Just when it looked as if the Hamilton stadium debate might be moving to a resolution, the latest plan has hit a snag. And it's a big one. Namely, the land they were going to build the stadium on - a nearly unused railroad yard -- would cost more to acquire than the city is willing to to spend.
So, with about six weeks left to come to an agreement about where to build a stadium, the planning is basically back to the start. Actually it's literally back to the start as the latest noise is that council is preparing to bring forward a location that was on the original list of potential properties that was rejected more than a year ago.
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The difference between now and when the location was originally rejected is that there is a new council in place. In particular, the new mayor is much friendlier than the old mayor was when it comes to building the stadium in an area outside the downtown core (*more on why that’s important in a minute).
At this point you may be wondering what any on this has to do with soccer. The simple answer to this is that if a stadium gets built, the owner of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Bob Young, has indicated that he will bring a D2 club to the city. However, if the Tiger-Cats aren't satisfied with the location of the stadium then Young won't be a part of it (if it gets built at all) and without Young there is unlikely to be a D2 soccer franchise coming to town. (*Young wants a stadium where he can control parking revenue and develop the lad around it. Thus, the lack of interest in the downtown core).
There is a good chance that a stadium will get built nearby regardless of what Hamilton does, but so far no one attached to some other suburban communities that have indicated an interest in the stadium (Markham, Mississauga and, the latest, Brampton) has come forward to indicate that they want pro soccer. Basically it's no Young, no soccer.
The caveat to that is if Young up and moves his historic football team to the new stadium. That won't go over well as the Markham Tiger-Cats just doesn't seem right. However, this isn't a CFL site so...
If all this is confusing to you just be glad that you don’t actually live in Hamilton. There it's both confusing and disheartening.
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