LARRY'S CORNER- Hamilton's Former Mayor Speaks

Pan-Am Games: Should Hamilton Participate?

By Larry Di Ianni
(posted February 12, 2009)

The questions being debated regarding Hamilton’s participation in the Pan-Am games are extremely important ones. They should be considered in a thoughtful, respectful environment rather than a toxic one. Unfortunately, it seems that it may be too late to bring civility back to the discussion.

Councillor Sam Merulla does make a compelling case for getting back to basics when it comes to the city’s role in providing services and amenities for its citizens. However, typical of his sometime combative style, he dismisses the Pan-Am games as third rate and blows off important sports entrepreneurs like Bob Young. Neither tactic enhances the argument he is trying to make. Add these unpleasant comments to the very public way of having the debate on the front pages of our newspaper, and decorum is lost. As well, we have been subjected to a side show about the location of a stadium even before we have decided whether to participate in the games. Talk about the cart and the horse being in the wrong place!

The Mayor, on the other hand has shown support for the games from the get-go, citing the city’s prior experiences with the Commonwealth Games bids as examples of past interest in international endeavours. He opined that the city would eventually be supportive because, except for him, the other members of Council were there to support the previous bid. Never mind that Councillors Duvall, Clark, and Pasuta were NOT on Council, his point is that past support for one should translate into current support for the other. He may be right.

It is worthwhile recalling our two failed attempts to secure the Commonwealth bid for Hamilton. I think Mark Twain said that while history may not repeat itself, it does rhyme. So, we should learn from past experiences. The Commonwealth bid of course was a different kettle of fish from the current proposal, but there are some similarities. The major difference between Commonwealth and this current one is in the structure of the games. Whereas the prior Games would have been Hamilton’s alone, with some minor participation from St. Catherine’s and Burlington, the Pan-Am games are really Ontario’s games, fronted by Toronto, and internationally billed as “Toronto’s” Games. Another major difference was that all of the money earmarked by the Feds and the Province for Hamilton’s Commonwealth bid, reported to be about $500M dollars, would have all come to this city. In these current games, the government’s support is diluted among all participating communities. Hamilton will get some money for a stadium and McMaster for a pool if we participate in Pan-Am. Commonwealth would have given Hamilton many venues as a permanent legacy, not only a stadium and a swimming pool as important as these may be. The biggest difference is that Hamilton’s contribution to leverage the $500M would have been about $80M. The current estimates for a much reduced legacy contribution for Pan-Am are much higher than the original cost. And this higher expenditure comes during an economic downturn- unlike the bullish economic times of the Commonwealth bid. That is why all but Councillor McCarthy, I believe, supported the Commonwealth try. It is too bad that Hamilton lost to a rigged international process the first time and a questionable domestic process the second time.

Given these differences and the obvious missing largesse in these current games, should Hamilton still go ahead and participate? The answer from my perspective is a resounding, “Yes”! And this is not to diminish the tough economic times we are in, nor is to contradict my recurring refrain about the wise expenditure of tax dollars. Here are some reasons for participating.

Firstly, unlike Toronto who is not contributing as many tax dollars to its bid, or Missisauga that is getting cold feet about supporting the games in that city, Hamilton has much more to gain than those other municipalities. For one thing, Toronto has a brand new stadium in the Rogers’ Center paid for by the Ontario taxpayers. Mississauga, being a relatively new city, has many community pools and certainly not one dating back decades like the Jimmy Thomson pool on King Street. Our stadium and pool were built when we hosted our first ever Commonwealth Games. It is about time to update those facilities.

Secondly, Hamilton will benefit from the venues being built and the province, the feds and McMaster will help pay for our facilities. Equally important is the promise by the private sector and Mr. Bob Young who has already publicly stated that he will financially support the building of a new stadium. Should Hamilton say no at this critical time? Can we disappoint and potentially embarrass the province when we are asking them for help in other financial matters?

Finally, the whole process needs to also factor in the whole community spirit component before making a decision to say no. I know first hand how excited Hamiltonians were about the prospect of the Commonwealth Games coming to our city. I know the wonderful job that Cecilia Carter Smith and others did in whipping up that community spirit. I also remember the pride we took as a community when we hosted the International Cycling race. I know the hard work David Braley did for our city by pulling the race off in such a professional way. Those events also cost the city lots of hard earned tax dollars. But the money was well-spent. Especially in hard economic times, we must give citizens hope and pride. The Pan-Am Games will do just that. These games will also produce jobs and our citizens certainly can use work.

On the thorny question of financing the games, I would if I were still on Council, find the capital money by cancelling projects which might not be needed and put that money towards the games. The ‘wow’ factor elimination will save us $2M. The pedestrian bridge (a project which I like, by the way, but choices have to be made) will save us $12-14M. And finally, if Council takes Councillor Bratina’s advice and looks for ways of selling City Hall or partnering with the School Board, we could potentially save between $40-$74M. These few steps alone would almost finance the entire cost of the Pan-Am Games. I am sure that Council and staff could be even more creative in finding ways of addressing Councillor Merulla’s valid concerns about other city priorities.

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