The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are considering a move to Burlington and have begun talks with a major developer, but one prominent person isn't ready to concede defeat.
Mayor Bob Bratina, who did radio broadcasts of the team for 30 years and recently took office, still has some hope that the nine city councilors who opposed his motion last week to explore a new site in Hamilton will reconsider their decision.
"The Tiger-Cats got a strong indication from council that there's no more room for discussion on a site in Hamilton that they would no longer accept, so as company they're doing their due diligence and protecting their interests by following up on other sites," Bratina told sportsnet.ca. "The site they chose…in days gone by was Hamilton."
Bratina said the situation which has dragged on for more than a year, is not at the point of no return, but it is up to the councilors who opposed his motion to change their thinking. He said they need only two votes to revise their vote to revisit the motion.
But at least one person who has a strong feel on the pulse of Hamilton and the Ticats says the team is as good as gone.
"They're done in Hamilton, This is it," the source said.
Hamilton has been designated by the 2015 Pan Am Games Host Committee for a 15,000-seat stadium, with money coming from all three levels of government. The Tiger-Cats were looking to expand it to 30,000 to make it suitable for Canadian Football League standards. But city council and Ticats owner Bob Young haven't been able to agree on a site.
The Host Committee of the Pan Am Games has indicated the absolute deadline, which has been pushed back several times, is February 1. After that, Hamilton will be removed from stadium consideration and the money it was promised by the federal and provincial government will go towards another site in a nearby municipality.
Bratina says the Ticats eyeing a site in Burlington is not a negotiating ploy. He said Young had mentioned the Burlington site two years ago. Though not publicly known, Young was aware that a prominent Burlington-based business was willing to commit $30 million towards building a new stadium. That business has since been identified as Paletta International Corporation, which has been based in Burlington since 1964 and is involved in meat processing, land development and agriculture.
"This is not on the Tiger-Cats. I don't believe it's a negotiating ploy," Bratina said. "Until February 1 when Hamilton can't come up with a site, it's ours to have. Even the Tiger-Cats are good with that, but they just can't sit and wait. (The news of Paletta's interest) probably had the effect of putting pressure on city council. I think Bob Young considers it a great site, he's said that before."
Paletta has 125 acres and is willing to use that to build a new stadium, a hockey arena seating 9,000 and possibly a major entertainment and hotel complex. The area has already been zoned for the hockey arena and sources said the new group would pursue an Ontario Hockey League team.
While Ticats owner Bob Young and president Scott Mitchell were unavailable for comment, Mitchell told the Hamilton Spectator that team will still retain the name Tiger-Cats.
The team has played out of Ivor Wynne Stadium since 1950.
Young bought the team at the end of the 2003 season from the CFL and has reportedly lost more than $30 million. The team has only made the playoffs twice in that span and has repeatedly played in front of sparse crowds, due to the struggling economy and increasing disinterest in the Tiger-Cats.
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