Originally Posted by flar
This is precisely what this whole thing was about. Mr. Young is
following the standard "business" advice from GTA business people. Hamilton is a no go zone, we all know that. The money men don't want another stadium in the "ghetto." Put it on the nice shiny mountain. Hamilton has been hollowing out for years (mostly to Burlington) and people want to put a stop to it. The EM stadium would have been a continuation of the detrimental suburban policy. Like I said before, an EM stadium might as well be in Waterdown, or Oakville or Mississauga. It would be missing the Hamilton identity.
Realcity, you know marketing, you know the EM location certainly wouldn't be associated as closely with Hamilton as the Ticats are now. How does that help Hamilton become an A-city? When they show the aerial of the stadium on TV, and all you see are highway interchanges and subdivisions, how does that help brand the city? Should Hamilton bend over backwards to accomodate a sports team that is ashamed of the city? The NHL is ashamed of Hamilton too. They don't want their brand associated with Hamilton and all its negatives.
Let me continue with a difficult truth: Hamilton always tried to be an A city but never made it. The "Ambitious City" moniker was always derisively applied by Toronto media. Sure, Hamilton was the leading manufacturing centre of Canada, with over 500 factories, including a bevy of American branch plants that read like the NY stock exchange listings. Hamilton hosted the first British Empire Games. Hamilton was the last Canadian city other than Montreal or Toronto to have a national bank headquarters. 100 years ago, Hamilton was one of the top 5 most populous cities in Canada. Hamilton did play host to Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong and all kinds of other celebrities. Hamilton has old money too. It was a happening town, a city with a strong identity and sense of place. But it was never an A city.
Toronto started sucking away Hamilton's business even when Hamilton was still booming in the first half of the 20th century. Hamilton's best and brightest left town. McMaster University didn't even move here till the 1930's, and even then, the brightest still left for Toronto. Toronto was the seat of government. Toronto had a better location and become the major commercial centre of Ontario. Toronto was the centre of education. All the best lawyers and other professionals practiced in Toronto. Toronto was the centre of finance and later grew into the financial center for all of Canada. Toronto grew and grew with a diverse economy.
Hamilton had all its eggs in one basket. Hamilton got slaughtered in the recession of the 1890s. And again in the 30s. And again in the 70s. And again in the 80s. And again in the 90s. And again in the curent recession. By the 1960s and 70s, Hamilton already started making big mistakes out of desperation, demolishing most of its downtown in the false hopes that the empty lots would be filled with shining skyscrapers like in Toronto. Then Copps Coliseum was built in a failed attempt to lure the NHL. Toronto slapped Hamilton down again. Then the businesses started to relocate. Not just to Toronto, because meanwhile, a new city sprung up just on the other side of the Harbour, which continues to leech its bigger, older sibling, sucking away professionals and business people as well as the businesses themselves.
All the while, Hamilton was rarely mentioned in the national media. Hamilton had zero presence internationally. It could not even succeed as a regional centre because Toronto was too close. Hamilton has not had any importance for a long time. It hasn't been a destination for anyone for a long time.
Despite all this, Hamilton still managed to become a real city. The wealth of architecture has been plundered, but enough still remains to make it unique. It remains dense and diverse. Hamilton is never dull, it has a character and sense of place that cities like Calgary and Edmonton will never have. Hamilton's uniqueness and strengths, its identity, are in the lower city.
But Hamilton has carried the lower city like it was some kind of baggage. And it is in the sense that the city must deal with the aging infrastructure of a big city that got choked off by Toronto. Hamilton could develop its suburban areas all it wants, but because it drags along the giant hulk of the lower city, it can never beat Burlington and Mississauga at their own games. Unfortunately, the lower city cannot compete with Toronto on big city terms. Hamilton will always lose. That's why they shouldn't have got involved int he Toronto Pan Am games, and why Hamilton should stop chasing elusive NHL teams (if it happens, good, but otherwise...)
My advice: Don't try to beat Toronto at its own game. Hamilton will lose. Don't compare Hamilton to Toronto. Hamilton will look bad. Aspire to be Hamilton, not Toronto. Draw on Hamilton's strengths, things like fixing up neighbourhoods and local commercial streets that could ooze charm. Urban living without the hassle and expense. Do the simple things that don't take millions of dollars, like say, taking some pride in the city. Start small and get the city back on the upswing. Hamilton has a lot to do and see, but nobody knows about them. Hamilton doesn't exploit the views fromt he mountain. I could go on, but you all know these things.
Bottom line: people need to quit being down on the city. There is one thing that without fail every single sucessful person has: confidence. That applies to cities too. And remember, false confidence never works out in the long run. Successful people have realistic goals and know what they can achieve and when to draw the line. This applies to cities too.
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