Save Ivor Wynne Stadium

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
#21

I was all in favour of revamping Ivor Wynne until that bank of lights came crashing down last winter. I don't even want to think of what might have happened if it wasn't for that storm, and they were there this summer and came down into the stands during a game. If it's (the whole place) becoming dangerous, then hightail it out of there.

Now, as far as location for a new stadium?......I'll never change my mind on believing that it should go on the east mountain near the Lincoln Alexander Parkway and the Red Hill Expressway.

By the way.....if these Pan Am Games are such a windfall for Southern Ontario, and with it's 8 or so million people (or even more), then why are they only building a 15,000 seat stadium in the first place?......that's a bit puzzling to me :?

#22

MLS Toronto FC is “making emergency repairs? to BMO Field because bolts and fasteners “have fallen from the new stadium during games,? according to Peter Mallett of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. Fans at the first three home games have been “stomping on the all-metal floors of the stadium and some reports say this has caused material to fall.? Two witnesses said that they saw “large metal bolts ... falling from the grandstand onto the concourse below during games.?

This in a 20,000 seat stadium they spent $62 million on 3 years ago where the TV coverage visibly shakes due to supposed instability. Wear your hard helmet to the new 25,000 seat Pan Am stadium in Hamilton in 2015.

#23

That is my point exactly. People want to get on this "vogue" wagon of the newest is better for sports. They love to compare Ivor Wynne Stadium to the Montrel Forum or Yankee Stadium etc etc. and that our 80 year old stadium is history. But, wait a minute. The Forum was built in 1924 and Yankee stadium in 1906 with not much else added....yet the Ivor Wynne Stadium of today was rebuilt from the ground up in 1959 and 1971. Calgary's McMahon stadium is older than Ivor Wynne yet they have no plans for a new one and will be hosting this years Grey Cup in a stadium with a 34,000 seat capacity.
My point is that if and most likely when footall fans in Hamilton are sadly dissapointed with our new metal track and field stadium and its lack of accessibility and the attendance numbers drop off due to our spoiledness with the best professional football stadium in the world for watching a football game, we should keep our IWS. We'll still get our track and field meets, country music stars, and monster trucks in the new outdoor facility, but will still have IWS for fans to enjoy football the way it should be enjoyed. I think we deserve 2 stadiums.
Winnipeg, with their bleacher type metal stadium had a full house last weekend, yet it was mostly a joke in their attempt to make an impact on the game. Why? Because they are toooooo far from the field. Even when they build new it will be the same as goes with all the other CFL stadiums. They can wear all the "blue" or green or red they want. Nobody intimidates or has an impact on other teams like Ticat fans and that has a lot to do with IWS. I say we should have put the $100 million into renovating it. Imagine what that cash would have done.
However, that is not the reality right now with the political and business driven swipe for more cash from a debt ridden province and municipal taxpayers. Save our stadium for a few more years after we get our tin can Pan Am facility and spend the revenue on IWS. That's my 2 cents. Oops it used to be my 2 cents. Increased taxes everywhere.

"?Let’s face it our 3 levels of government and the well connected have not always had the foresight to realize a good thing when blinded by that feather in their hat or their biggie size mentality at taxpayers’ expense; $1.4 Billion for this event. The fact we’re already in debt up to our eyeballs at the Municipal and Provincial levels and while the Province continues on with it record of wasting billions, means we are not going to get an Ivor Wynne type stadium. It’s really being built for politically related reasons just like hosting these games and at the absolutely worst time financially speaking.

I strongly suggest that Fred, the next few mayors, and company hold onto Ivor Wynne Stadium for a few years following these games. (It’s made of concrete with ½ of the stadium built in 1959 and the other ½ in 1971 and won’t be going anywhere soon on it’s own anyway.) Why? Another $50 million from Bob might add 5-10,000 seats to a new stadium and improve the press/private boxes. But, wait and see how many Hamilton football fans spoiled by site lines and ambience of IWS will continue to want to sit in a new metal stadium with a 12 lane track around the field in an area of the city that is even harder to access. My strong intuition is that when the novelty wears off, many people will be watching games from home. So hold onto IWS to catch us after the fallouts with this new stadium. Pay for some of the upgrade to IWS then with some of the money this new stadium will supposedly be generating from other events. And for those with Toronto envy, hey we’ll have 2 stadiums."

