City council approves Hamilton 100 agreement

City councillors have backed a new memorandum of understanding with a private group that aims to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Hamilton.

The memorandum is a forerunner to negotiations with the provincial and federal governments to iron out key details, including financial commitments.

The agreement stipulates the city will advocate for funding from senior levels of government and recognizes the municipality may be a financial contributor" toward planning, delivery and legacies" of the games.

Hamilton 100 submitted its hosting proposal to the provincial and federal governments late last week, organizer and Lou Frapporti told council Monday.

This pitch differs from a previous iteration that put infrastructure needs very significantly on the backs of Hamilton taxpayers," he said. This proposal completely removes that responsibility."

But Hamilton could discuss additional investments to support the international sports event through the multi-party-agreement talks, Frapporti said, noting the rough capital and programming budgets are confidential for now.

The memorandum of understanding is non-binding" and there are multiple exit ramps" ahead for the city before it must commit to the games, said Carrie Brooks-Joiner, the city's director of tourism and culture.

Hamilton 100 - initially formed to pursue a bid for a local centenary celebration of the Commonwealth Games in its birthplace with an estimated budget of more than $1 billion - has shifted its focus more than once since it settled on a pitch for a regional games with events across the GTHA, Kitchener-Waterloo and Niagara Region.

After its initial outing in 2019, the team - led by PJ Mercanti, CEO of Carmen's Group - decided to pursue a bid for the 2026 Games amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those plans disintegrated in late 2020 when the provincial government said it wouldn't support a games and World Cup in the same year.

On Monday, Hamilton 100 supporters urged council to back a refreshed memorandum of understanding to catapult Hamilton - with the backing of Commonwealth Sport Canada - to the 2030 international hosting competition.

Stepping onto the podium to receive the gold medal in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B.C., was one of the proudest moments of my life," said Mike Strange, a Niagara Falls councillor and former amateur boxer.

Coun. John-Paul Danko expressed appreciation for Hamilton 100 members' drive to pursue the games, but called the group's presentations to date an emotional marketing pitch."

What we haven't received are factual details - in particular, the factual details on the finances, which will remain secret."

Coun. Brad Clark, however, said keeping the finances of large sporting events confidential pending multi-party talks has been a standard practice.

At this moment, we still have control as a council how far we go into this deal."

In an interview, Frapporti said the preliminary budget figures are speculative" without any funding approvals.

So putting numbers out publicly would be putting out nothing of substance at this point."

But Danko also suggested a major driver" of the games is to leverage public tax dollars to the benefit of private interest."

Mercanti and others behind Hamilton 100 are also members of a consortium that landed a long-term deal last year to refurbish and operate the city's downtown entertainment venues, including the York Boulevard arena.

The Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG) also has mixed-use redevelopment plans along York as part of its goal to create an entertainment district in the core.

Anybody in the private sector is in business to make a profit, but we're also here to give back and help build communities," Paul Paletta, whose Alinea Group Holdings Inc. is a HUPEG partner and games backer, told The Spectator.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com