Raise the Hammer

The Confederation Park hotel bogeyman keeps coming up time and again, so the following may be helpful:

Jan 19: Hotel in plans for Confederation Park
http://www.thespec.com/news/article/36086--hotel-in-plans-for-confederation-park

Mar 4: Thumbs down on Confederation Park hotel: Public
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/27981--thumbs-down-on-confederation-park-hotel-public

From the latter: "...the authority needs more predictable income so it doesn't have to ask for more money from city taxpayers. One way to do that is to make the park less weather-dependent by adding retail space and restaurants that attract visitors year-round, especially in spring and fall... The draft plan calls for closing the outdated campground at the east end, moving the go-kart facility from the west end to a more central location so commercial activity is consolidated..."

Consolidated. Moved to make possible the Master Plan's most significantly increased tracts of green space and naturalized play facilities for children.

Note also that whatever the HCA wants, the baseline stipulations is that it's a moneymaker, not a burden on taxpayers. By that measure, can you see any reason why a stadium wouldn't fit?

And this, from the introductory notes to August 2010's Final Report: "The Confederation Park Master Plan, and its implementation, will demonstrate ecological sustainability and best management practices to showcase this City Wide Park as an example of a harmonious blending of the built and natural environments." There are eight commercial/food/retail/entertainment facilities under consideration for the so-called Central Village: six with floor plates between 3,200 and 5,000 square feet, two with a floor plate of 8,600 square feet, all single-storey and located just east of the Adventure Village area near the mouth of Centennial Parkway. That is the sum of the HCA's "pie in the sky plans to commercialize."

Maybe I'm reading it all wrong. Judge for yourselves:

http://www.conservationhamilton.ca/archives/hca/whats-news/archives/confederation-park-master-plan-update