Feds say funding not tied to location
Ottawa not against west harbour stadium site
August 08, 2010
DANIEL NOLAN, EMMA REILLY and JOE COLEMAN
Ottawa says it is not against building a Pan Am stadium at the west harbour.
Federal Sports Minister Gary Lunn issued a statement Saturday disavowing a Friday statement from two local Liberal MPPs that the Conservative government will only provide funding for an East Mountain site, the favourite site of future tenants, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“Federal funding is not contingent upon the location of the stadium,†Lunn said in a release, received by The Spectator at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Lunn's director of communications, Vanessa Schneider, told The Spectator that the federal government did not make any communications to the province stating they would only fund an east Mountain stadium.
"Basically, HostCo has to come to the government partners with a business plan," said Schneider. "Right now, we respect the process that city council is going through and we'll look forward to hearing the decision they come up with on August 12th."
"We will support the decision of the organizing committee; the HostCo decision."
The statement was sent out just as a rally began at Hess Village featuring supporters for a west harbour site, which is the city’s preferred location. It appeared about 400 people attended the rally – which features speeches from such people as Mayor Fred Eisenberger and Councillor Bob Bratina – but the Hess Village business association said there were 1,000 in attendance, plus 200 on bar patios.
Later in the evening, Ian Troop, CEO of the Toronto 2015 HostCo clarified earlier events.
"On Friday, I was informed by the federal government that funding for the PanAm Games stadium in Hamilton was contingent on having an anchor tenant, and that they would not be interested in funding a stadium at the West Harbour," Troop's statement read. "I passed that information along to representatives of the provincial government, who are a major partner in the Games."
"I've now learned that Minister of State for Sport Gary Lunn has clarified the federal position and stated that their funding is not contingent on the location of the stadium."
Troop said the HostCo is looking for a "long-term plan with viable future usage for this facility."
"The city's own report has said that an anchor tenant is required to make the stadium viable."
He ended by saying the HostCo "looks forward to the decision from the City of Hamilton about the stadium later this week."
A pro-East Mountain rally, featuring the Tiger-Cats, was attended by about 800 people Thursday night.
Lunn said in Saturday's release that the only conditions Ottawa has for funding the stadium is that the city own the stadium; the stadium must be used for the 2015 games; the stadium must be used for high-performance sport after the 2015 games; there is no objection to a professional football team (CFL franchise) using the stadium as tenants: and that the board for the 2015 Games approve the construction of the stadium and that it be ready on schedule and within budget.
“The decision for the location of the venues lies with the organizing committee,†said Lunn.
“I commend the parties involved for working together to find a stadium location that brings long-term benefits to the city of Hamilton.â€
In a statement released Friday afternoon, MPPs Sophia Aggelonitis and Ted McMeekin said the province is pulling its funding from the west harbour.
Aggelonitis — who says she got a phone call late Thursday from the premier's office alerting her of the funding change — said the move was prompted by a federal government decision to choose the east Mountain.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger and several councillors reacted angrily to the Friday decision, calling it undemocratic.
Councillor Brian McHattie called it "preposterous" and Councillor Sam Merulla said it was "a slap in the face of democracy."
The mayor told The Spectator after Saturday's rally that he had been in contact with federal government officials about the MPP’s comments.
He was told a statement would be forthcoming from the Conservative government Saturday or sometime Sunday.
Councillor Lloyd Ferguson said he had spoken to Tory MP David Sweet and said he had made some “shocking†comments.
He wouldn’t reveal what the MP had said but was also told a statement from him or the Conservative government would be forthcoming.
"We have said all along that we respect the decision-making process and we want to make sure that Hamilton gets a Pan Am stadium," Aggelonitis said. "What has now changed, unfortunately, is that the federal government has told the city it will not fund west harbour."
"We didn't make the decision, but at the end of the day, the province does not have the money to fund a whole stadium. We cannot go it alone," Aggelonitis said.
Rumours began flying around City Hall Friday afternoon that Eisenberger had received a phone call from Premier Dalton McGuinty informing him of the change.
It wasn't officially confirmed until Aggelonitis and McMeekin issued a statement about 5:30 p.m.
Eisenberger pointed a finger at "powerful private interests" who "compelled the federal and provincial governments to move the goalposts." But when directly asked who he was referring to, the mayor refused to name names.
Councillor Brian McHattie says it's Senator David Braley — the influential Hamilton businessman who also owns the Toronto Argos and the B.C. Lions — who is pulling the strings behind the scenes.
"It sounds like its Mr. Braley, Mr. Harper, and Mr. McGuinty that have made this decision. It's antidemocratic, preposterous — I can think of a number of other words to describe this," McHattie said.
Approached Saturday at the Tiger-Cat game at Ivor Wynne by a Spectator reporter, Senator Braley declined to comment on the situation and told the reporter to call his office Monday. He said he was just there to enjoy the football game with his family.
Ted McMeekin said the federal government passed its decision on to the province through Pan Am CEO Ian Troop.
"Apparently the federal minister called Ian Troop and made it clear that they weren't going to come to the table with money for the west harbour," he said. Troop issued the following statement via e-mail: "Toronto 2015 will be able to offer some perspective when we know the city's direction. Until then, we don't have anything to add to the discussion."
The decision has already prompted some councillors to discuss removing the city's $60 million contribution from the Games altogether.
Councillor Sam Merulla, who's proposing a plan to spend $20 million renovating Ivor Wynne instead of building a new stadium, said it should be up to the province to fund the project if it's calling the shots about the stadium location.
According to Aggelonitis, the province hasn't yet offered any additional money for east Mountain beyond the $28.5 million that it pledged months ago.
"Nothing at this point has been offered, but if the city asks, that's something we'll look at in good faith," she said.
Ticats president Scott Mitchell, who has said his team will never play at west harbour, said he wasn't prepared to comment at this stage. "I don't know enough. I haven't spoken to any of the parties involved since (yesterday) morning," he said.
The news came the same day city staff released a report examining the two sites.
The report, which concluded the east Mountain site would cost tens of millions more than west harbour, confirmed the province would support either site.
"Staff has asked the 2015 Pan Am Host corporation and provincial representatives if either site is acceptable for the Games and whether the funding would be applied to either site," reads the report. "The response has been that the site decision is the city's to make."
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