bob young

Bob Young talks about “Milton Tiger Cats”

Mike Cluett

Earlier today on AM 900 CHML, Hamilton TigerCat Caretaker Bob Young was being interviewd by Bill Kelly to talk about the next steps in dealing with Hamilton City Council’s decision for the west harbour location, what the future holds for the TigerCats and possible locations if they have to move.

Young mentioned that his goal is STILL work at keeping the team in Hamilton.  There is way too much history of that franchise in Steeltown to let it go easily and he will do what he can to work with council provided they come with a viable option that is acceptable to the TigerCats.

Here is a link to the CHML story with audio of the interview with Bill Kelly today.  Bob mentions Milton TigerCats roughly 7 minutes into the audio.

You can check out the Fan Page of “MILTON TIGERCATS” on Facebook as well by clicking on the logo to the left.  There are over 60 members so far and growing daily and you can stay tuned to www.mikecluett.ca for more updates on the situation.

You can also find some more local and national coverage of the TigerCats possible move to Milton here with a recap of Bob Youngs interview with TSN on Saturday night (The Cats WON by the way!!)  That link is from the National Post.

OSKEE WEE WEE!  I’ll see you at the doors.

4TH Line Temporary Closure Announced

Mike Cluett

Well CFL fans, tonight is an important night for the Hamilton Tiger Cats team.  After a crazy week in Steel Town with the City Council back and forth and some of the councillors approving then voting against the west harbour deal, death threats against the Hamilton Mayor (which is delporable if you ask me) its time to get the onfield product ready to go against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, for the 4th time this season.  I hope the team has been able to stay away from the media circus and concentrate on getting back on track and moving closer to the Eastern Division leaders. (Yes that means the Argos/All’s)  I heard that Bob Young will end the media silence this past week and have an interview with Dave Randorf from TSN at half time of tonights game.  We’ll all be watching and listening closely.

Back to Milton.  I received a notice from the Town of Milton in their news section that 4th Line from Louis St Laurent to Britannia will be closed from September 2010 to December 2010 to allow for the Region of Halton to install a watermain feeder to Milton.

The temporary closure will be in effect from September 1, 2010 until December 31, 2010. Local and emergency access will be maintained throughout the construction.

http://www.milton.ca/news/pdfs/Ad_Temporary__Fourth_Line_Closure_Region_Aug_2010.pdf

Plans detailing the project are available for viewing at the Halton Region Office at 1075 North Service Road West, Unit 27, Oakville, ON or at The Town of Milton, Engineering Services, 2nd Floor, 150 Mary Street.

On August 23, 2010, Council will give consideration to the proposed bylaw. At this meeting, Council will hear, in person, or by their counsel, any person who applies to be heard. Persons wishing to be heard must notify the Clerk’s Department in writing, no later than 10 a.m. August 23, 2010.

Any inquiries should be directed to the following:
Traffic Inquiries Project Inquires
Heide Schlegl,
Coordinator, Traffic & Parking
Engineering Services Department
Phone: 905-878-7252, ext. 2506
Fax: 905-876-5029
E-mail: Heide Schlegl

Joseph Proietti, C.E.T.
Design Supervisor,
Water Services
P 905-825-6000 ext. 7613
F 905-825-0267
E-mail: Joseph Proeitti

I dont want to be a doom-sayer here but a set of traffic lights at Thompson and Louis St Laurent would come in handy during this period of time.

People coming down James Snow Parkway to Louis St. Laurent and normally turn down 4th line towards Britannia will now have to go all the way over to Thomspon, turn left and go down Thompson towards Britannia.

Can you say traffic mess?  Of course you can.  Seeing how there isnt a set of lights at Thompson and LSL (not enough traffic to warrant one)  Thats ok though as traffic will flow nicely down Thompson Road towards Britannia right?  Think again.  Why?  OH, I forgot there isnt a right hand turn lane to Britannia.

So…. from September to December look for Thompson Road to be a mess in the morning and afternoon.  We can use that time sitting in traffic to think of other options to bring forward.  Remember, you can have your say on August 23rd.  I know some of us will.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Whirlwind 24 hours

Mike Cluett

To say the last 24 hours in the life of Mike Cluett was busy, would be a big stretch. 

In between my full time job at Greenlawn Canada, there have been a whirlwind number of phone calls to media outlets in the Greater Milton …er Toronto Area talking about a little thing known as moving the Tiger Cats to Milton, I havent been able to do much else.  I have been able to get to most of them, but not all, so as long as the discussion is going I’m available to talk.

I have received a lot of responses on this blog, through email, Twitter and on Facebook from both sides (mostly positive and encouraging responses) from people both inside and outside Milton.

As I mentioned earlier on I had been interviewed by CHCH News from Hamilton about this movement that was shown on the news at 6pm, 11pm and even on CHCH Morning Live along with Mayor Gord Krantz explaining the rationale of TiCats owner Bob Young considering Milton as an option.

If all else fails in Hamilton (that is still up for debate and not over by a long shot) we hope that the ownership of the CFL franchise can see the potential benefits of moving their team here to Milton.  Nothing regarding numbers, costs, business plans have been formally discussed but we wanted to get the discussion going.  Earlier this week I had read the letter Bob Young sent to Hamilton City Council about backing out of discussions for the Pan Am stadium and playing out the remaining years at Ivor Wynne before choosing another locale.

Being a TiCats fan, I want them to stay in Hamilton.  Thats my preferred choice and I hope between all the parties involved they can come to some sort of resolution in the matter and keep the team in Steel Town.  Baring all of that, we want them to know theres a potential home for them in Milton.

