Ticats bidding to host 2020 Grey Cup

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats want to bring the Grey Cup game to Hamilton in 2020.

The team is planning to submit a formal bid for the game and its surrounding festival in the weeks ahead, confirmed communications director Aaron Gogishvili.

"Once the litigation with the builder of Tim Hortons Field was resolved and the municipal election concluded, the timing was right to begin discussions with the City on a formal bid," Gogishvili said in an email.

Tim Hortons Field opened in 2015, but was mired in construction issues, on top of the multi-million dollar lawsuit.

The city officially announced a settlement earlier this year in the legal dispute with the team over construction delays and months of problems at the field.

The Ticats sued after the stadium opened months later than expected in 2014, forcing the team to play elsewhere for part of that season. The stadium has struggled with malfunctions since then, with repairs lingering years into the process.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes have also made bids to host the game in 2020.

The Grey Cup is largely seen as a lucrative boon for the city. Its festival would run in downtown Hamilton from Wednesday to Saturday or the week of the game, with festivities shifting to the Tim Hortons Field precinct in the east end on Sunday.

The Ticatstake on the Ottawa Redblacksin the CFLeast final this Sunday.