Bratina calls Burlington "next best thing"

Even Bratina is in favour if it can't be in Hamilton

[url=http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/306727--bratina-calls-burlington-the-next-best-thing]http://www.thespec.com/news/local/artic ... best-thing[/url]

I have no problem with the ticats playing in burlington as long as they keep their name !

:rockin: :rockin:

Puleeeeze. I like the guy, just I like Bob. But, Bratina was the Arg@'s broadcaster for several years and Bob might as well be American.
The Cats' organization has been in HAMILTON since the late 1800's. No Bobs are going to change that.
Young bought the team with his brother's spirit in mind, knowing full well the shortcomings of Ivor Wynne. He's bombed as an owner and now we're suppose to bail him out because he drops another bomb on the fans and team with talks of moving them out of Hamilton.....all with over $100 million from the tax coffer of yours and mine truly?
You bought the team Mr. Young. You've experienced the highest average attendance this year in the history of the Tiger-Cats. How about a little more loyalty to the fans in Hamilton.
The city will retro-fit/renovate the stadium which already holds 29,000. Since we already have a healthy attendance average around 24,000.....you must be all about missing out on gouging the fans for parking. That should help with maintaining attendance averages. Not!
You could start with builing your own 4 level parking site on the Brian Timmis site. That would create approx 3,000 spots.
In 10 years at $10 a shot, you'd generate $2.4 million. Not a whole lot considering construction and maintenacne costs. I see why you'd rather soak the Tiger-Cat and Canadian taxpayers first.
Do us all a favour and sell the team to the fans if you can't manage the team here. Regina is a great example. You obviously have no loyalty to the real fans in Hamilton.

Have you payed any attention to what has being going on ?

Well fellow fan, in the words of Benny F. “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.”

Merulla has been a long-time Tiger-Cat season ticket holder. What? He actually got voted in with a historic majority. I have to admit that Bratina is true Tiger-Cat fan also. He only took the Arg# job after Young got rid of him after he took over the team.
My earlier post and point is that I needed to address this loud minority of fans that congregate on this site. That’s all.

This is the type of short sighted thinking that our City “leaders” have had all along. Its the reason we’re in this situation.

This guy saved the Ticats, no one else wanted to buy this team - we wouldn’t have a team if not for Bob.
He has spent millions on this team.
As for saying he might as well be American - what a stupid statement. Bob Young is an American citizen and good for him!! We should be proud that he is another Canadian that has done well south of the border.
Sell the team to the fans??? which fans? there are only around 18,000 die hards and a few thousand of them buy the cheapest ticktets possible.
If this team doesn’t move to Aldershot its bye bye Ticats.
Can we now get back to some common sense!!

Dude, Bratina hasn’t brodcast Argo game in years … it has nothing to do with Bob Young.

Need to get your facts straight before you press the enter key.

I don’t buy that for one minute.

That was the same refrain for EM and the CPR lands and the Confederation Park vote.

Even Bob Young himself says otherwise, " Young replied via e-mail, “There are still [u]several[/u] options in and near Hamilton that can work.? (Emphasis mine)

[url=http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/306815--burlington-stadium-talks-in-high-gear]http://www.thespec.com/news/local/artic ... -high-gear[/url]

Add to that the reported interest of other buyers. This team does not have to turn it’s back on our city at all.

“Reported interest of other buyers” - ?? source. Or do you mean the guy on one of the other posts that suggests the fans should buy the team…?

Why is the team turning it’s back on the city if it goes to the Hamilton/Burlington border?

The Spec article that’s been quoted and linked in other threads more than once.

lol - the best post yet!!! yes add (synthcat,CaptainK etc)

:)

When's the sod turning, I'll be there

It is not correct that the team had its highest attendance in history in 2010. It was higher in Bob Young's first year of ownership. It was highest on a consistent basis in the early 1970s, when the stadium held 34,000 fans and was often full. It is now among the lowest in the CFL. That is a chronic situation in a city that doesn't support "its" team. Heck, we even had lousy attendance in 2000, the year after our last Grey Cup win... couldn't come close to selling out the Eastern semi-final that year.

