Hamilton eyes 2014 Commonwealth Games

[Sir Rols]

I'd still be wary of a wildcard entry by South Africa, especially if they don't win the Rugby World Cup 2011 hosting rights.  Cape Town may still be a spectre on the horizon.

No _ I think South Africa have well and truly closed the door on the 2014 CWGs after bowing out and pledging their support to Nigeria. That could well put them in a bind _ if Nigeria win, that shuts South Africa out for 2018. If someone else (Glasgow or Canada) wins, 2018 couldd well split Africa if Nigeria try for a second tilt and South Africa go for it.

[Apple]

Early word about bid is great

They came, they saw, they … well, we really don’t know at this point.

But David Adames, executive director of Tourism Hamilton, said he got good vibes from a visit yesterday of officials looking over Hamilton for Canada’s 2014 Commonwealth Games bid.

“I feel really good,” he said after a day of shepherding eight members of a bid review committee around town.

“I’m being serious. I wouldn’t tell you if (I wasn’t). The bid is solid. Today went very well.

“The early word I got is great. I think so far, so good.”

Members of the review committee would not talk to the media about their impressions of Hamilton and its facilities.

They gathered with Hamilton bid members at the Sheraton at 4 p.m. for a question-and-answer session. Bid director Eric Savard had them hustle a Spectator reporter out of the room.

At the time, Neil Ross, a professor at McMaster University and head of the Canadian Cycling Centre, was making a presentation on trails in Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines.

The secrecy, however, should come as no surprise.

Commonwealth Games Canada, the organization that will select the Canadian contender, has urged the four contending cities to keep details of their bids confidential until one is picked on Dec. 15.

“Unfortunately, Commonwealth Games Canada says we have to keep all that information confidential,” said Adames.

“We’re as anxious as the next to share those plans because they are an outstanding transformation for the city.”

The committee members set out on tours at 8:30 a.m. One group looked at current sports facilities and sites for proposed facilities, a second looked at the proposed Games village at McMaster University and a third looked at hotels and the airport.

They saw Copps Coliseum, Hamilton Place, Ivor Wynne and the Jimmy Thompson Pool.

While Hamilton has an undersupply of hotel rooms, Adames believed the plan presented was well received. He said committee members were told there are about 40,000 hotel rooms between Toronto and Niagara Falls, with 9,000 more being proposed.

“A big night with the Commonwealth Games, we’ll probably need 3,500, so we’re in great shape.”

Hamilton is competing against Halifax, Ottawa and York region to be Canada’s bidder.

The winner will go up against Glasgow and Abuja, Nigeria. The host site will be chosen in October 2007.

[Apple]

I got a number of information out of the article above.

If you look at the picture you can see the proposed stadium and it looks like the same proposed stadium for the 2010 bid. Which is great.

Cycling venue will be at Niagara-on-the-Lake which is well unknown around the world as one of the prettiest town and very historical. So that's cool.

The article also said the committee toured Ivor Wynne and the Jimmy Thompson Pool which means they'll likely be venues if Hamilton wins the bid.

Jimmy Thompson Pool was built for the first Commonwealth Games so that will be special and historical, but this venue is gonna need a massive overhaul.

In the 2010 bid Ivor Wynne stadium wasn't a venue but now it appears it is for the 2014 bid so that's once again very special as it is the first Commonwealth Games stadium ever built. Excellent move!

So it seems like under this bid Hamilton is REALLY trying to use its history as an edge against the rest. Hamilton 2014 would be like Athens 2004.

[Alexjc]

If you look at the picture you can see the proposed stadium and it looks like the same proposed stadium for the 2010 bid. Which is great.

I love that stadium, I wish NZ or Auckland would build one like it.  Not likley now that RWC2011 is occupying Kiwi minds now.

When is a start on construction likley to begin?

[Apple]

Under Hamilton's 2010 bid book it says...

If Hamilton won construction of Commonwealth Stadium would start April 2006 and finish Sept 2008.

