Here’s what Hamiltonians can expect next. Pictured is an artist rendering of the renovated FirstOntario Centre. Photo credit: City of Hamilton
In the latest developments regarding the massive multimillion dollar FirstOntario Centre renovations, the City of Hamilton has released further details in an 84-page document, Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG) President PJ Mercanti wrote an op-ed in the Hamilton Spectator clarifying further details, and Hamilton’s Toronto Rock lacrosse team will be temporarily relocating to Mississauga.
84-Page Document
After the previous City Council faced criticism for not making its agreement public, the city released the 84-page contract between the city and HUPEG, the private development group overseeing the renovations and management of the arena and entertainment precinct.
HUPEG is a consortium led by Carmen’s Group and the Mercanti Family and Associates. The organization and the city were originally keeping some details of the deal private due to commercial competitiveness reasons, but recently decided that this document could indeed be shared.
The document was signed in 2021 and can be found on the City of Hamilton website. Only one of the 84 pages is significantly blacked out.
Key details in the document are:
- HUPEG will invest a minimum $50-million into renovating the FirstOntario Centre (formerly Copps Coliseum), $10 million into the Hamilton Convention Centre, $2.5 million into the FirstOntario Concert Hall (formerly Hamilton Place) and donate $2 million to a future art gallery fundraising campaign
- HUPEG will pay $1 a year to lease each of the three entertainment facilities
- The lease agreement is good for 49 years
- HUPEG will operate the three aforementioned venues (management by the city previously lost the municipality over $5 million annually)
- In return, HUPEG gets ownership of three of the city’s downtown properties and will be creating an “entertainment precinct” and building condos which will be developed within the next five years
- HUPEG will use ticket surcharges to build up a capital repair fund
Not mentioned in the document is the fact that Oak View Group (OVG) is now involved in the project. OVG is a global sports and entertainment company co-founded by former Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke.
On top of the $50 million provided by HUPEG to refurbish the arena OVG will be adding another $50 million, meaning that improvements will be significantly more involved.
HUPEG has already taken over operations and maintenance of the FirstOntario Centre and two other venues as of April 1, 2022. The City of Hamilton retains ownership of the land and facilities.
Mercanti Op-ed
In addition to the release of the 84-page document, HUPEG President PJ Mercanti wrote an op-ed in the Hamilton Spectator reaffirming HUPEG’s commitment to the renovations and detailing some of the key benefits to taxpayers.
He reiterated that, over the next 30 years, the deal will save city taxpayers $150 million as HUPEG takes over operation and maintenance costs for the three city venues.
He also says that the residential developments that accompany the deal are a $440 million investment “which is estimated to grow the City’s tax revenue by $100+ million” which he notes is “sorely needed” money.
Mercanti also addressed the timeline of the renovations. The FirstOntario Centre was originally scheduled to close for renovations after the Canadian Country Music Awards in September.
Then it was revealed that the arena would stay open into November to host various Grey Cup festivities and Hamiltonians started to ask questions about what was going on with the renovation timeline.
Mercanti answered those questions, clarifying that there are no events booked at the arena past December 31, 2023 and construction is scheduled to begin early in the first quarter of 2024. With the arena revamp scheduled to take 20 months, it is hoped that the facility will open for September 2025.
Mercanti also notes that HUPEG is committed to providing “as much information to the public” as they can.
He added that they will even be undergoing “a comprehensive program of public consultation and engagement” regarding the “full vision” of the project “as soon as circumstances permit.”
Hamilton’s Toronto Rock Lacrosse Team
Finally, in the latest update regarding the Hamilton sports teams that will be impacted by the project, Hamilton’s Toronto Rock lacrosse team has announced their plans for the upcoming season.
The Rock will be playing their December 2023 matches at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton before temporarily moving to Mississauga’s Paramount Fine Foods Centre until the 2025-26 season.
The Rock permanently moved to Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre for the 2021-22 season and controversially decided not to change their team name to reflect the fact that they play out of Hamilton. The team is still called the Toronto Rock.
As for the other teams impacted, the Hamilton Bulldogs will be moving to Brantford for the 2023-24 season and it’s unclear if they’ll return to Hamilton once renovations are complete.
The Hamilton Honey Badgers basketball club left Hamilton permanently for Brampton.
When the original arena plans were released there were hopes that teams would be able to continue playing out of the facility during the renovations. However, with the larger scope of the project now that OVG is involved, it quickly became obvious that that would no longer be possible.
Some teams, notably the Hamilton Bulldogs, were upset with the change and also said that the switch was not properly communicated.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
