New Hamilton stadium 'substantial completion' by October 15

The new Tim Hortons Field stadium is facing one last delay this time of two more weeks.

Ontario Sports Solutions, the consortium building the $145-million stadium, initially estimated the stadium would be substantially complete by Oct. 2. It now estimates a substantial completion date of Oct. 15.

Substantial completion means only small, mostly cosmetic changes will remain, and the stadium will be "98 or 99-per cent done," said John McKendrick, executive vice-president of Infrastructure Ontario.

Elevators are delaying the project, said Greg Stack of Kenaidan Contracting Ltd., part of the consortium, at a Pan Am subcommittee meeting at city hall on Tuesday.

One elevator will be working for the Keith Urban concert this weekend, Stack said. Two, maybe three will be ready by the next Hamilton Tiger-Cats game.

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Right now, people who use wheelchairs must sit on an accessible patio to watch the Ticats play.

McKendrick hopes this is the last delay."Im relying on the contractor to get the work done," he said.

The stadium was initially supposed to be completed by June 30. Builders first said in January that it would be two weeks late. Since then, the delay has grown to nearly four months.

The consortium says a harsh winter, a subcontractor going bankrupt and supply problems contributed to the delay. But some say changes to the structural steel designs were also a factor.

The builders have applied to the city for an occupancy permit for the Keith Urban concert this weekend, the Ticats's first foray into holding concerts. The team hopes it will be a money-making venture.

All of the east side of the stadium will be open for the Keith Urban concert, McKendrick said. If the permit is granted, the lower bowl, VIP suites and club suites will also be open by the concert, leaving the upper level inaccessible. The upper level should be ready by the next Ticats game.

It's a beautiful stadium, McKendrick said.

"Do I have one regret? Yeah, that it didn't finish on time," he said.

"Were going to have to discuss a few issues with (the consortium) and hopefully we can move past that, get to final completion and close the books."

The Ticats have sold more than 16,000 tickets so far for the Keith Urban concert, president Glenn Gibson said.

The stadium delay has likely impacted ticket sales, despite sales being "very strong daily," he said.

"If the suites arent open then clearly you cant utilize the suites," he said. "Theres people that may have chosen not to go because the elevators arent there. Theres no question that would have some impact on our capacity."

Despite that, he said, the Ticats are predicting "a sell-out crowd."