November 2007 is when winner of 2014 Games will be announced. So I'm guessing if Hamilton wins the Games construction of Commonwealth Stadium starts 2010 and finish 2012.

[Apple]

It's game time for city in bid to host 2014 Games

In the spotlight or under the microscope?

“It’s a bit of both,” said David Adames, one of the vice-chairs of Hamilton’s 2014 Commonwealth Games bid committee as the city prepares to show off its assets tomorrow in its quest to land the multinational sports competition.

Six members of the Commonwealth Games Canada bid review committee will conduct a crucial site inspection of Hamilton as the selection process to pick a Canadian nominee enters the final few nerve-wracking days for the four contending cities.

The final selection date is Dec. 15.

The bid review committee visited Ottawa yesterday, travels to Halifax today and wraps up with an inspection of York Region on Monday. The four cities will make their formal presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the winner to be announced Thursday morning in Toronto.

“It’s game time,” said Adames, who is also executive director of Tourism Hamilton.

“This is the first introduction for the bid review committee to our team,” headded.

“This is their chance to get the true flavour of the city.”

The review committee will spend eight hours in Hamilton, first taking in a presentation of the proposed new venues, followed by a tour of the city’s existing facilities, including HECFI sites, McMaster University, Mohawk College and Ivor Wynne Stadium.

Just where the proposed venues would be located is a closely guarded secret, however.

Adames said the four contenders have been ordered by Commonwealth Games Canada to not publicly reveal details of their bids in order to maintain Canada’s competitive advantage against potential international rivals.

“Believe me, I would love to be able to let everyone know what we’re proposing,” said Spectator publisher Jagoda Pike, who is chair of the Hamilton bid committee. “When we are able to share it, people will be impressed with what these Games will mean for the city.”

What is known is that a winning Hamilton bid would bring a new sports park with a new stadium that would seat between 30,000 and 50,000 people, a new aquatics centre, a new sports complex with gymnasiums, a new triple-pad arena, as well as additional sports fields and another gymnasium.

Pike said Hamilton’s past experience as the Canadian representative for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which were ultimately awarded to Delhi, may be a crucial advantage in the home stretch this time.

“We haven’t sat back and depended just on the 2010 bid,” Pike said.

“We’ve had a chance to improve on a 2010 domestic bid and a 2010 international bid, so this is our third kick at it.

“The bid is very strong.”

Aside from the specifics of Hamilton’s facilities, Adames said he also expects to field questions about the Hamilton bid committee’s vision of what the 2014 Commonwealth Games would mean for the city.

Following the six straight days of site inspections and official presentations, the bid review committee will make its recommendation of a preferred site to the board of directors of Commonwealth Games Canada for a final vote.

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/pdfs/20051210/A9.pdf

[Guardian]

To me, it is going to be a Hamilton-Ottawa race. Hamilton because of what Apple has precisely said. Ottawa is because of its 2001 Francophone Games experience as its latest venture, even though it was mute at best.

[Apple]

I saw them today! lol

I was downtown doing some Christmas shopping and saw a big bus parked next to Copps Coliseum (the shopping mall is connected to Copps) and they were all lined up talking well touring around Copps.

[dave199]

It's going to an Ontario city. I wouldn't be surprised if somehow York Region pulls off the win, but I see Hamilton winning.

[Apple]

City puts on best Games face

1934 athletes greet bid panel - ‘It was about time the Games came back’

Through wind and flurries they put on their best game face.

They showed off their city with pride. They even set off fireworks. But Hamilton’s 2014 Commonwealth Games bid committee saved their secret weapon for last.

A trio of athletes who represented Hamilton more than 70 years ago at the British Empire Games helped cap off a whirlwind site inspection by the group that will decide Steeltown’s fate in the race to land the international competition.

Last night, members of the team charged with selling Hamilton’s goods were feeling confident.

