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Tim Hortons Field likely won’t be finished by Ticats’ opener—but they’ll play there anyway
It's a good thing the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are playing their first home game in Week Five this year, as the news emerged yesterday that their new stadium, Tim Hortons Field, won't even be finished by then. The stadium is reportedly three weeks behind schedule, and despite building consortium Ontario Sports Solutions' vow to double-shift workers and work six days a week, it's not expected to be completed by the Ticats' first scheduled home game on July 26. (Meanwhile, the other new stadium in Ottawa is progressing on schedule.) However, Tim Hortons Field is expected to still be a serviceable venue at that point, and the Ticats plan to play in it anyway:
Garreth Barkey, site supervisor for Ontario Sports Solutions, the consortium building the $145-million stadium, said he expects to have the facility prepared for the July 26 game versus the Ottawa Redblacks.
"I'm confident that we're going to make the date," Barkey said.
The stadium is about three weeks behind schedule, Barkey said, and while it was originally slated to be delivered by June 30, Barkey acknowledged they won't hit that target. Instead, they are aiming for "substantial completion" in late July with the finishing touches added over the ensuing two to eight weeks.
"Substantial completion means you're watching a game in the stadium," Barkey said "There could some areas that need a final coat of paint, some of the exterior landscaping may not be planted but as a fan, you'll come and see the Ticats and enjoy a good fan experience."
While the stadium won't be in its final form by that game, Ticats' president Glenn Gibson said he thinks fans will understand:
"I think 80 per cent of fan enjoyment comes from seeing our team win — that's a strong pull towards customer satisfaction," Gibson said Tuesday.
"I think the other 20 per cent is amenities, food and beverage and things like that.
"I think fans are just going to be so happy to be in a stadium, they'll be forgiving on the little things."
Gibson's not wrong that the team's performance probably matters more to most fans than the stadium (but hey, if that was completely true, they never would have needed to replace Ivor Wynne in the first place), but this will still likely be disappointing news for Ticats' fans planning to attend the opener. The construction has been going on since the end of the 2012 season when Ivor Wynne was demolished to make way for the new field, and it led to the team playing their entire home schedule at Guelph's Alumni Stadium last year, so this has already been an awfully long wait. The news that it's going to be even longer until the stadium is finished isn't great, and it's probably particularly disappointing for those who have already bought tickets to the home opener; now they'll be experiencing a work in progress instead of the much-hyped new stadium. (Maybe the team should consider offering a partial rebate to them, as the product won't be finished?) Plus, it's not even a sure thing that the stadium will be ready enough to host a game then; the Ticats are anticipating it will, but they also have a Plan B:
The Ticats still have a Plan B if the new stadium isn't ready, but Gibson doesn't expect to implement it and therefore isn't releasing the details.
"What I'm portraying is a high level of confidence, " Gibson said. "That being said, we're going to be closely watching things."
It's smart of the team to have a backup plan in place in case there are further delays or the stadium isn't "substantially complete" enough. Many fans will certainly be hoping they don't have to resort to that, though. Playing at an unfinished stadium is problematic enough; an undefined Plan B is probably going to be worse.
