Tim Hortons Field needs $1.1-million repair job: city report
Tim Hortons Field is due for a $1.1-million repair job to remedy safety concerns.
The perimeter end guards that surround the upper bowl stands and line the stairways need to be replaced.
There's no immediate safety risk, but over time, the guards will come loose, city facilities director Rom D'Angelo says.
The problem is the latest in a string of headaches with the issued-plagued stadium ever since it was built for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
In 2018, the city reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with Infrastructure Ontario, its contractor Ontario Sports Solutions and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats over problems with the stadium.
The city has dealt with a variety of deficiencies" involving leaks, burst pipes, a faulty main transformer, lighting controls, floor drains, metal cladding, missing hatches, guard rails and mechanical systems.
The deteriorating end guards were detected during a review after a 250-pound tower speaker fell from a light standard into empty stands in 2016.
They have been repaired more than once, but D'Angelo said the city wants to replace them to avoid doing piecemeal" work year after year.
A staff report before councillors July 6 notes safety concerns with the guards due to both installations, deterioration and weather," which are considered latent defects."
D'Angelo declined to say whether the original builder is to blame, deferring to legal staff.
In addition to his public report, legal issues associated with the stadium are scheduled to be discussed in camera July 6.
To pay for the expected $1.1-million job, staff recommend reallocating funds earmarked to several other capital projects this year.
Other stadium repairs have already spoken for funds resulting from the 2018 settlement, D'Angelo noted.
Infrastructure Ontario handed the stadium over late and incomplete before the 2015 Pan Am Games. In 2016, the various parties launched competing lawsuits over the mess.
On Tuesday, D'Angelo said the hope is that council will approve the $1.1 million, so the work can be done in the fall. Even if the Ticats play a shortened CFL season in September amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the job can still go forward, he added.
Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based city hall reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com