“I think they saw that we care, that we’re passionate and that we’re determined,” said Jagoda Pike, Spectator publisher and chair of the city’s bid committee.

“We’re feeling very good right now, but we’re not taking anything for granted.”

Today, the six-member review team is to visit York Region, the fourth and final city competing against Hamilton.

The bid review committee visited Ottawa on Friday and went to Halifax Saturday. The winning city will be announced Thursday morning following two days of final presentations.

George Larson, 92, attended last night’s closing event at the Sheraton Hotel and presented committee members with a replica medal from the 1934 England games where the two time Olympian swimmer won gold and silver medals.

Four years earlier, the 16-year old Larson attended the inaugural British Empire Games in Hamilton. But not as an athlete.

“I sold peanuts, popcorn and hotdogs in the stands,” said Larson last night who started off as a track and field enthusiast.

“When I saw them coming up the track, I got so excited I missed a step,” he said. “The popcorn went flying but I didn’t care.”

He is confident a winning 2014 bid would gain the support of many Hamiltonians.

“It would be a wonderful thing and an inspiration beyond words,” he said.

Larson was accompanied last night by two other local sports legends.

Betty Stanley and Vi Histed also competed at the 1934 British Empire Games on Canada’s track and field team.

Last night the pair arrived wearing their original Canada team sweatshirts.

Stanley, whose relay team brought home gold medals from the 1934 Games, said, “It was about time the games came back to Hamilton.”

The 90-year-old said she’d been feeling “high” for days in anticipation of last night’s meeting.

Both Histed and Stanley said they trained in facilities built for the 1930 Games in Hamilton including Civic Stadium — which became Ivor Wynne Stadium.

Members of Hamilton’s bid committee greeted the inspection group yesterday afternoon outside McMaster University’s student centre.

The four men and two women, accompanied by several staff members, were whisked inside for lunch and an introductory presentation.

Tours of McMaster facilities and residences followed. The group was then given a driving tour of the city that highlighted proposed facility sites.

In order to view the proximity of the proposed locations, team members were taken up the Stelco Tower from where they viewed fireworks launched from various venues.

Details of the city’s bid, including venue locations, remain closely guarded in an effort to maintain the winning city’s edge in a future international competition.

The winning Commonwealth Games host country will be announced in 2007.

David Adames, Tourism Hamilton’s executive director and one of the bid committee’s vice-chairs, described the possibility of a winning bid as a “huge boost” for the city of

Hamilton.

He cited the positive impact the 2002 Games had on the city of Manchester.

“They’re now a preferred destination for sport competitions and conventions as well as leisure travel,” he said. “(Manchester) repositioned its entire tourism marketing plan around the legacy of hosting the Commonwealth Games.”

Fellow committee vice-chair Roger Trull said the city learned a lot from its 2010 bid.

“We didn’t want to just polish off the old bid book,” said the McMaster vice-president of university advancement.

\http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp....6511815

[Apple]

Damnit I thought I heard fireworks going off yesterday lol. I should have looked out and seen where the proposed venues would be located. Damn

The Canadian Commonwealth guys LOVE seeing past athletes. It helped Hamilton win the last domestic bid so it might do the same this time again.

[Alexjc]

Best wishes, Hang in there Hamilton!

From one Hamilton to another!

[Apple]

Hamilton makes its pitch

City will learn Thursday if it will vie for the Games

History suggests that winning the right to host a major international sporting event is a little like tipping over a vending machine -- it takes a few good runs at it before you get your hands on the prize.

That could be comforting news for Hamilton, as the city makes its all important pitch today to represent Canada for the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Hamilton is trying to repeat as Canada's representative, after losing the 2010 Commonwealth Games to Delhi, India.

The Commonwealth Games Canada board of directors will decide Thursday if Hamilton deserves a second chance to land the event or if the nod should go to Halifax, Ottawa or York Region.

"I don't think there's any antagonism toward a city that repeats its bid," said Robert Barney, emeritus director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at the University of Western Ontario.

