The city is about to escalate the legal battle over who is responsible for the late delivery and problem-plagued construction of its $145-million football stadium.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s office issued a statement Tuesday announcing the city will soon file a statement of defence in response to dueling legal claims involving its stadium builder, the province and main tenant, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The city, team and province originally assured residents the multimillion-dollar claims were only filed to protect legal rights while all parties worked to resolve differences outside of court.
But so far, those private negotiations have not panned out, says the statement, so new court filings are expected within weeks.
“The door remains open” to an out-of-court settlement, stressed Eisenberger in an interview, but added council is “firm” in its commitment that local taxpayers won’t pay extra costs linked to ongoing stadium woes.
The mayor said he issued the statement to “clear up misconceptions” about the stadium negotiations and the city’s role.
He argued council and the football team are “partners” in pursuing a fair settlement from project overseer Infrastructure Ontario, over the nearly year-long construction delay as well as later issues like leaks, electrical problems and a tower speaker that plunged into empty stands last summer.
(The stadium lease requires the city to “flow through” claims by the team to the province for damages related to construction delays and missed games.)
The mayor also said the ongoing litigation doesn’t prevent the city and team from working together to pursue a future Grey Cup football event or bring a pro-soccer team to town.
But his statement repeats the city’s belief the Ticats have lost previous exclusive rights to run a soccer team out of Tim Hortons Field and would have to renegotiate.
In a statement, the Ticats organization said it would not discuss legal matters in public, but reiterated the team is committed to working with the city and believes it has “exclusive right to bring both the Grey Cup and professional soccer to Hamilton.”
– Hamilton Spectator
