Hamilton II: The City, The League, and The Coliseum

[Ryan34222]

It is hilarious that anyone thinks the NHL is coming to Copps.

The building is too old and would require an extensive renovation to even consider hosting an NHL team.

Generally taxpayers get bamboozled into paying for those shiny new digs for the billionaires.

Meanwhile the City of Hamilton has practically given away the responsibility for the buildings in a couple of sweetheart deals in an effort to reduce the money it has to spend on them now. (I am positive that won't end up happening but that is the theory anyways).

What possible reasoning does anyone here have for the NHL suddenly coming to Copps?
Did you see the incredible giveaway of public money in the most recent agreement for the Coyotes? The money Katz is trying to steal out of Edmonton?

i dont know about suddenly, and i cant speak for every Hamiltonian but there should be another team in the Golden Horseshoe area.. and Hamiltons just a good a choice as any other location, in fact better than certain markets north of here and better since we do have a rink, be it old.

maybe the better question is why isnt there a team coming here..

 

[JMROWE]

It is hilarious that anyone thinks the NHL is coming to Copps.

The building is too old and would require an extensive renovation to even consider hosting an NHL team.

Generally taxpayers get bamboozled into paying for those shiny new digs for the billionaires.

Meanwhile the City of Hamilton has practically given away the responsibility for the buildings in a couple of sweetheart deals in an effort to reduce the money it has to spend on them now. (I am positive that won't end up happening but that is the theory anyways).

What possible reasoning does anyone here have for the NHL suddenly coming to Copps?

Did you see the incredible giveaway of public money in the most recent agreement for the Coyotes? The money Katz is trying to steal out of Edmonton?

Copps Coliseum can be renovated & be NHL. ready in a matter of months do to its unique design where the roof can be lifted to make room for luxury boxs & addtional seating . When Global spectrum \ Live nation won the bid to run Copps Coliseum for 5 years they said there main goal in this deal is to bring an NHL. to Hamilton & Copps Coliseum & with Global Spectrum being an NHL. insider can only help Hamiltons chances of landing an NHL. & thats why I say Hamilton will have an NHL. team within the next 5 years .

 

[BraveCanadian]

i dont know about suddenly, and i cant speak for every Hamiltonian but there should be another team in the Golden Horseshoe area.. and Hamiltons just a good a choice as any other location, in fact better than certain markets north of here and better since we do have a rink, be it old.

maybe the better question is why isnt there a team coming here..

That is just my point.

There is no arena in the area suitable.

It is a non-starter without a huge investment that generally comes off the back of the public.

 

[Ryan34222]

There's only one lasting solution for Hamilton hockey fans...

Move the Leafs to Copps? i think id rather not have a team

 

[Ryan34222]

That is just my point.

There is no arena in the area suitable.

It is a non-starter without a huge investment that generally comes off the back of the public.

yah lack of arenas never was the hold up for a team being in Hamilton or the Golden Horseshoe.
one doesnt need to look much further than your favourite team as being the sole reason

 

[BraveCanadian]

yah lack of arenas never was the hold up for a team being in Hamilton or the Golden Horseshoe.
one doesnt need to look much further than your favourite team as being the sole reason

Sure maybe in the 80s and early 90s.

The millions of dollars in renovations or the hundreds of millions of dollars for a new building are pretty major reasons now, though.

 

[Ryan34222]

Sure maybe in the 80s and early 90s.

The millions of dollars in renovations or the hundreds of millions of dollars for a new building are pretty major reasons now, though.

no teams are moving and expansions seems very unlikely.. why would private or public spend money on an arena with no team.

 

[BraveCanadian]

no teams are moving and expansions seems very unlikely.. why would private or public spend money on an arena with no team.

Right. Hamilton already did that once and got burned.

So why do people keep blabbing about the NHL in Hamilton?

 

[Ryan34222]

Right. Hamilton already did that once and got burned.

So why do people keep blabbing about the NHL in Hamilton?

the leafs wont ever win another SC but that doesnt stop Leafs fans from talking about it?

i guess to answer your question.. Much like Toronto, all Hamilton can do is hope for an NHL team..

 

[Confucius]

the leafs wont ever win another SC but that doesnt stop Leafs fans from talking about it?

i guess to answer your question.. Much like Toronto, all Hamilton can do is hope for an NHL team..

In the meantime, Toronto just has to be content with the being the greatest football team in Canada, yet again. Grey Cup champs a league leading 16th time.