"There's a lot to be gained in knowledge from a failed bid and then a second chance," he added.

In fact, a look at recent Olympic Games bidding suggests it's rare for a city to win the event on its first attempt.

Beijing lost the 2000 Summer Olympics to Sydney, then won the 2008 Games. Athens lost in 1996, then won the 2004 Games. Moscow failed in 1976 and succeeded in 1980.

Salt Lake City failed to get the 1998 Winter Olympics but won the 2002 Games. Vancouver failed to get the Winter Games in 1976 and 1980, then won the 2010 Games.

Or consider Manchester, which failed to attract the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics before winning the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Melbourne lost the 1996 Summer Olympics then won the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Of course, there are exceptions.

Toronto failed to attract the 1996 and 2008 Summer Olympics and Paris failed in its attempts to land the 1992, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.

And pity poor Sweden. Six straight Winter Olympic bids from 1984 to 2002 by the Swedish cities of either Falun or Ostersund were shot down.

"There is the theory of being shopworn," said Barney, "like a house sitting on the real estate market too long.

"But one failed bid? I don't think anyone would look negatively at that," he added.

Dick Pound, former International Olympic Committee vice-president, said the success of repeat bids depends on such intangibles as the strength of the competition and the rotation schedule for the competition.

"As they say in another sport, there are horses for certain courses," said Pound, now president of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"Toronto had the bad luck to come up against Beijing. It was the time for China," said Pound.

Geography might be one factor that helps the Canadian representative for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Since Canada last hosted the Games in 1994, the competition has been awarded to Malaysia (1998), Manchester (2002), Melbourne (2006) and Delhi (2010).

On the other hand, the Commonwealth Games have never been held in Africa, and one of the international bids for 2014 comes from Abuja, Nigeria.

"Nigeria is a volatile socio-economic atmosphere," said Barney. "It's not the most stable part of the world and that may weigh on the people who cast votes."

Hamilton's moment in the spotlight is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. this afternoon, consisting of a 30-minute presentation, followed by questions from the bid review committee and a five-minute concluding statement by the Hamilton delegation.

David Adames, one of the vice-chairs of Hamilton's 2014 Commonwealth Games bid committee, said the highlights of the city's presentation will be the strength of "our people, the strength of our overall bid plan and the fact that we've been through this before.

"There's no complacency, no taking anything for granted," added Adames, who is also executive director of Tourism Hamilton.

York Region makes its presentation at 8:30 a.m. this morning. Tomorrow, Halifax presents its bid at 8:30 a.m. followed by Ottawa at 1:30 p.m.

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp....6511815

[Apple]

Well you know I'll have my ears glued to the radio Thursday morning lol. As soon I hear the results I'll post them here in Gamebids.

Thank God I don't have anymore final exams after Wednesday lol.

Trust me I've been praying since Monday for Hamilton to win and I'm not religious at all lol. I even took my mom's lucky troll and placed it next to the computer lol.

*rubs the troll fury hair for luck* C’MON BABY DO YOUR MAGIC!

[Apple]

I got this pamphlet from the mail today saying...

Mayor Larry Di Ianni and Hamilton City Council cordially invite the public to attend a live telecast of a special Commonwealth Games Canada selection announcement.

Hamilton, Halifax, Ottawa and York Region are being considered for the honour of competing internationally to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

When: Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 10:00 a.m.

Where: Hamilton City Hall - Council Chambers

If Hamilton is selected, a special community celebration reception will be held on Thursday afternoon from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. at City Hall on the second floor. All are welcome to attend.

So obviously the announcement of the domestic bid should be around 10am. I might go to City Hall but I dunno I just want to relax after finishing all the final exams.

[Apple]

Games decision is due tomorrow

A nod to the past with an eye to the future.

That's the vision Hamilton's Commonwealth Games bid committee delivered yesterday during a nearly three-hour pitch to be named Canada's representative to host the 2014 Games.

