You mystify me Ron.
"Stupid" doesn't come anywhere close to what YOU have called him over the past months Ron so consider yourself well and truly in the class of "Fred haters". Stupid is what I called his stand only recently.
My criticism is over what he has done ...not personal attacks and vilification for months as you have resorted to so often. :roll:
The WH is off the table. The City Manager said he won’t even discuss it with the TiCats. All that happened in Chambers today was posturing and saving face. By not officially taking it off the table the Mayor can still look like a hero to all the WH wackos while not looking like a complete fool to the rest of the electorate by doing a snap 180 degree turn. His attitude was completely different today sounding like someone who is reasonable and willing to negotiate in everyone’s best interests. Somebody with clout woke him up and now he’s trying to slither to a respectable position.
That will be part of the negotiations over the next two weeks. According to Councillor Ferguson, his contacts say Mac is willing to “help out”. But Councillor McHattie says his Mac sources tell him Mac does not want the stadium there. Stay tuned.
In Moncton, it will become the Irving Gas Tigervision.
In London, it will become the Labatts Tigervision.
At York University, it will become the ??? Tigervision
Mac trading its Aberdeen property for a big chunk of the West Harbour is brilliant. An office building at the Rheem site would attract restaurants and other tertiary businesses. You might even see a connection between the downtown and the new development. That would help the West Harbour/North End area much more than a ten event per year football stadium.
If the Tiger Cats are onside with this location, then I can live with it, but I have to tell you that IMO the EM site is by far the best location for this cIty. It will offer the Tiger Cats a whole new crop of fans - it offers easy access from anywhere in the city. Everyone is on board with this site. The costs will be less than the WH site. Any lost development charges are made up by the lower construction costs and the 15M from the Tiger Cats. Plus, they will get expanded development around the entire EM. Families will start attending games again - this is what the City needs. The one bright spot downtown is the Innovation Park - why take potential high paying research jobs away by building a stadium there. Also, the location is hemmed in pretty tight there. I just don't get why Mayor Fred is so opposed to the EM site - I really think it has something with Brad Clark pushing so hard for that site.
I don't know if anyone has discussed this much but we all know that Mac has a sweet 5000 seat stadium. Hmm. I wonder if at least some of the powers that be are speaking with the admin. at Mac to use their stadium for some of our Pan Am soccer games in exchange for some help with the Rheem site particularly given the timing necessary to build a new stadium? In exchange Mac also could get to build some student housing on the Rheem site in a joint venture with the city.
So what would that mean for the Ti-Cats? Simple, Mac cuts a deal for the new Longwood site, which will include state of the art high-level sports development and research controlled by Mac. The Cats get the stadium they are looking for and access to the other facilities and the city gets to save face and claim the high ground as two brown fields get cleaned up, the Cats stay in a new stadium and Mac builds new research facilities on one site and student dorms in the West Harbour, throw in some housing perhaps for Mohawk. Add the new cafe's, clubs, condos etc... and the downtown gets the refresh the supporters really wanted.
They city could, and given the current egos involved probably would, maintain the operating rights at the new stadium. I would prefer Bob's team managing the stadium as a private venture but who really knows how all that would go. The naming rights are also a wild card.
Would the feds and prov. still give money for the stadium? I think they certainly would for a number of reasons. One the stadium could still be used for the opening and closing of the games, the playoff rounds and championship of the soccer and it meets the legacy component, not to mention cleans up directly and indirectly two brownfields.
A small ampitheatre as you say ron would be fantastic for the WH area feeding well with the James St. N. art community as you say. I can envision plaques by the sidewalks from James St. N to the WH ampitheatre showing the history of music, art and theatre in Hamilton from earliest days to present and photos of some acts that have come from local to afar and have extended art crawls etc. High school music and theatre groups could perfomr there and practice and we could have regional art and theatre combines if you will, celebrations. I mean it would be absolutely wonderful I think. It gives me goosebumps thinking about it actually and I’m more of a sports guy than an artistic sort I would say but appreciate the arts immensely and have always felt they have been underserved in relation to the more mass appeal of sport.
2 weeks to get a deal struck between Mac and the city and the TigerCats? I can't see it and therefore I have to think that the EM is the only logical site with so little time and this has already been studied somewhat and brought forward by the facilitator.
That is if the city really does want a full fledged stadium in the first place using FF money for a non-WH site. And that is a big question mark as well.