h after a 0-0 draw in the first leg. After the match, | Forum
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Feb 1 '18
TORONTO -- Construction of six venues for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Games is running behind schedule, including a new Hamilton stadium, a key venue thats now expected to be finished in September. Earnest Byner Jersey . The $145.7-million Tim Hortons Field was slated to open this month, a year before it was to host all 32 mens and womens soccer competitions. The delay has forced the Hamilton Tiger-Cats football team to use a smaller facility for the first two home games of the season. "I havent heard from the Tiger-Cats about the Tiger-Cats making an announcement. At the end of the day its the same sort of thing like here," said CFL commissioner Mark Cohon from Ottawa prior to the Redblacks home opener. "Look at whats going to be here at the end of the day. Look at whats going to be in Hamilton at the end of the day: A world-class facility thats going to be not just for the next generation of fans but the next generation after that. People are going to be blown away by that facility when its ready as well. Its taking a little bit of time but people are going to be really happy with it when its done." Completion dates for the Toronto track and field centre, a facility in Markham, the equestrian park in Caledon and the shooting centre in Cookstown have all been pushed back by a month or two. The ballpark in Ajax was supposed to be completed by July, but phase two of the project is now expected to be finished in November. However, all the venues are expected to be ready well before the Games begin next July. "We had a significantly difficult winter this past go-around, and I think you would understand the ball park being a challenge when youre trying to put a playing field in when youve got frozen ground," Murray Noble, TO2015s senior vice-president of infrastructure, said Friday. "So some of those projects were truly to do with the weather." The final phase of the Caledon equestrian park was pushed back from December 2014 to February 2015 to make it easier for the right contractors to bid on it, he added. "All of our projects continue to be tracking very well for completion before the end of the year here, and certainly well within the time frames before the Games," he said. Noble said he couldnt provide an exact date for the completion of the Hamilton stadium, saying the question should be directed to Infrastructure Ontario. Infrastructure Ontario says it aims to hold a meeting at the end of the month to evaluate the status of stadium construction, which is currently more than 85 per cent complete. Ontarios governing Liberals have been under fire for the stadium setback, but say taxpayers wont be on the hook for any cost overruns. But the Ticats are taking a financial hit for every game they cant play in the new stadium, said New Democrat Paul Miller, who represents a Hamilton riding. The team will have to use Ron Joyce Stadium at McMaster University, which has 6,000 permanent seats and temporary seating for another 6,000. Tim Hortons Field would have 22,500 permanent seats and a potential capacity of 40,000 through temporary seating. The province gave Hamilton $22.5 million for the stadium, which isnt part of the Pan Am budget. "Whos going to cover that cost?" said Miller. "The city of Hamilton? Infrastructure Ontario? The Pan Am committee?" TO2015 CEO Saad Rafi said questions about whether there would be any compensation for the Ticats would best be answered by Infrastructure Ontario. The Crown corporation wasnt immediately available for comment. "Somebodys going to have to compensate them and at the end of the day, I think we all know that its going to be the taxpayers that are on the hook for this," said Progressive Conservative Todd Smith. Bad weather should be factored into such big projects, he said. The government should just admit publicly that preparations for the Games wont be finished on time or on budget. But TO2015 said that the overall capital building program for the Games is still in line with their budget. It spent $92.8 million in the quarter ending March 31, including $66 million on venue construction during the three months ending March 31, the organizing committee said Friday in its fourth-quarter financial report. Venue construction spending is $387 million so far, about 53 per cent of the total original capital budget of $730 million, it said. It includes $83.5 million for the Hamilton stadium, $148.4 million for an aquatics and field house and $24.8 million on an athletics stadium in Toronto and $53.9 million for the Markham centre, which will host badminton, table tennis and water polo competitions. Operating expenses during the quarter were $26.8 million, mostly spent in the areas of corporate, technology, transportation, events and ceremonies and community and cultural affairs, it said. Corporations have also put