 

[Hamilton Tigers]

In the meantime, Toronto just has to be content with the being the greatest football team in Canada, yet again. Grey Cup champs a league leading 16th time.

Oh yeah?

We get to play in a 4,000 seat stadium next year in the bustling metropolis of Guelph, putting in an additional 6 or 8 thousand temporary seats.

(Salt in the wound of yet another last place finish and Argonaut championship)

How embarrassing for Hamilton! Can we trade Bob Young for David Braley?

 

[Ryan34222]

In the meantime, Toronto just has to be content with the being the greatest football team in Canada, yet again. Grey Cup champs a league leading 16th time.

why you gotta go there huh.

 

[Ryan34222]

Oh yeah?

We get to play in a 4,000 seat stadium next year in the bustling metropolis of Guelph, putting in an additional 6 or 8 thousand temporary seats.

(Salt in the wound of yet another last place finish and Argonaut championship)

How embarrassing for Hamilton! Can we trade Bob Young for David Braley?

I love Guelph. Should be a blast. It'll be a nightmare going up Hwy6 mind you.
Bob should have just offered to build a temp stadium down at the west harbour

 

[GuelphStormer]

So why do people keep blabbing about the NHL in Hamilton?

'cause maybe some people here might know more about the situation than you?

 

[JMROWE]

Oh yeah?

We get to play in a 4,000 seat stadium next year in the bustling metropolis of Guelph, putting in an additional 6 or 8 thousand temporary seats.

(Salt in the wound of yet another last place finish and Argonaut championship)

How embarrassing for Hamilton! Can we trade Bob Young for David Braley?

You really don't want david bralley back do you the guy is the jerry jones of the CFL. & stick his nose where it dose not belong as for Bob Young he dose what an owner is suposed to do & that is to focus on the business side of the tiger cats also since Bob Young became owner of the Cats attendance went up from 18.000 per game to 24.000 per game .

 

[BraveCanadian]

'cause maybe some people here might know more about the situation than you?

Yeah, that must be it.

Let me know when the shovels are in the ground.

 

[DyerMaker66*]

I didnt consider that. Good thinking. I was sort of under the impression though that generally speaking, at least out West here, there usually isnt room for both a Provincial & Major Junior Club in the same market. Its one or the other. If however they can work together? Great, go for it.... also of note on Monday the 26th, the newly minted Mayor of Laval & Geoff Molson of the Habs' made a splashy announcement to kickoff construction on that cities new 10,000 seat $110M arena set to open in 2015. Molson telling one & all "top level pro hockey will be played here", and I dont think he meant it as solely a practice rink for le Habitants.

Agreed, I wish we could just enhance Mountain Arena and have them play there and use Copps for larger events like the Memorial Cup.

 

[Killion]

Agreed, I wish we could just enhance Mountain Arena and have them play there and use Copps for larger events like the Memorial Cup.

I told you guys it was a mistake to tear down the Fabulous Forum on Barton in the 70's. So what if it was put up in like 1913? Grand old Dame with raw exposed good old Hamilton steel support beams all over the place. Some close enough to the boards that if you knew how to hit you could tattoo a guys face with rivet indentations. Interior was sort of like an abandoned factory scene from the movie Silent Hill. Lots of character & real comfortable. Smallish ice surface as I recall. Scary place to play as Visitors. Prolly as home team as well. Mountain Arena from the street looks like a High School or something. Typical 70's build. Seats what; maybe 3000 or so? And problem is that Copps is way too much building for the OHL. I dont know. Is it possible the return of Major Junior to Hamilton would draw crowds of 10,000 or so?

 

[Ryan34222]

Agreed, I wish we could just enhance Mountain Arena and have them play there and use Copps for larger events like the Memorial Cup.

That would be ideal... Isn't that the reason a previous OHL team left town(cant remember if it was Steelhawks or Fincups). City wouldn't upgrade the arena?

 

[Ryan34222]

You really don't want david bralley back do you the guy is the jerry jones of the CFL. & stick his nose where it dose not belong as for Bob Young he dose what an owner is suposed to do & that is to focus on the business side of the tiger cats also since Bob Young became owner of the Cats attendance went up from 18.000 per game to 24.000 per game .

I like Bob too JM. The ideal situation would be to have someone that gets the game but those are luxuries the CFL doesn't really get. For now I'll take Bob and his willingness to lose money and hire ineffective gm/coaches.

