Province files notice of legal action over Tim Hortons Field stadium

It's a battle of potential lawsuits between the city, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a construction consortiumand the provincial agency that built the new Tim Hortons Field stadium.

Infrastructure Ontario (IO), the provincial agency that oversaw construction of the $145-million stadium, has filed a notice of action in Hamilton superior court for $50 million in damages.

The notice names Ontario Sports Solution (ONSS), the construction consortium that built the delayed stadium. It also names the Toronto 2015 Pan Am organizing committee, the City of Hamilton, York University, the City of Toronto and the Town of Milton.

The notice claims $50 million for breach of contract, negligence or negligent representation on the part of ONSS, including "failure to perform its obligations on time."

The notice specifically names Bouygues Construction and Obayashi Corporation.

The filing doesn't necessarily mean there will be a lawsuit, IO said in a statement. It is "a normal part of the legal process to prevent expiry of limitation periods."

IO is working "extremely hard" to find a "positive path forward," it said, adding that the stadium is a "world-class facility."

This is the third notice of action filed over the stadium in recent weeks.

• City sets stage for legal action over delayed Tim Hortons Field stadium

The city has filed its own notice, claiming about $35 million in damages. The claim cites breach of contract, negligence and misrepresentation when it came to the planning, procurement, design, construction, project management and other aspects of the stadium.Of that, $14 million are damage awardsthat would be passed on to theTicats.The CFL team hasalso filed its own notice of action.

The timing of the stadium project has been an issue since crews began construction in 2013.

The initial target date to finish the stadium was June 30, 2014, in time for the Ticats to play that year's season there.But it saw several delays after that.

It was still under construction when it opened, partially completed, on Sept. 1, 2014 for the Canadian Football League's Labour Day Classic. Itofficially opened on May 22, 2015, more than 10 months overdue.

The city says the stadium still has deficiencies.