Tiger-Cats approach Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring. Burlington Stadium possibility.

Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have approached Mayor Rick Goldring about building a new stadium, which would also be used for the 2015 Pan Am Games, in Burlington. 
The Tiger-Cats have their eye on a parcel of city land located in Aldershot between the railway tracks and Hwy 403, just west of King Road.Team President Scott Mitchell and Executive Vice President Doug Rye met with Goldring in Hamilton this morning (Monday). Goldring stresses that talks between the Tiger-Cats and the City of Burlington about a possible 22,000-seat stadium are very preliminary at this stage. “They sought me out and I met with them this morning,” the mayor said. “They are very, very interested in pursuing the site in Aldershot for a stadium that would be a Pan Am stadium and a home for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.”

Land Tiger Cats are interested in (Click to Enlarge)

Goldring said the city will need to move quickly, ideally within the next three weeks, to respond to the Tiger-Cats’ interest and meet the Feb. 1 Pan Am deadline.
He said he plans to ask for city council’s approval next Thursday to direct staff to create a detailed report, outlining the possible implications of building a stadium in the city. Goldring said he has already spoken to many members of council, saying they are largely supportive of further examining the project, adding that there are more questions than answers at this stage of the game.
“I think we have to see if there is any economic advantage of that happening,” he said. “There’s been no definitive ask from the Tiger-Cats of what they specifically want from the City of Burlington, so we need to first of all confirm that this is something that is worth taking a look at and council has an opportunity to give staff direction if this is something we want to take a look at.”
Goldring confirmed that the land that is being eyed for the stadium is owned by the city.
The mayor stressed that the proposed stadium is in its infancy.“I think it is something we should take a look at,” he said. “My analogy right now is we’re trying on some clothes to see if they are going to fit, whether we feel good in the clothes, but we haven’t looked at the price on the arm yet.”
The Cats are in negotiation with a Burlington developer and his partners that would see a private consortium contribute $30 million to the Pan-Am Games stadium project that would become the new home of the CFL team. It is believed talks between the Tiger-Cats and the Paletta family of Burlington go back months, with the understanding that a deal would only go forward if options dried up in Hamilton.
The Paletta's own 125 acres of land located east of the Aldershot GO station and bordered on the north by Highway 403 and on the west by King Road. The land has already been zoned for sport-entertainment use.