Pan Am stadium progressing — but what will it look like? The Pan Am Games soccer stadium on the site of the former Ivor Wynne Stadium is slowly beginning to emerge. The facility's final design is still in question, however. Emma Reilly thespec.com May 7. 2013 Construction of the new Pan Am stadium is more than 10 per cent complete — but the city has yet to give its final stamp of approval on exactly what the finished product will look like. The project is progressing on time and on budget, says Infrastructure Ontario, the province's construction arm. Crews are busy pouring the foundations of the $145.7-million sports facility. However, the city is still working with Ontario Sports Solutions, the consortium designing and building the new stadium, to hammer out the final details of the design. Councillors learned in December that plans for the stadium did not comply with the city's design standards, despite the fact that all the stadium bidders were given those guidelines more than a year in advance. At that time, councillors were told the city wouldn't issue a building permit until the project conformed to the city's rules. However, Steve Robichaud of the city's planning department says the building process has been broken into three stages, allowing construction to get started before the final design has been approved. Instead of issuing one blanket building permit, the city will issue a foundation permit, a superstructure permit and a final fit-and-finish permit. It's a common practice for large construction projects, and was used with the Maple Leaf foods plant in the Red Hill business park and the St. Joseph's hospital expansion on West 5th Street. "They're proceeding with a clear understanding that if we have to make changes, we can do that," said Councillor Lloyd Ferguson, the co-chair of the Pan Am stadium subcommittee. All of the major details of the stadium design have been settled for some time. It will be oriented north-south, have permanent seating for 22,500 people (Ivor Wynne Stadium sat almost 30,000), and the ability to expand to 40,000 for Grey Cup games. Robichaud says city staff and Ontario Sports Solutions have been going back and forth on the final touches since December and are ready to present an updated rendering of the stadium to councillors at the May 14 planning committee. "They've heard where staff is coming from. They're very open," he said. "They're not trying to impose a design on us — they understand that this is an important legacy project for the city." When the stadium design was unveiled in December — the first time council had seen the massive project they had agreed to spend millions on — it garnered mixed reviews. One major concern is the rough underside of the stands being exposed to the street, when city guidelines require the stands to be enclosed. The public plaza planned for the stadium's entrance also falls short of design guidelines, which require seating, shade, greenery and visual interest. The city outlined its urban design principles to provincial officials in a letter sent Oct. 31, 2011. Staff will issue the final two permits once all of the details have been finalized, Robichaud says — a process he hopes will be finished by June or July. That's when all of the final details, including finishes, colours, textures and the final look of the stands and public plaza will be nailed down. "We're close, but we haven't signed off yet."
Goodbye Ivor Wynne, hello Tim Hortons Field The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Tim Hortons are announcing a naming rights agreement for the new Pan Am Stadium. Drew Edwards: Scratching Post July 12/2013 It will bear the coffee shop chain's moniker for 10 years, The Spectator has learned. Welcome to … Tim Hortons Field. The double-double deal is expected to be made official at a news conference Friday afternoon. Financial details are not known, but reports suggest it will be the CFL's biggest naming deal. The CFL team will unveil new drawings and video representations of the 22,500-seat facility. The launch will mark the beginning of the team's marketing campaign for the new stadium, set to open in time for the 2014 season. While design sketches were made available to city council in May, more sophisticated drawings were kept under wraps because of confidentiality rules imposed by Infrastructure Ontario, the crown corporation overseeing the project. The new renderings were released to city council this week. Among the new features: • Four concourses, including two that will allow fans to see the playing field even when not in their seats. • Two raised plazas in each end zone with a sports bar theme. • Eighty per cent of seats between the goal lines with a minimum seat width of 21 inches, with larger seats in the club and suite sections. (The Rogers Centre seats are 19 inches wide.) • A new scoreboard that's almost 25 per cent larger than the one at Ivor Wynne. • A total of 1,010 club seats with two themed lounges, including one honouring former Ticat greats. The primary club lounge area will have a 100-yard view of the field. • Six elevators and fully accessible seating throughout the stadium at all price points. The stadium, which is being built by a consortium of companies under the name Ontario Sports Solutions, is part of the facilities for the 2015 Games. It is budgeted at $145.7 million. The city is contributing $54.3 million, the province $22.3 million and federal government paying the remaining $69.1 million. The Ticats have committed to pay the city $1.2 million per year for 20 years in exchange for use of the stadium, including $450,000 in rent and $750,000 per season in exchange for naming rights as part of a memorandum of understanding signed in February 2011. A final agreement between the two is still being finalized. The team has also had a long-standing partnership with Tim Hortons, another of the city's iconic brands. Founded in 1964 in Hamilton by a professional hockey player of the same name, the chain has grown to more than 4,000 restaurants worldwide. The facility is being constructed on the site of the former Ivor Wynne Stadium, which was selected after long and contentious debate. The Ticats are currently playing their home games at an expanded Alumni Stadium on the University of Guelph while the construction on their new home continues. While "Ivor Wynne" will no longer grace the stadium's facade — the old building was named after the former broadcaster and parks board chair in 1971 — the name will continue to have a place in the new facility, likely as part of the media centre. Expanded 40k seat configuration
