July 31, 2010 (Hamilton, ON) – More questions surfaced this week about the 17th Pan American Games to be hosted in Toronto and in surrounding municipalities in 2015. The City of Hamilton was to have hosted athletics, cycling, and soccer events at a new velodrome and stadium to be built at Hamilton’s West Harbour site. But two announcements this week now make it look like the velodrome may be the only sporting facility built there.

On July 30, Athletics Canada announced that the track and field events for the 2015 Games will be moved to Toronto with its larger population and an infrastructure legacy that could be left for athletes. Athletics Canada fears that the proposed Hamilton stadium would likely be taken over by the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger Cats.

Quickly, the Hamilton Tiger Cats announced that they want to see the facility built elsewhere, near the suburban East Mountain site, to ensure the viability of the proposed stadium. The football club still favours the creation of a velodrome and 3,500 seat amphitheatre (for cultural events) on the waterfront and has proposed diverting some $7 million towards the waterfront projects out of the $45 million destined for the stadium.

Globe and Mail on the Velodrome here.
Raise the Hammer article here.
The Hamilton Spectator here.