The city is now one day from learning if it has crossed another hurdle in its quest to land a major international competition that could help revitalize Hamilton in the next eight years.

"Think of areas of the city that will be absolutely transformed," said Spectator publisher Jagoda Pike, who is chair of the Hamilton bid committee. "Think of facilities for elite athletes, like a national aquatic centre and a new stadium. Think of all of the jewels of Hamilton and add a few more," said Pike. "We'll be able to regenerate some of our brownfield sites as well."

Pike and Hamilton mayor Larry Di Ianni beamed with enthusiasm as they left the meeting with Commonwealth Games Canada's six-member bid review committee. "We haven't won yet, but let me tell you, to beat the presentation we made, it would have to be so stupendous that I can't imagine it happening," said Di Ianni.

"Make no mistake, we're focused not on winning nationally but on winning internationally."

Hamilton's nine-member team also touched on the city's historical link to the Games as the host site in 1930 of the very first version of the British Empire Games, as they were known then.

Pike and Di Ianni wore authentic medallions from the 1930 Games on their lapels during yesterday's session. Pike said the bid presentation went flawlessly.

"Whatever happens Thursday, we've done the absolute best we can," said Pike. "We pulled out all the stops."

After a half-hour audiovisual presentation, Hamilton's committee faced more than two hours of in-depth questioning by the bid review committee.

"No part of the bid was untouched," said Pike.

Commonwealth Games Canada has directed the four contenders to not reveal details of their bids, and a spokes- person declined comment until tomorrow's decision has been made on which city will represent Canada.

A security guard was even posted outside the meeting room at the Sheraton Hotel at Pearson International Airport during yesterday's bid presentations.

In October, the Hamilton bid committee proposed a $835-million budget for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which would be made up of $292 million each from the federal and provincial governments, $100 million from the City of Hamilton, $25 million from McMaster University and $126 million from commercial revenue.

Halifax and Ottawa will make their bid presentations today. York Region made its presentation yesterday morning.

Members of the public are invited to attend a live telecast of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Canada selection announcement tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the City Hall council chambers.

If Hamilton is selected, a special celebration reception will be held tomorrow afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m. at City Hall on the second floor.

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp....6511815

[Apple]

I got this pamphlet from the mail today saying...

Here's what the pamphlet looked like

*rubs the troll fury hair for luck*

[Apple]

Here's my lucky troll doing it's luck magic to Hamilton 2014 bid. :laughlong:

*rubs the troll fury hair for luck* lol

[Guardian]

Good luck for tomorrow, Hamilton.

[Apple]

Just saw Hamilton's 2014 bid book

:cry:  :cry:  :cry:

I need a hug!

[Apple]

FABULOUS FACILITIES LOST

Hamiltons bid detailed a new waterfront stadium and sports parks

A 50,000 seat stadium on the harbour was the centrepiece of Hamilton’s $835 million Commonwealth Games plan.

The bid, revealed yesterday for the first time, included $409-million in new construction.

The 450-page bid document showed that organizers would have built two main sports “precincts”.

The $215-million Commonwealth Sport Park — incorporating Commonwealth Stadium, the National Aquatics Centre and Commonwealth Sportplex — was to be built on old industrial land overlooking the west side of Hamilton Harbour.

The stadium would have replaced the aging Ivor Wynne Stadium, which would have been demolished to make way for the second showpiece development.

That was Commonwealth Square, a $33 million indoor sports centre and field complex that would have been used for badminton and field sports.

Commonwealth Stadium — a 50,000-seat venue with an eight-lane track inside and a eight-lane warmup track adjacent— would have hosted athletic events, including track and field and rugby, along with opening and closing ceremonies.

The $78-million, 5,000-seat aquatics centre, was to consist of a 10-lane, 50-metre competition pool, an eightlane, 50-metre warmup pool and a 25-metre by 20-metre diving well.

