Hamilton's Pan Am stadium is finally finished

Nearly one year after its initial deadline, it appears Hamilton's Pan Am stadium is done. Finally.

The initial completion deadline for Tim Hortons Fieldwas June 30, 2014. After numerous delays, Infrastructure Ontarioreached the substantial completion milestone late Friday.

Now IO will hand the $145-million stadium over to the city, which will get it ready for hosting the soccer games for the Pan Am Games July 10 to 27.

The delay isn't reflective of IO, the agencysaid in an email.

"Regrettably, the delays experienced during construction do not meet the high standards we set for the companies that want to be part of Ontario's infrastructure program," said John McKendrick, IO executive vice-president of major projects, in an email.

IO hired a construction consortium, Ontario Sports Solutions, to build the 22,500-seat stadium. The consortium included Kenaidan Contracting of Mississauga and Bouygues Building Canada Inc., a France-based builder.

The consortium gave several reasons for the construction delays, including harsh winter weather in late 2013 and the bankruptcy of a subcontractor. It has stopped answering questions about the delay in recent months, saying they are contractual issues with IO.

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There have been other speculations about the delay, including problems with the design. Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, the Pan Am subcommittee chair, also speculated that the lack of daily financial penalties played a part. IO withheld $89 million until crews finished the project, which it says is a form of financial penalty.

Hamilton saidPan Am Games were'in jeopardy'

The delay caused so much anxiety among city councillorsthat Mayor Fred Eisenberger wrote to Premier Kathleen Wynne in late April warning that the Pan Am Games in Hamilton were "in jeopardy."

Because of the delay, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats played the majority of their season at McMaster University last year, although the stadium was in good enough shapeto host the Labour Day Classic and a Keith Urban concert not long after.

A handful of events have been cancelled or displaced by the delay, including a Pan Am test event and a cancer fundraiser.

There is still minor work to be done, but it won't impact the Pan Am Games, McKendrick said.

"Sufficient performance security has been withheld from the total payment to Ontario Sports Solutions to ensure any outstanding work is completed within the project's original budget."

Despite the delays, the project is within its original budget, McKendricksaid.