Tim Hortons Field occupancy permit still hasn't come, but Ticats expect to play there Monday
The sagaofTim Hortons Field continues, with the news coming Sunday afternoon that the city's decision on whether the stadium will receive its partial occupancy permit for Monday's scheduled Labour Day Classic against Toronto won't be made until Sunday night. Early Sunday was already a tight turnaround, and getting that decision late Sunday makes things even tougher. However, the team's so confident the permit will come that they've already cancelled the backup plan of playing at the Rogers Centre Tuesday, making owner/caretaker Bob Young's Apollo 13 reference particularly apt. As Drew Edwards of The Hamilton Spectator writes, some remaining issues still need to be sorted out before the permit can be approved, though:
The city still hasn't issued the occupancy permit and an official told me they don't expect to until this evening. They remain confident but there's still work to be done. “It's dependent on the contractor.”
Right now, the issues are hoarding (fencing around construction materials still on site), clean-up and fire separation. Sounds like the fire safety issues have been resolved on the east side with crews moving to the west side.
Speaking of fire safety, it's interesting to see that the fire that broke out in a third-floor mechanical room at the stadium early Saturday morning (and caused $25,000 in damage) has been deemed not suspicious by Hamilton police. That might indicate there could be issues with the wiring setup at the stadium, and that potentially could cause problems with the permit decision. However, the Ticats are confident that won't be an issue. Team president Glenn Gibson (a former insurance adjuster) made some interesting comments about the fire to Edwards Saturday:
"It looks like there's no structural damage. There's some smoke and water damage and the contractor has engaged a specialty firm that deals with fire clean up and they are on the scene," he said. "My expectation is that by the end of today, any issues from the fire will be neutralized."
"We fully expect to be playing here on Monday."
The team and the city both seem opstimistic the permit will come through, and there's a lot of pressure for it to do so. The stadium does need to be safe, though, and it should receive a close and thorough look before it's approved. All indications are that the city inspectors will do that, and that's likely the reason why the permit won't be approved until late Sunday night. It's far from an automatic approval though, and there's still a chance this could go south.
On the Tiger-Cats' side, however, preparations for Labour Day are proceeding as scheduled. The team is working away at setting up the stadium's bars and concession stands, and they've made plans to bring in some big guests for the special day, including ESPN broadcaster (and noted CFL aficionado) Chris Berman:
Berman will be a special guest on something else the Ticats are debuting Monday, "Ticats TV Live," an in-stadium panel show appearing on the stadium video board. The show will include former Ticats Marwan Hage, Paul Osbaldiston and John Williams as well as host Brodie Lawson, and in addition to Berman, special guests ESPN/ABC broadcaster John Saunders (who was born and raised in Ontariohit anyone with a cane this time.) The Ticats indicate that there will be concessions and washrooms available (but no credit cards will be accepted), and that there will be free mini-footballs for all, plus lots of other giveaways. So, if they get the permit, this could turn into quite a good fan experience. Fans and observers from across the CFL will be watching closely Sunday night to see if Tim Hortons Field will in fact be approved, though.