So the debate will continue for the next while and I hope that some see the potential benefits to Milton and the surrounding area by getting this put together.  There is no chance this will come to a resolution anytime soon, but we can only hope.

Locally, there was an article in today’s Champion talking about municipal candidates taking to the Internet to reach voters, spark discussion on issues and keeping people informed.  You can view that article by Christina Commisso (herself on Twitter) here.

I’ll keep everybody posted on whats going on with the Cats, how the reaction is coming in and what might happen in the future.  To those people visiting my blog and website for the first time, thanks for coming…I hope you stick around.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Oskee wee wee!

Milton TigerCats? Its Possible & Here’s How

Mike Cluett

Town Of Milton Should Pursue Pan Am Stadium and Tiger Cats CFL Franchise

The City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Tiger Cats franchise are embroiled in a controversy that might result in the beloved CFL franchise to leave Hamilton forever. 

At the heart of the dispute is the location of the stadium to be constructed for the 2015 Pan Am Games, a stadium that would end up being the home of the Tiger Cats franchise.  Caretaker Bob Young, successful Hamilton businessman and the person responsible for bringing the Ti Cats back from the brink of bankruptcy over the past several years, wants to build a stadium on an east mountain location in Hamilton.  By having the stadium there, it would be able to locate a state of the art facility as well as much needed parking that their current location at Ivor Wynne doesn’t allow for. 

The City of Hamilton wants to locate the new stadium at the west harbour location of Hamilton near Barton and Bay Street.  For several months now there have been negotiations between the City of Hamilton and the Tiger Cats franchise to come to a solution and none has been met.  Yesterday, the owner of the Tiger Cats Bob Young, issued a letter saying that seeing how they can’t come to a resolution on the location, he notified the Mayor and City Council that they will play out the remainder of this season and 2011 and find another location, possibly outside Hamilton.

The Tiger Cats have been a part of Hamilton for over a hundred years and this would deal a severe blow to the local economy.  Both sides seem steadfast in their ideas and it looks like the Tiger Cats CFL franchise will be looking for a new home.  Personally as a Tiger Cats fan for many years, it would be heart breaking to see them move to other locations including Quebec or Moncton NB.  I would like to provide the Tiger Cats owners and the Pan Am officials a backup plan…a plan that can work for all parties involved.

This is where Milton comes in.  The Town of Milton has the available land to house such a facility available for Pan Am officials and the Tiger Cats to consider.  There are many benefits for all parties involved to consider Milton as a viable location for the Pan Am games AND becoming the new home for the Tiger Cats Franchise.  The potential location would be on the west side of the 401 Industrial Park in Milton.

By having it there the games and the franchise have easy highway access to Toronto (45 minutes) downtown Kitchener / Waterloo / Cambridge (30 minutes) and residents of Hamilton as well (30 minutes)

Here’s how it can work.

Why Milton as a Pan Am Games partner? 

  • Willing host
  • Proposed site could be easily rezoned for stadium purpose
  • Located 20 to 40 minutes from all other Pan Am Games venues
  • Located on west side of Greater Toronto Area
  • Located 20 minutes from Pearson International Airport
  • Proposed stadium site is located on with easy access to Highway 401, North America’s busiest superhighway
  • Proposed site alongside Highway 401 would make it highest visibility Pan Am venue in Canada
  • Located 20 minutes from Q.E.W. and 10 minutes from Highway 407
  • Located in an area with more than six million Ontarians
  • Well supported by local hotels, restaurants, general goods merchants and service industry; high-quality municipal services, well-trained workforce
  • Easy media access

Why Milton as a Hamilton Tiger-Cats partner?

  • Willing host
  • Most Milton CFL fans are Hamilton Tiger-Cat supporters
  • Proposed site could be easily rezoned for stadium purpose
  • Proposed site still reasonably close for many current seasons’ ticket holders to commute to
  • Proposed site alongside Highway 401 would make it highest visibility CFL stadium in Canada
  • Located 20 minutes from Pearson International Airport
  • Located on and easy access to Highway 401, North America’s busiest superhighway
  • Located 20 minutes from Q.E.W. and 10 minutes from Highway 407
  • Located in an area with more than six million Ontarians
  • Well supported by local hotels, restaurants, general goods merchants and service industry; high-quality municipal services, well-trained workforce
  • Easy media access

 Why west side of 401 Industrial Park?

  • Proposed site could be easily rezoned for stadium purpose
  • Located 20 minutes from Pearson International Airport
  • Located on and easy access to Highway 401, North America’s busiest superhighway
  • Located 20 minutes from Q.E.W. and 10 minutes from Highway 407
  • Located in an area with more than six million Ontarians
  • Well supported by local hotels, restaurants, general goods merchants and service industry; high-quality municipal services, well-trained workforce

I talked directly with Milton Mayor Gord Krantz early this morning, he will be directing town staff and the economic development department to work on getting a preliminary proposal prepared for review and possibly present to the Pan Am officials and the Tiger Cats franchise.  The Town of Milton is no stranger to the Pan Am committee as just recently they were involved with other municipalities to look at Milton being an option to have locations for the Pan Am games in 2015.

Milton has been Canada’s fastest growing municipality for the last 3 years and will be the “go to” location for businesses from around the region, the province and the country.  We have the ability to take on something like this and put Milton further on the map.

Nothing is written in stone but the play has been called and the time clock is running.  Can a Hail Mary save the Tiger Cats franchise and keep it in southern Ontario or will an icon in Canadian sports history be forever lost.

Stay tuned, this will be a fun ride.  I’ll see you at the doors.