It is not correct that Bob Young has bombed as an owner.... unless you consider that taking a team off the scrap heap of serial bankruptcy and resurrecting it through the investment of millions of his own money qualifies as bombing. (Come to think of it, maybe it does... he sure would have been wiser to leave it dead as a doornail like he found it, and do something else with his money).

It is not correct that building a new stadium within a hair of the municipal boundary is turning his back on 140 years of history and showing disloyalty to boatloads of fans. Many stadiums are in suburban locations because the land is cheaper and the parking is plentiful. Allowing quirks of municipal boundaries to override market demographics, infrastructure, access, parking etc seems to me quite silly. It's not like Aldershot is in Quebec or something... though the team could go there if things don't work out nearby and soon. There aren't that many fans of the team in Hamilton proper anyway.... they've shown that by their dismal attendance since the late 1970s. That's why the team needs a site that is modern, clean, with easy access and lots of parking for people from miles around, built at an affordable cost. Suburban locations generally offer more of these things than urban ones do. The current stadium may be characterized as quaint, atmospheric, charming, historic, etc. I think that in reality it's basically a broken down old dump that should have met the wrecking ball years ago. It's an embarrassment. If not for the money Mr Young himself spent to paint and polish a city owned asset, it would be in even worse shape. West Harbour? I dunno, can't say. Maybe it's fantastic. But Mr Young thinks it's no good, and it's his money he's being asked to invest so it's his decision where he wants to spend it. Fast Freddie liked it a lot, but look what happened to him.

We're all quite good at debating how Bob Young should invest his money. I think that's ridiculous. And for those who don't like his analysis and say he should sell it to someone else if he won't put his money into a location he thinks is a poor one, where is the lineup of buyers clamouring to take it off his hands and go to West Harbour? If WH is so great and Bob is blind to its excellence, then surely there must be a lot of smarter people who are chomping at the bit to set up shop there. I don't mean vague references to people who "are rumoured to have interest", I mean people with a certified cheque in hand for a deposit, and a firm, acceptable offer to buy. Like Bob and the rest of us, they've had a year and more of watching this farce unfold-unravel at city hall... ample time to gather their resources and come up with an actual offer to purchase. After all, Bob Young isn't keeping the team because it's making him a ton of money so far. If I were him I'd sell in a heartbeat if a decent offer came along. Who needs to invest millions, lose money annually and then be told you're a disloyal, stubborn, selfish, lousy (one Spec reader comment yesterday called him a little prick) owner? Hey, maybe Grant and Macdonald would like it back again. Or the city itself... they did well last time it went bust and they owned it, right?

I can hardly wait to watch the Hamilton Tiger-Cats play at their great new stadium in Aldershot. I hope Mr. Young stays around to see it too.

I read that 'little prick' comment also steve. What a piece of work some people are.

The can get new Fan Because at IWS Burlington is Future …

It why I don’t live in Hamilton … :roll:

BURLINGTON IS OUR FUTURE HAMILTON IS OUR PAST

TIME TO MOVE ON !!

I appreciate the time and effort you made in this fine piece of writing , stevehvh. Right on!

People play too fast and loose with facts.

For some people a good season of paid attendance in 2010 is taken to mean
an abundance of the revenue is rolling in to bob’s for-profit business. Not so.

For some people the team getting into the play offs the last 2 years
and not having yet reaching a high level of profitability is bombing.

For some people moving the team to the edge of city limits is disloyalty

And so many people want to tell Bob Young how he should invest his money

and some go so far as to tell him he is

disloyal, stubborn, selfish, lousy (one Spec reader comment yesterday called him a little prick) owner?

City says site options are narrowed to two (as of today both unworkable)

Young says there's still options within HAM.

So which is it?

Gee, I'm really starting to think there are two seperate agendas at work here.