Along with all that, would have come a hot-tub and a swimming flume — a high-tech system that allows swimmers to “swim” without actually moving to allow for high-speed underwater analysis of swimming mechanics.

The centre would have come with a moveable roof to allow the pool to be an outdoor venue in good weather.

“This venue will be one of the most technically advanced of its kind in Canada, certainly, and even in the Commonwealth,” reads the bid document. Construction on the stadium would have begun in the spring of 2009 and completed in May 2011. The aquatics centre would have been finished in 2012.

The Commonwealth Stadium and Sportplex would have been used as year-round facilities for field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, soccer and Australian rules football, forming the backbone of the Commonwealth Centre for Field Sports.

The second precinct of development, Commonwealth Square, was earmarked for central Hamilton, in the location of the stadium that hosted the 1930 British Empire Games, the first Commonwealth Games.

The site, between King and Cannon streets and Melrose and Balsam avenues, now includes Ivor Wynne Stadium, the former Scott Park school and Jimmy Thompson Memorial Pool.

The pool was renamed in 1971 to honour James Gilmour Thompson who competed in the 1930 Empire Games and also the Olympic Games of 1932.

Under a section called Motivation to Host the 2014 Commonwealth Games is the following passage:

“There’s an old brick building in Hamilton’s east end. It sits in the shadow of a decommissioned, nearly windowless high school and looks across one of King Street’s more humble stretches.

“The old brick building is Jimmy Thompson Memorial Pool.

“More than any other place anywhere in the Commonwealth, this humble structure is the Commonwealth Games. It is the last living legacy of the 1930 British Empire Games.”

Commonwealth Square would have found its post-Games life in use for cricket and soccer pitches.

The badminton facility was to be used as a community cultural and recreational centre.

The venue for lawn bowling would have been four new irrigated natural grass greens, surrounded by seating for 5,000 at Roselawn at Gage Park.

Netball would have been played at the new $46-million Harbour Centre multipurpose facility at Eastwood Park on Burlington Street East. The venue was to include three courts and seating for 6,000.

After the Games, the Harbour Centre would have been primarily used for ice hockey and court sports.

The Morgan Firestone Sport Centre in Ancaster was to be fitted with a relocatable velodrome for track cycling and seating for 4,000.

The Games plan also called for the use of existing facilities in Hamilton, Niagara, Mississauga and Simcoe County.

In addition to the six new facilities, the Hamilton team envisioned a Commonwealth Promenade, which would have developed pedestrian-focused links to connect key venues, such as Commonwealth Stadium, Dundurn Castle, McMaster, the downtown, Eastwood Park, Gage Park and Commonwealth Square, with existing thriving neighbourhoods like Hess Village, Locke Street, the International Village, Barton Street and Westdale.

The hubs were to include “welcoming and accessible paths and avenues” that enhance opportunities for street based information, displays, performance and commerce.

“This pedestrian and self-propelled transportation system will have a huge impact on Hamilton and its neighbourhoods.

“It will be one of the most tangible legacies of the Games for decades after the closing ceremony,” is how it was worded in the bid.

According to Hamilton’s bid document, the legacy of the Games wouldhave included:

* A $20-million Sport Legacy Fund;

* The Commonwealth Institute for Sport, including research chairs in high-performance sports, provincial and national centres of excellence in sports such as aquatics, cycling, endurance running, martial arts and field sports coming to Hamilton, a focus on public health and fitness, scholarships and fellowships, international coaching clinics;

* The ongoing use of permanent facilities built for the Games as training and competition venues for local, regional and national levels of sports, with a particular focus on elite training in cycling, distance running, triathlon, boxing, judo, martial arts and wrestling.

* Complete rebranding of Hamilton’s image based on hosting the Games;

* Catalyst behind driving the implementation of the Hamilton Sport Tourism Action Plan to bring high-level sporting events and conferences;

* The establishment of the Hamilton Commonwealth Business Club to create a network of businesses seeking relationships within the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Square was planned for the space where Ivor Wynne Stadium now stands. It would have been used for indoor sports and track.