#24

I don't get this "too far from the field" mentality. Have you seen how far from the sidelines the Dolphins fans are in Joe Robbie or whatever it's called stadium? Some people in Hamilton seem to be so focused on this "too far from the field" mentality that I think they are missing what a great opportunity we have here in Hamilton to build a nice new facility for the city and the teams that use it and in a better location than where IWS is currently in for a lot of people. I grew up watching games at Western in London with a track around the field and never once did I hear a Londoner whine and complain like some TiCat fans about "too far from the field", it's only when I got here that I hear this all the time.

#25

Um No. You are basing your premise on the fact that the track sidelines will be as small as the field dimensions at IWS. Not going to happen. Add another 10 yards to your estimate. Retractile seating won't work as this seating will be too low to see over the sideline cameras officials and players or the permanent seating will be too high for the track spectators creating obstructed track views

#26

And ask me if I have any interest in going to Edmonton to a game there. The stadium is terrible. I'd be better off staying at my sister in laws and watching it onTV. O wait ..... thats what I have done since making the mistake of going there once. I will likely stop going if we get a metal bleacher track and field stadium. I don't think I'm even interested in getting in free for working the game. If its a concrete track stadium I'll consider it but it will be a tough choice. I know that because I stopped going to Argo and Jays games because of the stadium move

#27

Am I allowed to see the washrooms and concession stands in the new stadium before I make my decision on whether or not to save Ivor Wynne?

  • paul
#28

Yankee Stadium was opened in 1923. It also had a major overhall in the 70s.

The Forum underwent 2 renovations in 1948 and 1968.

Both of those stadiums have now been closed down.

I love IWS but it is time for a new stadium.

#29

No, and you aren't allowed to see the same in an IWS reno either, nor are you allowed to see the planned dressing rooms or type of seats in any plan

#30

Psst. I was being sarcastic...

;)
  • paul
#31

Scott Mitchell wants[b] "great sightlines and close proximity of the fan to the field."[/b]

Today's Spec, page A15 "We're on a roll with Pan Am windfall. Can't find a link.

#32

People talk about the wonderful "sight lines" at IWS. I suppose that refers to a combination of distance from the field, height of the front row of seats, and slope of the seating area from there. (In old stadiums with a roof like CNE Stadium in Toronto there were pillars midway up the stands on the north side, so your sight lines were really bad if you happened to be sitting right behind one).

I don't find the game viewing experience at IWS any better than at Lansdowne Park or Taylor Field. McMahon Stadium is okay too. I haven't been to Molson Stadium so can't comment on that. I haven't been to Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton either, but as many as 58,000 go to Esks games there, so they must not see it as so terrible to be an impediment to attending.

The only thing a track at a new stadium in Hamilton would necessarily affect is distance from the field. But height and slope can be adjusted to compensate for this, and even the distance can be reduced with retractable seats at the front if that's a desirable option. I don't see that this has to mean an inferior viewing experience. Of course the sight lines at any new stadium will be different from IWS, but maybe they'll be terrific too. I don't expect them to be the same, and I'm not afraid of the change.

Sure, it's nice to be close to the field at IWS, but that's about the only advantage the old stadium has going for it. Being a little further back to accommodate a track is not a big problem to me, and well worth doing if it means a new, clean, well-appointed, modern facility.

#33

I don think that only advantage
The Ghosts of Great Games Past they Haunt IWS.
Oz Field goal that kicked into a Grey cup.
Mosca Holding the Grey cup in 72 In Front of Hamilton Fans.
Every Time I walk into that Old Park I get Chills.
The old ball Park Has Charm somthing that can't be said about this new Stadium.
The Leafs have not Won a Playoff Game Since Leavling for the ACC.
I hate to see that Happen to us .

I love that old Park and We she Gose I'll make sure I get a Peace of her .
To Give me Memories of our Glory there.