in an "incremental $43 million in value" worth of in-kind sponsorships for delivery of the Games, the committee said. TO2015 said it has spent $126.9 million to date, about 15.7 per cent of its total operations budget of $810 million. It reported $4,159 in travel and hospitality expenses for the quarter, bringing the total since last July to $23,136. Rafi said the Games are expected to create 26,000 job and 84 per cent of the funding spent to procure goods and services has gone to Canadian companies. The Games will take place at 34 different competition venues across the Golden Horseshoe, from Niagara in the south to Orillia in the north, running from July 7 to 26, followed by the Parapan Am Games Aug. 7 to 15. The Liberals have also been criticized for the cost of security for the Games, admitting that the original $113 million built into the Pan Am budget was just a best guess and it may climb above the latest estimate of $239 million. TO2015 said it couldnt provide the latest figures, saying it was in the hands of the Pan/Parapan Am Games Integrated Security Unit. The report glosses over the construction delays, inflates the number of jobs that will be created and doesnt mention the amount of money that will be spent on security or transportation, Miller said. "Every time (the Liberals) talk about it, they talk about the positive side of it," Miller said. "And thats fine, but they dont talk about the hidden negative side and they dont want the public to know that." The total budget for the Games, including security, transportation and the athletes village is currently estimated at $2.5 billion. Dustin Hopkins Jersey . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug. John Riggins Jersey . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night.GENEVA -- FIFA has banned Croatia defender Josip Simunic for 10 games -- including the entire World Cup -- for leading fans in a pro-Nazi chant after the team qualified for the tournament in Brazil. Simunic invoked a World War II-era slogan used by Croatias then-puppet regime following a 2-0 playoff victory against Iceland last month. "After taking into account all of the circumstances of the case, and particularly given the gravity of the incident, the committee decided to suspend the player for 10 official matches," FIFA said in a statement. The incident is the latest to discredit football in Croatia, after UEFA President Michel Platini described its fans as the worst behaved at the 2012 European Championship. The sanction also reflected FIFAs commitment this year to tougher sanctions for racism and discrimination at matches. Croatia coach Niko Kovac, a teammate of Simunic at the 2006 World Cup, said the ban probably ended the 35-year-old defenders national team career. "Im unpleasantly surprised, shocked and disappointed by FIFAs ban of Simunic," Kovac said. "Im primarily sad for Simunic who will miss the World Cup. I know him for long as a player and a person and Im sure he did not want to offend anyone." Kovac said the Croatian football federation would appeal to FIFA. If that fails, a challenge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport could follow. Croatia hosted Iceland in Zagreb on Nov. 19 for a decisive qualifying match after a 0-0 draw in the first leg. After the match, Simunic took a microphone on the pitch and shouted to supporters: "For thee homeland!" The fans responded: "Ready!" FIFA said Monday that the salute was "discriminatory and offended the dignity of a group of persons concerning . Brandon Scherff Jersey. .. race, religion or origin." Simunic will miss the whole World Cup tournament in Brazil and is also barred from the stadiums where Croatia will play its next 10 games. Simunic said he felt "bitter and shocked," according to Damir Vrbanovic, managing director of Croatias football federation "It is clear that FIFA wanted to send a strong message with this draconian punishment," Vrbanovic said. FIFA also fined Simunic 30,000 Swiss francs ($33,800) and ordered the Croatia football federation to pay a fine of 70,000 Swiss francs ($78,700). Simunic previously defended his action, saying he was driven by love for his country. The Australia-born player famously was sent off at the 2006 World Cup against Australia after receiving three yellow cards. In a separate FIFA disciplinary verdict Monday, Croatia star forward Mario Mandzukic was banned for just one World Cup match for a red-card challenge against Iceland. Mandzukic will miss the tournaments opening match when Croatia plays host Brazil in Sao Paulo on June 12. "We knew that Mandzukic will be punished and in that context we are happy its a one-match suspension," Kovac said. The FIFA panel imposed the minimum sanction on Mandzukic for serious foul play. The Bayern Munich forward, who scored the opening goal minutes earlier, was sent off for stamping on Iceland midfielder Johann Gudmundssons left knee. 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