Cats support city on new stadium
Will back whatever council chooses
January 13, 2010
John Kernaghan
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/Local%...article/704326
Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young will back whatever Pan Am Games stadium site the city chooses, wiping out fears the football club and city hall were on a collision course.
“We will make it work, whatever the city decides,” Young said today.
A report on the feasibility of two sites, the West Harbour location near Bay and Barton streets, and one in the airport area around Mount Hope, is expected Feb. 18.
The stadium is identified as a $102-million,15,000-seat stadium for track and field at the 2015 Games, but the city challenged the Ticats and other private partners to come up with $50 million to erect a facility to seat 24,000 to 27,000.
The club’s current home, Ivor Wynne Stadium, is near the end of its life. It costs $1.5 million a year to keep going and would cost almost $100 million to rebuild.
The city is committing $45 million towards the new stadium, while the provincial and federal governments will contribute $57 million.
Young has said the football club would donate “in the millions” to the project.
The Ticats owner has indicated a preference for a site at Confederation Park in the past, but city council voted that location off the table.