Tough to Find A Better Spot

For $10, the elderly lady let me park on her front lawn on Balsam St., just up the road from Scott Park Secondary School, which in turn is just up the road from Ivor Wynne Stadium.

More than six hours later, I returned, and there she was, still sitting on her porch, keeping an eye on the last remaining vehicle on her property.

If and when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats get a new stadium, that part of Steeltown's football tradition will be lost. So much of the debate about the location for a new Hamilton stadium revolves around parking that it's hard to believe there will be anything left over for local entrepreneurs if the joint gets built.

It was a perfect afternoon on Monday for CFL football, which has to be taken into account when stating what seemed so obvious after the Tiger-Cats and Argos played, that while Hamilton owner Bob Young and local politicians spar over alternate locations for a stadium that will also be used for the 2015 Pan-American Games, Ivor Wynne is a pretty darn good location as it is.

Or maybe that's just the Hamilton boy in me talking.

There's a shortage of official lot parking, sure, but lots of places to leave your vehicle with local residents. If not, you can park a distance away and use your game ticket to hop aboard city buses for free. The pre-game parties, mostly in the field adjacent to Scott Park, are much more extensive and start much earlier than was the case 10 or even five years ago. The view from the stands is of a neighborhood, not of expressways and office buildings. Ok, a neighborhood with steel mills as a backdrop.

The stadium itself, well, once you're in your seat, there is no better place to watch a football game in the country, although people in Montreal and Regina would beg to differ. When it's jammed, as was the case on Monday, Ivor Wynne remains the perfect home, particularly for a football team that still wants to reflect the personality of its city.

If there is to be a new Ivor Wynne Stadium - and no way does that name surivive, right? - there's almost no chance it will have the same sightlines and personality as the Cats current home. Something will be lost, and it will be lost forever.

That said, there seems to be some agreement that the new Longwood location, just off Aberdeen not far from Chedoke golf course and Highway 403, is a spot both Young and city fathers can live with. McMaster University owns the land, and if there's a deal, maybe Mac ends up with the West Harbour site that the city orginally wanted and develops that for the future.

Young loves the east mountain site, but he and, I would imagine, the people who live in that part of the city would be the only ones. Certainly, that site would have little charm or poetry to it. It would be about ads on the building and expressways and parking, period.

The Longwood location at least allows the chance to retain a sense of the personality of Hamilton, of this being a downtown Hamilton team, not a surburban team. 

I know some people who live in the area. Maybe they'll let me park on their lawn for $10.

Comments

[Pat]

As a Hamiltonian, I heartily agree. However, the stadium is past its prime and we do need a replacement. It will be
a sad day when the last game is played at Ivor Wynn. I just hope our stupid mayor and city council can come up with a solution in the short time left. They spent 7 months making decisions without consulting with anyone else, thinking they could just jam through their own agenda.

[Steve C]

That parking situation at Ivor Wynne is a disgrace. What a blight on the neighbourhood to see cars parked every which way on people's front yards. Yeah I'm going to miss THAT. It's easy to say goodbye. Bye Bye.

[Hamiltoncentric]

I agree that the current location is a great one. Sure, we need a replacement and the city council (not just the mayor, he is only one vote people) voted no less than SEVEN times to put it in the West Harbour in order to help city building objectives. Bob Young pulled some last minute nonssense to try and profitize all the revenues while having all the costs subsidized. People in this city need to grow up and face the economic reality that we can't give a football team a blank cheque. I love the TICATS, but life will go on without them. There is a city called HAMILTON - I love it! If you want to stick your head in the sand and blame council, go ahead, but my eyes are wide open.

[mark]

So, Hamiltoncentric, you would go ahead and build a stadium without a year round tenant...? There is no stadium with the Ticats. There would be a huge white elephant funded by tax payers... that I guess could be called a 'stadium' but really, what's the point of building it if you don't have a team to play in it. Bob Young should definately have some say in where this thing is built. I don't agree with his methods, but city council needs to work with him or everyone (you as a tax payer included) will lose.

[Ogus]

To anyone from outside of Hamilton, Ivor Wynne is a toilet.

If that's all Hamilton aspires to then no wonder it has problems

[Joanne]

Ah Damien, I am so going to miss Ivor Wynne...when the Grey Cup was last in Hamilton we sat on my aunt's rooftop patio to watch the stands sway...
I have to agree with you that it is the best place in the country to watch a football game and I am going to miss it!
Oskee wee wee...

[Hamiltoncentric]

No, I would not build a stadium without a year round tenant. It is a shame that sports teams engage in emotional blackmail, but since it is a formula that works, I am not surprised to see them try it. I would give them one more chance to come to the table on West Harbour. If they refused, I would pass on Pan Am and the stadium altogether. This is not about saving face and it is not about pride. It is about what is financially responsible for the City of Hamilton We have gone from deciding on building a stadium where it has the most benefit to a desperate attempt to find a location that does the least harm. What do you think will happen if we don't build a stadium? The ticats will move to Halton? That would be nice for my tax roll, and I could still watch my team, but our eastern neighbours are not that naive.

[mark]

Too late Hamitoncentric. The Pan Am boat has sailed. You're committed. So, your council needs to find a way to keep all stakeholders happy, including Mr. Young. Last I heard he proferred an olive branch on an alternative 3rd site... if the politicos were smart they would grasp onto that branch and find common ground.

[just david]

Before the wrecking ball comes, I hope I can grab a little piece of Ivor Wynne to remember her by. It is unique, it is original and during a game, the interaction among the fans is genuine and great fun. A pre-game and post-game pitcher of beer at the Dizzy Weasel will be just like any other pitcher of beer when she's gone. And that too is sad.

Oskee Waa Waa

[Hamiltoncentric]

Mark, If you're referring to the West Hamilton Innovation District Lands, then we're not interested. I can't support giving up our best employment lands to build a civic building to cater to non-taxpaying regional fans. That is an untenable position for any citizen of Hamilton. The Pan Am train has not sailed until we give a location that is suitable to all parties. If we can't find one, then we'll take a pass. Of course, the ticats are welcome to buy land and build their own stadium. Their offer to pay 15 million of a 120 million dollar stadium gives then very little say in the location.