Harbour Centre complex at Eastwood Park would have cost $46 million and seat 6,000.

Commonwealth Sport Park, with a price tag of $215 million, would be located on Hamilton’s waterfront, reclaiming past industrial lands. Commonwealth Stadium would be the city’s new stadium, seating 50,000.

:cry:

[Apple]

Apparently I don't know if this is true or not but the City is looking to make a deal with the Commonwealth Games Federation to automatically give Hamilton the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

[Apple]

Jilted

Commonwealth Games Canada courted Hamilton a year ago. It left the city at the altar yesterday.

By Steve Buist

The Hamilton Spectator

(Dec 16, 2005)

Hamilton delegates watched in stunned silence yesterday as Halifax was named Canada's Commonwealth Games choice just a year after the nomination was promised to this city.

City officials have confirmed that Hamilton was asked in November 2004 by the president of the Commonwealth Games Canada board of directors to act as Canada's representative to host the 2014 Games.

The explosive revelation came hours after Halifax was unanimously recommended over Hamilton, Ottawa and York Region at a ceremony in downtown Toronto.

David Adames, one of the vice-chairs of Hamilton's 2014 Commonwealth Games bid committee and executive director of Tourism Hamilton, said the city was approached 13 months ago by Claude Bennett, Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC) president.

Adames said Bennett indicated that CGC's board had passed a unanimous resolution to name Hamilton as Canada's representative and asked the city if it would be interested in running again after its loss to India for the 2010 Games

"We agreed to stand as the bid city," said Adames. "When we got back to Commonwealth Games Canada, things had changed and there had been a change of heart." Bennett declined to comment yesterday when contacted about the allegation.

An internal CGC document says Hamilton was unanimously approved to be Canada's choice because the city is "known and 'owed.'"

"We made a commitment to Hamilton," the document says, "and have a commitment to go forward."

The document also says Hamilton confirmed in December 2004 its commitment to represent Canada for the 2014 Games, and that a Hamilton bid is "quite winnable."

Hamilton officials were so confident that the CGC's decision was final that airline tickets were booked for several delegates to attend the Commonwealth Games international general assembly in Melbourne, Australia, in April 2005.

But by late March, city officials were hearing rumours that the CGC was considering reopening the process to other bidders. The trip to Australia was cancelled.

It wasn't until June that the city was formally told by letter that instead of unilaterally naming Hamilton, the CGC had decided to hold an open competitive bidding process.

The decision was made after discussions between the CGC and other agencies, including Sport Canada, which oversees the hosting of international sporting events in this country.

Sport Canada contacted the CGC in the spring and "strongly encouraged that a domestic bid process occur," said Donald Boulanger, spokesperson for Canadian Heritage, the federal department which is also responsible for Sport Canada.

It's government policy to have cities bid for large sporting events, he said. "The process is there and it is not new."

Boulanger stressed the government had no part in choosing the winner.

"It is not our role," he said.

Ward 8 Councillor Terry Whitehead confirmed that Hamilton had been asked to act as Canada's bid city, and called yesterday's decision a "betrayal."

"I'm going to hold them (CGC's directors) accountable for a process that was obviously seriously flawed," said Whitehead.

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp....6511815

Seriously something has screwed up here. Claude Bennett has some SERIOUS explaining to do. You can imagine people over here are pissed about this.

[Alexjc]

Bad luck Hamilton!

Time to move on and support the Canadian bid city of Halifax.

I now believe that this decision will open up the international competition and we could start to see a few more bids comming in.

[IceNarcissus]

Deal with it Hamilton. It's obvious the Can CWGs were only asking Hamilton to bid for 2014. It doesn't mean it's favoured or will be the definite winner.

If Hamilton had seriously thought there was going to be no contest, why didn't they say anything before or during the election?