Lessons for Hamilton from Winnipeg’s new stadium Drew Edwards thespec.com Aug 30, 2013 WINNIPEG - The most impressive element of the new Investors Group Field in Winnipeg is unquestionably the massive roof, its two sections of ornately-designed, curved steel covering almost eight acres and stretching almost 200 feet over the seats below. It's swooping profile is the iconic image used in much of the branding. But the roof also added approximately $35 million to the cost and was the central factor in a year-long delay in opening the facility. The new Hamilton stadium, due to open in time for the 2014 CFL season next July, will have no such roof, one of several important differences between Tim Hortons Field and the Investors Group version in Winnipeg. One is cost. Tim Hortons Field has a budget of $148 million, while IGF was budgeted at $200 million before the delay and additional, costs which are expected to push the final tally closer to a quarter of a billion dollars. Money in Winnipeg is undeniably tight: for example, the press box is still unfinished — it's currently situated outdoors — and will have to be enclosed before the Bombers can hold a Grey Cup. In addition to the roof, the Winnipeg stadium also has close to 10,000 more seats than the 22,500 planned in Hamilton. That may sound like a good thing, but where those seats are located is key: while the Hamilton design emphasizes seating between the 20-yard lines, IGF has extensive end zone seating. The Bombers have yet to sell out a game this season — their winless home record likely isn't helping — but the vast majority of the empty seats have been located in the end zone, where visibility for CFL games is poorest. One of the design features of the new Hamilton facility that has received the most attention is social areas located behind each zone, places where fans are expected to congregate and watch the game in an atmosphere that's been likened to a sports bar. Winnipeg has those areas as well — they were packed Aug. 24 against Ticats — but they are much further from the field, sitting behind row upon row of end zone seats. There's also a major difference on how high end ticket buyers will experience the game. The club seats in Winnipeg — known as the Pinnacle Club — feature both a seating area and a communal gathering spot where fans can eat and socialize. But those two areas are separated by a concourse: there's no way to see the action unless seated. In Hamilton, that gathering spot has been designed to allow for a view of the field of play. One of the possible explanations for the construction delay and some of the oversights in the Winnipeg facility is the relative inexperience in both the architect and the builder in constructing sports facilities. Both firms were required to be Manitoba-based by the terms set by the provincial government, the primary financial backer (more on that in a minute.) The Hamilton stadium, meanwhile, is being built by an international consortium that includes by Cannon Design, which was involved in the B.C. Place renovation, the Richmond Olympic Oval and the new Landsdowne Park in Ottawa. The builder is Bouygues Construction, a huge multinational based in France. It has built everything from bridges to soccer stadiums, to the containment shelter for the nuclear reactors in Chernobyl. The Ticats have also spent the better part of two years touring stadiums across North America in attempt to gather the best fan experiences and incorporate them into Tim Hortons Field. They've also hired a number of consultants to advise them, including Jim Cima, who has been heavily involved in the construction of pro stadiums and arenas in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Minnesota among several others. There are also significant differences in how the stadiums will be financed. Investors Group Field was built with the help of a $22.5-million provincial grant, a $7.5-million city grant and what amount to $170 in provincial loans. The Bombers plan to use revenue from the football team to repay $95 million of that money, while property taxes from new developments at the former Canad Inns Stadium site are expected cover the balance. That means the Bombers must prioritize their finances to pay for their new building on an ongoing basis, and hope that the developments at Canad Inns produce as expected (it's a series of big box stores.) Because the Bombers are community-owned with no deep-pocketed owner behind them, the responsibility will fall to the taxpayers should the team fail to meet their commitments. In Hamilton, the financing is more clear. It is budgeted at $145.7 million with the city is contributing $54.3 million, the province $22.3 million and federal government paying the remaining $69.1 million. The Ticats have committed to pay the city $1.2 million per year for 20 years in exchange for use of the stadium, including $450,000 in rent and $750,000 per season in exchange for naming rights as part of a memorandum of understanding signed in February 2011. A final agreement is still being worked on. Last weekend, while the Ticats were busy beating the Bombers on the field, representatives from the football team and the city of Hamilton were touring the Winnipeg stadium and talking to their counterparts about the challenges they had encountered. Winnipeg has a magnificent new facility — with a spectacular roof — but Hamilton may still end up with something both more economically and more sporting for fans.
