Raise the Hammer

I'd make a case against Confederation Park

1. Downwind of Woodward Septic Plants - Just the thing I want to smell on a gameday, and contrary what this article state, wind in Hamilton tends towards West to East.

2. Projects a Poor image of Hamilton - How many people like what they see when they cross the Skyway bridge. Why would you want to highlight our Heavy and failing Industry and draw a large number of people to it.

3. Poor Air Quality - The Beach Rd. White Flag campaign showed that the area has an incredible poor air quality and the area has frequently suffered from black metallic fallout falling from the sky, just the thing a CFL broadcast needs.

4. Little Redevelopment being Sparked - The Parcel of Land at Confederation Park just barely fits a stadium. It brings very little accompanying redevelopment of the area, and all of it involves paving over parkland.

5. Paving over Greenspace - I don't think anyone would argue that building a stadium over parkland is considered to be environmentally friendly, or a good PR story.

6. Lacks proper infrastructure - The site is only serviceable via Confederation Dr. On a game day, even a direct exit is very likely to be backed up onto the QEW. It also lacks proper stormdrain capacity.

7. Costlier then one realizes - A single pedestrian bridge crossing the QEW has taken us several million to build. The costs of building another for a potential GO site and a new Highway off ramp will be immense.

8. Tax Burden - Lack of development turns a project designed to attract people to Hamilton into a Tax Burden. Tenant rent seldom pays for the costs of operating a stadium, and usually only benefits a city if fringe benefits occur.

9. Risky - The Pan Am CEO Ian Troop has already warned Mayor Bratina that they aren't going to wait and that they likely won't have the patience to see another site get evaluated. Given we would have one month to evaluate the site, this has the potential to have us lose the Pan-Ams or worse, build a stadium that could potentially suffer from flooding (See Red Hill Valley Parkway) or other structural issues.

10. Doesn't address NEEDED redevelopment - The Rheem plant, the Randall Reef, the Royal Connaught, the Flooding Red Hill Expressway, outdated sewer systems and the swath of derelict and toxic properties throughout Hamilton. All major projects that need to be resolved, of which this site selection would cause them to again fall to the wayside and other potential sites could aid.