Copps Gets Upgrades But Never Ivor Wynn?

I like millions of other want to see the NHL in Hamilton, but its amazing how they can come up with 150 million for upgrades to Copps in a unanimous vote last night, while for the past 20 years they've nickled and dimed the repairs at Eyesore Winn Stadium.
I mean for 150 million you could build a decent football stadium for the Ticats.
But any idea of a new stadium for the Ticats was always pushed aside.
Yet for a non existant NHL team they'll be willing to spend 150 million at the drop of a hat?
Shows the importance the people of Hamilton place on the Ticats.
Too bad.

You can't compare the two. a CFL team has revenues of around 15 million a year. If you look at the numbers coming out of Gillett's marketing of the Habs. A Canadian NHL team would have revenues of 280 to 350 million dollars, the concert group would be around 100 million and convention center another 50 or so million, that's a half a billion dollars... and Balsillie is willing to put up the cash...

A Canadian NHL team will NEVER happen (Buffalo and Toronto will block it to thier dieing days)
We have more chance of a 12 team CFL than a 7 team NHL up here

Thats why the money is wasted

The agreement reached by Hamilton and Balsillie last night does not commit Hamilton City Council to any money. It simply says that Hamilton will lobby for money from the Province and Feds. Hamilton's mayor said that no money will be provided by the city.

The city has however committed $60 million to build a new stadium for the Ti-Cats as long as the Golden Horseshoe is successful in its pan am games bid. The feds and the province is putting money into this as well.

So to sum it all up:

Ivor Wynne - Municipal, Provincial, and Federal funds

Copps - Provincial, and Federal funds.

The city has dedicated money to Ivor Wynne and not to hockey. The province said they may be willing to put money into copps and the feds say that S. Ontario can support another team.

Seems to me like more money is dedicated to Ivor Wynne. We just need to win the pan am games first.

is the money going to Copps conditional? if hamilton gets the NHL team, then Copps gets the money, and if hamilton doesnt get the NHL team, then no money is spent?

or are they spending the money regardless?

The city of Hamilton has not even asked for the money yet from the Province or the Feds. So far the only money committed is by Balsillie ($5 million) in order to get the stadium ready for October (on things such as lighting) if he gets the team.

Well to my understanding, Buffalo and Toronto can’t block it…they don’t have the power. They can vote against it certainly, but they can’t block it…if the vote goes against them, the team can come. If I’m wrong on that please educate me.

All I can say if Balsille gets an ounce of taxpayers dollars for his team, well then and as we all know not only is this country pro hockey and anti all other sports, but so are the politicians.
Enough said.

The city has however committed $60 million to build a new stadium for the Ti-Cats as long as the Golden Horseshoe is successful in its pan am games bid.
The city is not building a new stadium for the Ti-Cats. They are building a new stadium for the Pan-Am games, with 15,000 seats, which will be unsuitable for the Ti-Cats without major upgrades. The city wants the Ti-Cats to kick in half the money to enlarge it to 30,000 seats wilth luxury boxes, ect.

I hope the Ti-cats get a new stadium, i've always like the ti-cats as my second favourite team. Probably cuz they've always been like the underdogs in the east just like my riders in the west. As for Basillie, a Arizona court rulled that the Coyotes can't be moved because in the inital lease signed by the coyotes for there stadium they have a 30 year no movement clause. It was ruled this clause can't be turned over by a bankrupcy court and there for the Coyotes must stay in Phoeniz until the said lease is complete. So the dream of having an NHL team in Hamilton is dead, sorry guys. Plus they should of went back to winnipeg and became the jets again.

If the city doesn't get an NHL team, I won't lose any sleep over this since while I enjoy watching the NHL on TV, going to games at the cost of the tickets for the NHL isn't my cup of tea. Although it would be unfortunate more for the city since it would help the downtown to be revitalized more and bring in some tourism.