The only question that will remain is who will be playing soccer here in the future. Will it be CFL owner Bob Young and an NASL expansion team or TFC USL affiliate Toronto Lynx as a rent paying tennant.
based on this week's furor over BMOField i would assume no one.....afterall, turf kills soccer and soccer and football teams can't coexist in a stadium
For sure suddenly the MLSE and TFC have pulled a 180 here as they are looking for improvements to the fan amenities to be paid for by govt $$$. The top of the line natural turf was put into place as the National made it clear that they prefered Saputo's natural turf in Montreal to the artificial of BMO. Mean while Senator Brayley has recently stated that the Argos are not for sale at this time and things are falling into place for a football stadium to be built in the GTA but outside Toronto Proper in the Northern Burbs Durham or York Municipalities. Stay tuned it will get interesting.
Rogers Centre is also boasting that natural grass will be placed in the retractable roof venue. This gives Toronto the largest capacity venue with natural grass in Canada. While it is a baseball stadium first it could be adapted for important National team FIFA games that would expect a bigger crowd.
The Argos just signed a five year lease, so unless they move out you won't see a turf surface at RC for at least five years. Also, if the Argos do find a new home and turf is installed at RC it may not be that easy to convert to a regulation FIFA size field. The grass that will be uncovered by moving seats from baseball to a linear field may well be dead. It is going to be difficult enough to keep grass alive at RC, if converted. They have yet to perfect a way to keep turf alive in shade and it will be hard enough to keep the rest alive even using expensive light systems.
Seeing as BMO is owned by the city of Toronto, there's no way they're going to get any permits or money without the Argos. Mayor Ford will see to that.
Sorry I got off track, this thread is about the new Hamilton Stadium, the proposed changes for BMO thread can be found here
It was stated on the Dave Naylor. Also was reproted that he is speaking with three different municipalities and that it has been written in the papers. So you will have to speak with Dave Naylor. There are some links on the CFL Forum. Also spoken about by the TSN CFL panel
PPL park has also hosted college football, rugby sevens, MLL, and NCAA lacrosse but none are permanent tenants for a season
Hamilton Virtual Venue Stadium looks to be more enclosed than I initially thought. The Hamilton (end zone) end or Seagram Touchdown Lounge as it is now called looks elevated (judging by the shadow below) and enclosed. The opposite end (Coors Light Patio) doesn't seem as enclosed but I'm blind as a bat and could be wrong, going by these images. Hamilton Southwest night view Hamilton Northeast day view
Tks to JerkFaceLoser at ticats.ca for headsup Good interview on the progress of Tim Hortons Field aka "The Coffee Grounds" for those worried whether it is on time and budget. Please listen to the interview as it is more complete than the story below Tim Hortons Field on time and on budget Rick Zamperin Hamilton CHML AM September 25, 2013 Construction of Hamilton’s new stadium is about one third complete. Infrastructure Ontario Vice President of Project Delivery Bruce Gray confirms the project is on time and on budget. Gray says the structural steel frame of Tim Hortons Field is close to 40 per cent complete with about 75 trades people on site each work day. The $145.7-million stadium is scheduled to open in July 2014. The stadium will be the new home of the Ticats and will host all 32 men’s and women’s soccer games during the 2015 Pan Am Games.
It is starting to take shape. It will be interesting to see which way Hamilton may go in terms of a soccer team. Will they just take the rent money from the MLSE for the Lynx TFCs future USL-Pro affiliate or will the Bob Young place an NASL franchise in Hamilton. The deal with Hamilton is already worked out should he add a NASL team to go with his CFL team. What is different about the NASL in Canada compared to the US is that Rogers SN already has a deal in place to show EDM games and will also add Ottawa next season so If Young goes with an NASL team they will be televised by Rogers somewhere on their stable of SN networks. The GTA certainly has enough population to have a second academy for the training of future players. EDM academy currently has a few players on the U17 CNT
Who owns the operating rights to the stadium? If Young does and can earn the rent money from TFC/Lynx I imagine he'd take that over running an NASL team. It gives him income (something he'd be lucky to see from an NASL side) and leaves all the risk of running a D2/3 soccer team with the tenant.