Hamilton and area, university, proximity to Toronto etc. shown for the Grey Cup. Showing Hamilton as a place to live and grow, and retire in. This is the type of information difficult to gather in simple polls with simple questions.
I couldn’t care less if Food, Drinks and Beer prices go up. I would actually pay more for a ticket if the seats were bigger an more comfortable than the seats I have now.
I think a new stadium has to be in the future. If you keep spending money fixing up IWS within 5-10 years you will have almost spent enough to build a new stadium.
I think the big question now is location, I’m not sure we really have a decent location that makes a lot of sense for infastructure;
Waterfront? That would be a nightmare to get in and out of - very poor location for roads for 30k to travel on.
Mountain? Where? Again, outside of the 403 and possibly the Linc there is also no road infastructure to support a stadium up there
Tough decision for sure, I would support a new stadium and I would not mind supporting it with my tax dollars, but I am just one fan.
A former Prime Minister said it best "the best use for polls is by dogs"
If the question on the poll is what better serves you better...who would say "build a new football stadium"
We have no idea what the questions were and why they were asked.
We have a chance to re-vitalize an economic area (and not just by building a stadium). This is the perfect catalyst to do so.
As for location, I think (my opinion only) that you will get no provincial or federal funding for any project in a greenfield (farmland) area.
A north end brownfield is probably our best shot!
Exactly right. For example if you were asked to either fund a new stadium or a youth facility…what would you choose. But if asked would you rather spend 30 - 50 million on IWS or fund a new stadium your answers might be a little different.
An obvious solution that never occurred to me.
Lots of land, roads and parking, and hopefully close enough to water/downtown.
Did I read that right? 22% said a top priority is indoor pools? What?
Build a new stadium!
The Government has lots money for arts programs - and not alot for sports infrastructure.
Propose to the feds a "Center for the Sporting Arts and History" Instead of calling it a stadium. Almost a given for some form of grant.
Yes Mulder. And a lot of people actually say that sports and art are one and the same, just different sides of the same envelope. Watch a receiver making a leaping catch in slow motion and that is a performing art all the way. Actually any moves in any sport are really art in my opinion. And stage performers want the best stage presentation possible each time, just like athletes. Interesting.
It seems to me that there are far more pressing needs in Hamilton than either of these options...right now, anyway.
I'm of the belief that this city is on the way to better days. But at the moment, I think there are services and infrastructure issues that need addressing by the city coffers.
That's not to say the stadium isn't a priority. Like many other buildings it's a key public component of our city that is aging. Thus, it requires additional attention.
But, don't think for a minute that a brand new, or reno'd stadium wouldn't require some love and affection, too.
I'm no engineer, but that place looks basic enough that it could last a awhile longer. Perhaps start sopping some funds away for a stadium upgrade and tackle that in 10 years.
And it's hard for me to accept the argument that the initial cost of a new stadium, plus debt servicing, plus maintenance would be far more cost-effective than slapping a few band-aids on Ivor Wynne every year.
Places like Tiger Stadium, Municipal Stadium and even Maple Leaf Gardens, IMHO looked far more beat up in the years before they closed than Ivor Wynne.
Points well taken slodrive. But the fact remains that many universities in this country now have better more updated facilities than IWS and that is just not a good reflection on the TiCats nor the CFL as a real professional outfit regardless of how you look at it. I mean there were years, maybe still, when hot water isn't in the visitors dressing room. That aside, without a new stadium or real refurbished IWS, this team and franchise will have an image problem in the very near future. Fortunately for the Cats, I think a lot of the fans of this team in this town are more working class and don't really care about a new facility or upgraded facility. Lucky for the Cats I'll say.
Points well taken slodrive. But the fact remains that many universities in this country now have better more updated facilities than IWS and that is just not a good reflection on the TiCats nor the CFL as a real professional outfit regardless of how you look at it. I mean there were years, maybe still, when hot water isn't in the visitors dressing room. That aside, without a new stadium or real refurbished IWS, this team and franchise will have an image problem in the very near future. Fortunately for the Cats, I think a lot of the fans of this team in this town are more working class and don't really care about a new facility or upgraded facility. Lucky for the Cats I'll say.I am very proud of our working class nature and I am a product of the culture. But unfortunately, we have come to settle for "less" in this city.
Some people make a very valid argument on the priority of needs in this community. But that argument will always exist, no matter if the streets were paved with gold.
It’s time that the citizens in this city stopped accepting mediocrity.
We allow it in the people we elect, in the media we allow and the way we let others think of us.
NO MORE!!! The only way things will get better is if we demand it. This stadium is only a small part of that but a good start.
Well, count me among the great un-washed. Too me, the image problems come from erecting cookie-cutter, sterile environments that make everyone seem like wimpy, spoiled yuppies.
Ivor Wynne, or something mighty similar, is a good backdrop, or stage - if you will, for football.
I don’t think your University argument holds any water. Aside from TD Waterhouse, these facilities are tiny. Even at Western, the place holds 10,000…and not exactly a display of architecture.
The ‘solution’ you speak of will end up being something a lot like BMO Field. Does that make CFL football seem more professional? At best it makes an equal impression. Personally, I’d prefer a stadium steeped in history that was built for the team specifically that doesn’t look like it could be taken down with a few socket wrenches in an afternoon.