The following is an excerpt from the Tigercats’ pro-East Mountain propaganda handed out at last nights’ rally.
• 78% of Tiger-Cats fans live outside of Downtown Hamilton.
So that means that 22% of fans live IN downtown Hamilton. How many live in the East Mountain 5% maybe?
• 81% of fans drive to games.
So by adding more parking at the West Harbour (WH) than currently is available at Ivor Wynne, your fan base will be happy.
• A Grey Cup Game and Festival generates in excess of $100 Million in economic activity for the host region.
And we have 3 great Waterfront parks, lots of hotels, restaurants and amenities to accommodate all those festivals.
• Tiger-Cats fans surveyed indicated easy highway access and parking availability were the two most important
components of a new stadium location.
Good thing there are thousands of spots already available within a 10-15 minute walk
Good thing the removal of the track decreases the stadium’s footprint to allow for more parking.
Good thing the 403 is only 2.5km away from the stadium
Good thing there are plenty of arterial roads serving the WH site (York, Cannon, King, Main, etc etc)
• The Tiger-Cats will operate the stadium on the East Mountain, saving taxpayers millions of dollars annually
So we’re spending $60 million so we can save 1.3 million per year…….
• As confirmed by Metrolinx, the proposed downtown Liuna GO Train station IS NOT contingent on the stadium in the
West Harbour.
Officially, no. But it sure wouldn’t hurt.
• The Setting Sail planning documents call for residential, commercial and light recreational uses in the West
Harbour community.
I’m sure there’s lots of room and lots more brownfields to clean up for those purposes.
• The Ontario Realty Corporation lands on the East Mountain are slated for development and will be listed for sale
in the near future. These plots of land will be commercially or residentially developed with or without a stadium
development.
No kidding. But the same can’t be said for the West Harbour. Wouldn’t it make more sense to let the East Mountain (EM) site develop on its own and put the stadium where only a large, publicly-funded project should go?
• “For years, the notion of a downtown facility that revitalizes growth has been a goal of many cities across North
America, but the long-term economic benefits have never been quantified”. Robert Mankin, Sports Business
Journal.
I think a stadium will bring more people downtown than the current toxic waste dump would.
• The proposed East Mountain stadium will have a GO Bus station adjacent to the site.
Those GO buses will be stuck in traffic just like everyone else. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a train station AT the stadium like there could be at the West Harbour?
• Soccer specific MLS stadiums are examples of the opportunity presented by the Pan Am Games stadium from a
capacity and construction budget perspective. 71% (12 of 17) of all venues constructed or renovated between
1999-2012 are NOT located downtown.
Downtown, especially the area near the proposed WH stadium, is soccer town in Hamilton. Your biggest fans would be able to walk to the West Harbour.
• The East Mountain stadium site is within the Hamilton Urban Boundary.
Urban boundaries are just lines on a map. There’s not much about that area that screams “urban”. I could draw in a lake there too but it doesn’t mean I could go for a swim (unless the Red Hill Expressway floods again).
• Stadium Facilitator Michael Fenn recommended the East Mountain location as a compromise site. The site is not
the Tiger-Cats’ first location choice.
Finally we agree on something, it’s not our first either.
• Tiger-Cats Caretaker Bob Young will bring professional soccer to the East Mountain site in the form of an NASL
franchise.
That seems a silly waste of money. As mentioned above, your big soccer fan base lives downtown.
• The Tiger-Cats have partnered with the Canadian Soccer Association, the Ontario Soccer Association and the
Hamilton and District Soccer association to develop a soccer academy at the East Mountain site, accessible for
recreational and high performance players.
See above re: Soccer.
• Sports industry experts, responsible for constructing and operating facilities and franchises throughout North
America and Europe, have gone on record to state the West Harbour site will not work for a stadium site. These
experts include Dr. Bernie Mullen, Denis Braham and Brian Cooper.
Add them to the endless parade of experts who have weighed in on both sides of this debate, dress them up in Black and Gold and you’d have an excellent Grey Cup event. All of these experts have pretty much cancelled each other out by now.