 

[DyerMaker66*]

I told you guys it was a mistake to tear down the Fabulous Forum on Barton in the 70's. So what if it was put up in like 1913? Grand old Dame with raw exposed good old Hamilton steel support beams all over the place. Some close enough to the boards that if you knew how to hit you could tattoo a guys face with rivet indentations. Interior was sort of like an abandoned factory scene from the movie Silent Hill. Lots of character & real comfortable. Smallish ice surface as I recall. Scary place to play as Visitors. Prolly as home team as well. Mountain Arena from the street looks like a High School or something. Typical 70's build. Seats what; maybe 3000 or so? And problem is that Copps is way too much building for the OHL. I dont know. Is it possible the return of Major Junior to Hamilton would draw crowds of 10,000 or so?

It's possible but not probable unless (as I mentioned before) we were hosting the Memorial Cup. 5-7,000 is more realistic imo, it just depends on the price and how good the team is.

We should just go completely off the board and build an OHL arena at Eastwood Park.

 

[Evil Doctor]

I told you guys it was a mistake to tear down the Fabulous Forum on Barton in the 70's. So what if it was put up in like 1913? Grand old Dame with raw exposed good old Hamilton steel support beams all over the place. Some close enough to the boards that if you knew how to hit you could tattoo a guys face with rivet indentations. Interior was sort of like an abandoned factory scene from the movie Silent Hill. Lots of character & real comfortable. Smallish ice surface as I recall. Scary place to play as Visitors.

My first hockey game I ever watched was there. Got to love a place where there are steel beams among the seats...

I dont know. Is it possible the return of Major Junior to Hamilton would draw crowds of 10,000 or so?

I think the ideal would be anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000. Since it's cheaper to run a junior franchise than a minor franchise, it will actually make money, thus why they seem to have the inside track over the AHL.

That would be ideal... Isn't that the reason a previous OHL team left town(cant remember if it was Steelhawks or Fincups). City wouldn't upgrade the arena?

Steelhawks. At that point there was no upper curtain in the arena. It didn't get installed untill after the Hamilton Canucks left town. Made a world of difference in creating a more intimate venue. Of course they still have the option of opening the upper level for special occasions.

 

[Evil Doctor]

Comments by Habs' Molson could hurt chances of Bulldogs at Copps

When HECFI’s board votes — possibly Thursday afternoon — on whether to give the Hamilton Bulldogs the right to negotiate a new lease for Copps Coliseum or to hand the puck to an Ontario Hockey League team, don’t be surprised if some recent comments from the owner of the Montreal Canadiens come into play.

At a news conference last week to drum up corporate interest in a new 10,000-seat arena about to be built in Laval, Canadiens’ majority owner Geoff Molson didn’t say the Bulldogs would be moving there, but he hardly dumped cold water on the suggestion.

It's another angle to this. Clearly an OHL team isn't subject to the vagaries of AHL affliation, and perhaps another reason we're going to see the AHL out and OHL in.

Andlauer may not want to admit it, even to himself, but despite the letter of support from the Montreal Canadiens, the announcement this week regarding the new arena completely undermined him and his attempts to keep the AHL in Hamilton.

 

[Ryan34222]

Comments by Habs' Molson could hurt chances of Bulldogs at Copps



It's another angle to this. Clearly an OHL team isn't subject to the vagaries of AHL affliation, and perhaps another reason we're going to see the AHL out and OHL in.

Andlauer may not want to admit it, even to himself, but despite the letter of support from the Montreal Canadiens, the announcement this week regarding the new arena completely undermined him and his attempts to keep the AHL in Hamilton.

Bulldogs won the right to negotiate. if MTL pulls the Bulldogs out, we still have Andlauer and his promise to have some team in Hamilton.

 

[Evil Doctor]

And the winner is...

HECFI board sticks with Bulldogs

The Hamilton Bulldogs will be given an opportunity to negotiate a lease to remain at Copps Coliseum.

The HECFI board voted to allow the franchise to work out a deal to keep the hockey club in town. It has called Copps home for 17 years.

http://twitter.com/radleyatthespec

Scott Radley ‏@radleyatthespec
HECFI board cites Bulldogs' historical commitment to city, value of ownership and prior due diligence by board as factors in decision.

I'm actually a little bummed. I have actually nothing against the Bulldogs or the AHL, I'm actually a fan, but I was really excited about the prospect of the OHL returning to Hamilton, especially a historical franchise that won two Memorial Cups for the city.

What bugs me is it appears sentimentality over business sense won the day. I get that that Global Spectrum via Ed Snider has an existing relationship with Andlauer, but ultimately it should be what is the best deal for Hamilton. I'm not seeing that.