#34

I've been to more than one stadium with bad sightlines. If you sit in the nosebleeds it makes little difference but if you want good seats you are out of luck. You can't make up for the distance from the field by making the slope steeper. It really doesn't work

#35

It's a law of diminishing returns for distance from the field. Meaning if you are comparing it to a hockey rink, even IWS has fans far away from the field. But after say 20 feet away from the field or what have you, an extra x number of feet don't pose that much of a diffence. The first few feet are more important than the same number of feet 25 feet back sort of thing.

And AKT, you can't compare Rogers Centre with a football configuration field. I agree, Rogers Centre for football is bad and yes, part of that is distance but the larger part is the slope in the lower section that is just more conducive to baseball. The Rogers Centre seating just wasn't as designed as much for football. That will not be the case with the new stadium here, a track has a very similar shape to a football field, unlike a baseball field.

#36

Edmonton is really bad. University of Kentucky is bad. Toronto doesn't enter into my argument at all. Even if the seating was good that dump would be a horror. I like the atmosphere of the other 2

#37

Of course it doesnt have any charm..it hasn't even been built or fully designed yet!!

And we haven't won a playoff game since 2001...it has nothing to do with the stadium.

#38

Mycko75: There is no room here for your logical thinking and correct spelling. It’s simply not down to this forums standards. :wink:

#39

I have had the opportunity to visit many of the current CFL stadiums and about 6 NFL stadiums.

Ivor Wynne ranks as one of my favourites, and it will be sad to see her go, but time moves on. If they can make the new stadium nice with good sightlines and make it suitable for hosting a Grey Cup game, that will be great.

One unique thing I loved about Molson Stadium in Montreal. The side we sat on did not have "step down" concrete. It is a ramp. My buddy and I figured that if you dropped a can of beer, that sucker would be doing about 50 miles and hour by the time it hit the bottom. Yahoo!!!

#40

? The accessability thing is about the only sound point made. I do agree that Ivor Wynne has
better access than the Harbour site. It’s a valid point and agreed with. The other sites suggested
by the Bobster would provide more visibility (re: Corporate naming) to a region of travellers who
already know who the Tiger-Cats are, what the stadium is called, and where to find it. I’m
inclined to think the daily commuters who travel along any major roadway around Hamilton are
already quite aware of the name of the stadium. If seeing a corporate name day in and out is so
profitable, then why is the Rogers’ Centre continuing to eat so much debt? It’s about what you
got, not where you got it, and to some degree what you call it. I’m thinking the “value? of any
naming rights are not about the commuters / local family travel by’s ....but the exposure on a
National level through media, tv, internet, advertising, and promotions. Location isn’t as
valuable as exposure on a National stage.
We love to bark about something so we bark about Ivor Wynne not having parking or being
built in the 1970's. So we continue to park within a 5-15 minutes walk from the stadium and take
in the truly Hamilton ambience of the game day experience along side our brethren in front of us
or across the street. We do the same thing when the game is over. Bob talks about the billion
dollar fiasco of Olympic Stadium but doesn’t talk about the stadium in Calgary that is older than
Ivor Wynne. McMahon Stadium was good enough to host the 2009 Grey Cup with no talk of
replacing it. Hamilton already has the best stadium in North America for watching professional
football and the East Enders can attest to it with over a billion miles walked. I’m assuming here,
but I have a strong gut feeling I’m much less inclined to drive to battle the highway, side roads,
and corridors of an Aldershot or Confederation Park location. Sure we’ll get the loud socialites
sitting pretty parking real close. I’m quite sure I’ll have to leave sooner and I’ll get home later
than I do now. Don’t get me started on the complete lack of accessibility or impact on the
neighbourhood of a Chedoke location.
Bob and the Tiger-Cats, we appreciate what you’ve taken on more than you know. I think the
City owes Bob and the Team more than what they’re getting back. I think the City/CFL owes
you a CFL Hall of Fame on location. I think the City owes you the permits to a beautiful concert
hall and restaurant. (Heck we approved the Du Maurier Centre and they’ve profited on sales from
killing people). I think the City owes you rights to Brian Timmins to do this and what ever you
want (hint - include multi-level parking). I think the City should give you the key to Ivor Wynne
stadium and subsidize the expansion of a 2nd tier on the South side.
I can envision all of this. Of course I sit in a corner by myself a lot and get laughed at. Laughed
at by the “envisionaire types? who run for election and get elected because they know so
much more than me.