HECFI updates

[Jon Dalton]

Originally Posted by drpgq

Didn't they just fire 28 within the past couple of weeks?

Carmen's sacked all employees who worked at the Hamilton Convention Centre.

Global Spectrum / Live Nation must honour all existing collective agreements so all unionized employees who work at Copps and Hamilton Place keep their jobs. Non-union employees had to reapply for their jobs with Live Nation and this has been ongoing.

HECFI employees are also getting shafted because they will no longer have City of Hamilton employee numbers which give them access to internal job postings, whether or not they keep their jobs.

Hopefully Live Nation, being so good at what they do, can afford to ease the pain a little with a pay raise, benefits, comp tickets or at least a little something. These are mostly not high paying jobs.

[coalminecanary]

Wait a second - I thought "entertainment complexes" were going to be the future of employment for downtown Hamilton...

[thistleclub]

Copps Coliseum getting new paint job and LED light ring
(YourHamiltonBiz.com, Saira Peesker, June 14 2013)

Copps Coliseum is getting a fresh paint job, some new decorations in the lobby and an LED light ring around its interior – upgrades the Hamilton Bulldogs hope to unveil at the first game of the season this fall.

As part of its deal to take over operations of the City-owned arena, venue manager Global Spectrum is investing $500,000 into enhancements that will help generate revenue.

Rom D’Angelo – the City’s Director of Community Facilities and Capital Programs – says most of that money will go to the LED ring, which will circumnavigate the arena “bowl” and display advertisements and other messages.

He says Global Spectrum will also place new advertising boards in the arena’s main lobby “to make it more inviting. They have some other ideas as well but I don’t want to take their thunder.”

Several calls to Global Spectrum’s president and marketing department this week were not returned. The company took over the operation of Copps Coliseum and Hamilton Place from the City this spring. Local company Carmen’s took over the operation of the Hamilton Convention Centre.

The City still owns the buildings and has an annual budget of $800,000 to keep Copps and the Convention Centre in good shape.

“We try to find an equal balance of upkeep and esthetics,” said D’Angelo.

This year, Copps will get a new ice plant as well as the paint job. In coming years, it will likely get a new roof as well – the City is currently waiting on an engineer’s report to determine how soon it is necessary. That job is expected to cost the city about $2 million, according to its budget book.

[durandy]

ugh. Tear the damn thing down.

[MeIsThomas]

The convention center has a new website:

[LINK] - The All New Hamilton Convention Center, By Carmen's

[BCTed]

Originally Posted by durandy

ugh. Tear the damn thing down.

Why?

[durandy]

useless, decrepit, blight on landscape, moneyloser, welfare recipient, symbol of failed policy, aging, ghost of urban revival gone wrong, named after bonehead mayor, monument to fly-in city-building dreamers, purposeless, mausoleum of the NHL errand into the wilderness.

There may be some synonyms in that list but you get the gist.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

How dare you slander the greatest mayor this city's ever seen!

It should be noted that it was he who finally abolished the Orange Order parade in the 1960s, so he wasn't a complete dud.

[Beedok]

I don't exceptionally care about it, but unless there's a plan to build something else of similar size I'd rather it stay in place of being another parking lot.

[mattgrande]

Originally Posted by pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce

It should be noted that it was he who finally abolished the Orange Order parade in the 1960s, so he wasn't a complete dud.

As someone who knows nothing about the Orange Order, why was their parade a bad thing?

[BCTed]

Originally Posted by durandy

useless, decrepit, blight on landscape, moneyloser, welfare recipient, symbol of failed policy, aging, ghost of urban revival gone wrong, named after bonehead mayor, monument to fly-in city-building dreamers, purposeless, mausoleum of the NHL errand into the wilderness.

There may be some synonyms in that list but you get the gist.

Gotcha.

I quite like the arena and believe that it has helped bring a ton of great events and attention to the city that would never have taken place otherwise.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

Originally Posted by mattgrande

As someone who knows nothing about the Orange Order, why was their parade a bad thing?

The Orange Order is a fraternal Protestant organisation. Irish in origin, their sole purpose is to promote all things Protestant and, in the Canadian context, rally against things like immigration, bilingualism and to use violence and intimidation to promote their agenda. Its influence has waned in Canada but it's alive and well in places like Northern Ireland and Scotland.

They did construct nice buildings, however. The Vasco da Gama club (both Portuguese and Catholic, ironically enough) on James N is housed inside a former Orange Order building.