Toronto 2015 Pan Am Stadium In Limbo

The location of a stadium for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games is in limbo following an announcement Monday that the Hamilton Tiger Cats will be withdrawing from negotiations with Hamilton over the proposed stadium. The City of Hamilton is in the Golden Horshoe area of the Province of Ontario where several Toronto 2015 venues will be located during the Pan Am Games.

According to a statement released Monday, the Hamilton football team will be withdrawing from negotiations with the city over the proposed stadium.

At issue are two stadium sites - the city's west harbour site about two kilometres outside Hamilton's downtown core, and the east mountain area in a suburban section of the city.

The City of Hamilton prefers the harbour location and sees the stadium as part of a planned redevelopment of the area, while the football team reportedly favours the east mountain location because it believes the site provides a better opportunity to reach a wider audience.

Plans call for the stadium to host soccer during the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games and for the football team to move in after the Games are over.

A Hamilton council committee will be debating the issue on Tuesday and forward its recommendation to the city council for a final vote Thursday.

Toronto 2015 CEO Ian Troop released a statement Monday saying Toronto 2015 "hopes that Hamilton council can proceed with thoughtful deliberation on the stadium. We look forward to the city's decision this week".

The Toronto 2015 Pan Am organizing committee will have the final decision on the stadium location, reports the Toronto Star.