If you've been following the saga of the Hamilton stadium, you'll know that it's not been an easy battle. A tug-of-war between the ownership of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and various levels of government has left everyone confused and frustrated.
What should have been simple -- here's some money, build yourself a stadium -- has turned into a mess that might not find resolution. The city is now working on a February deadline and there is a new proposal on the table that seems to be progressing, but nothing is for sure yet.
That uncertainty has lead the Pan/Am organizers to reach out to other municipalities to see if there is interest in building a stadium that could house soccer at the event.
Two suburban cities have stepped up to offer themselves as plan B.
Both Mississauga (immediately west of Toronto) and Markham (immediately north-east of Toronto) say they could host a 6,000 seat stadium. Although neither has indicated what they would do with the stadium after the games are over, it is promising that a new soccer facility is going to get built in the region somewhere.
Sadly, it doesn't seem like a stadium that size would work in the NASL. However, it would still benefit the spot in the region. A PDL or CSL club(s) could make good use of it. And, if ownership stepped forward, the dream of a D2 team in the region might not be completely dead (although it's a long-shot - maybe if Dino Rossi wins the lotto).
The best chance for a GTA D2 team remains in Hamilton and the only chance of that is if stadium plan B doesn't happen.