It's "questionable" that the delayed construction project at Tim Hortons field will be ready for any games before the Labour Day classic, according to the head of the city's Pan Am subcommittee.
Though the city and builders remain optimistic for a home game on Aug. 16, Coun. Lloyd Ferguson is cautious about his optimism. "I think we can make the Labour Day game — but another game in August is probably questionable," he said Tuesday morning.
What we do know for sure is that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will play their first two home games at McMaster University, as the new Tim Hortons Field definitely won't be ready for the July 26 and 31 home games. But hosting the Labour Day game against the Toronto Argonauts — essentially the spiritual heart of the team's season — is a necessity, Ferguson says.
"When it comes to Labour Day and playing Toronto — you want to be in that stadium," he said.
Ferguson also reiterated that the city had "no control over this situation" and that taxpayers won't end up on the hook for cost delays — an estimated $1 million per missed game. Though there's some uncertainty surrounding that figure as well, as it's "just a number someone threw out there," Ferguson said. "We don't really know what the costs are."
Games moving to McMaster
The Ticats will be out a considerable amount of money, as their contingency plan is to rent McMaster's 6,000-seat stadium. No additional seating will be installed for the games, meaning a deep cut to ticket sales. The new stadium will hold about 24,000 seats.
Ontario taxpayers are "not responsible for additional costs related to the completion of the project," Infrastructure Ontario (IO) said in a Monday afternoon media release. Instead, construction consortium Ontario Sports Solutions (OSS) pays. Representatives from OSS declined to comment when contacted Monday.
What isn't clear is just how that money will be collected. Ferguson says the city will "cascade the claim to IO," and not chase after OSS for any funds. "We simply pass it through," he said.
While on the Prime Time Sports radio show Monday evening, Ticats President Scott Mitchell said the issue will likely end up in the hands of the organization's lawyers. "Clearly, we're looking at some significant litigation here as time goes on," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said had the team played games this month, large sections of the stadium would have been incomplete, like not having food and beverage stations and washrooms set up. "There were some safety concerns. Between now and then they have to get a lot more railings in that would have to be there in order for it to make code for occupancy permits," he said.
"It became clear to us that a temporary solution was not only going to be a very poor experience for our fans in terms of a first impression, but that it was only going to further set back the final completion of the stadium."
Fans to be issued refund
Construction on the new stadium, which replaces the former Ivor Wynne stadium and will host soccer games for the 2015 Pan Am Games, was at least two weeks behind for most of the winter.
By March, Infrastructure Ontario warned in a letter to the city that the stadium was six weeks behind schedule. By late June, the agency said the stadium wouldn't be "substantially completed" until October.
IO attributed the delay to harsh winter weather and the bankruptcy of a subcontractor. It initially aimed to apply to the city for an occupancy permit on July 16.
Fans who have purchased tickets to the first two home games will be issued a credit or refund for the full value of each game.
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