OK, technically you are right. The stadium is going to be for the pan am games. But I hope that you don’t honestly think that they are going to build a new facility and not get the ticats in there. If that was the case there would not be talk about partnering with the Hall of Fame to attach it to the stadium, and the Ticats would have never been present at city council meetings. As a city they are going about this is in the proper way. If the games come here, after they are done the stadium will need a primary tenant, obviously the ticats. So it is only fair that the organization that is going to get the most use of the facility, help pay for it.

Sure an NHL team makes money, so the reason for the investment by the city. But geez, I've read where they've stuck a tree trunk they found lying around to replace part of a broken bench at Eyesore Wynn. What is up with that? A nice stadium brings fans in as well. Right now its only the diehards who go to Ticat games. Build a decent comfortable stadium and watch the attndance double.

I W is a historic landmark for the city of hamilton, and STILL the best place to watch a football game in Canada! Has it past its day ?YES it has, when compared to a modern facility, ITs time the Fed,and Provincial governments STOP catering to Toronto and DO something for Ontario,s second largest City. As for putting a nhl team in Copps, it will work as long as Tickets are Affordable for all the folks who would go to leaf games but cant get tickets because corperations have them all !

Look, Canadians as a group are stupid as all get out. Put this CFL and iWS in Boston and guess what, people would be all over it Fenway style, no question in my mind.

Oh, but it's our own Canada and our own little CFL, it must be mickey mouse and not worthy. Hey, not to me but to a lot of Canadians, what a sad lot we are as a group, thank god I'm not part of that sad group! I love the CFL IWS and Mosaic, Canad Inns etc. even though yes, upgrading or new stadiums is a must in some cases, I realize. But we really don't know who we are as a country IMHO, not me though and many others on this board, we know what the score is!!!!! I welcome a new stadium in Hamilton to bring in the yuppies and guppies whatever they are called but give me IWS any day even where it is located.

I agree EArl that those old baseball stadiums are rat traps as well. Then again they've spent millions upon millions upgrading the baseball stadium in Boston over the years. They've spent next to nothing on Eyesore Wynn stadium in comparison.

And really, the yuppies and the guppies are the people with the money. You want your team to survive and thrive, you need these people. Why you should be happy playing in a spartan 90 year old stadium with 1940's comfort, where you have to depend on the die hards to show up to keep the team alive, is beyond me.

Build a decent stadium, and watch your fan base and season ticket base grow. Businesses will be more apt to buy season tickets in a modern stadium. Would you want your clients sitting on a bench in Eyesore Winn? Wouldn't impress them much, eh? I myself here in London would go to more Ticats over Argo games if the stadium wasn't so unappealing.
Its a no brainer in my opinion. Grow, or die.

It's tough to compare the revenues of an NHL team, which plays 41 home games, and brings in more sponsorship and tourism dollars, to a CFL team that plays 9 home games a year, and every now and then a home playoff or grey cup game. I love the CFL to death but it doesn't take a lot of thought from a business standpoint to figure out which is the bigger seller.

Of course there won't be a cent spent on Copps until the team actually moves to Hamilton, which to be honest I don't see happening.

The stupid thing is that Hamilton, should they get a team in the NHL, will have them until Balsillie can build a new, state-of-the-art RIM Arena in Kitchener-Waterloo. It doesn't seem to be that big a deal on the surface, but dumping $30 million into Copps, when the team will bolt as soon as possible sounds like a bad idea for Hamilton, even if K-W is only 55 kms away. Additionally, he seems to be quite disinterested in honouring lease agreements (reference Phoenix). If Hamilton was smart, they'd support something that's been a part of the community (in one form or another) from 1869. I'm afraid that the Hamilton NHL team may be only a temporary thing, even if it comes through. Give the $30 million (or even a bare fraction thereof) to the Ti-Cats and Ivor Wynne Stadium.
LTF

Mr. Balsillie, the CFL is under your nose

http: //bleacherreport.com/articles/181914-mr-balsillie-the-cfl-is-under-your-nose

Besides, wasn’t there talk about a second Toronto team? Why would that be acceptable, but Hamilton isn’t?