Raise the Hammer

First time poster here. Like CdR, I live in Waterdown and have attended many games at IWS as a season ticket holder of the Ticats. It is clear to me that due to a flawed funding model, that no site would of worked for the Pan Am stadium including Confederation Park. It was very unrealistic from the beginning to expect the private sector to contribute $50 million towards this project. That being said, BY should of made some sort of commitment towards the capital cost, in the range of $5 to $10 million. Is that too much to ask from someone who is reported to be a billionaire.

I agree with many of the posters here, that a new stadium at WH was the best choice going forward from a City building perspective. As a financial analyst by profession, I am shocked by the ever changing numbers like most everyone else.

In my opinion, the City should of advised BY that were building the stadium at WH with a seating capacity of 25 to 30K. I have no doubt he would of come on board, given he really has no other options, let's be honest. The $50 million funding shortfall probably could of been covered by an interst free loan from the Province or Feds, amortized over the expected life of the new stadium (i.e. 80 years if history repeats). With interest rates at historic lows, the debt servicing costs probably would be manageable.

I have lost considerable respect for the Ticats on how they have acted, this coming from a team supporter and follower of the CFL. The City also disappoints me in terms of their flip flopping decisions and the lack of a proper site assessment process from the very beginning.

Have not said anything new in my post, just wanted to voice my opinion. Many thanks to RTH and the posters here, both pro and con WH. That includes you HamiltonFan, your one busy poster. The debate here has been intelligent, reasoned and well thought out. As we all know, it is sometimes hard to be proud of this City. However, if the posters here are representative of the citizens of Hamilton who are clearly becoming more engaged, I think better days for this City are not that far off.