The stadium has also played host to the international soccer tournament at the 2015 Pan American Games. And it is a sporting venue for various other sports and also music concerts.
History
Background
The former stadium on the site of the Tim Hortons Field had been in use for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats,[3] Canadian Football team since 1930. Originally called the 'Civic Stadium' (Ivor Wynne Stadium), it was in use until 2012. Whilst, the Hamilton Steelers soccer team had played in the stadium since 1961 in the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League. By 2011, the local councilors voted to partially demolish and renovate the stadium for the use of football and soccer as well as the then upcoming 2015 Pan American Games in the Greater Toronto Area, and they temporarily renamed the stadium CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium. The original plan was for a budget of CA$115 million.[4][5][6]
Financial details
In July 2013, a ten-year sponsorship deal was put in place with Tim Hortons, who acquired the stadium's naming rights. The coffee beverage fast food chain was founded only a few blocks away from the stadium that originated in Hamilton some fifty years earlier.[7][8] The stadium's nickname is the donut box,[9] it is a reference to the links to the coffee chain, and the rectangle shape of the stands layout.
The final financial details planned were that the stadium was built at a total cost of $145 million. The city of Hamilton contributed $54 million, the province of Ontario, $22 million, and the federal government of Canada, $69 million. Then, in 2014, the Tiger-Cats agreed to pay $1.2 million a year on a 20-year lease to be a tenant.[10]
Stadium development
In 2012, the 2015 Pan-Am organizers indicated that, due to financial constraints, they would be shifting their focus toward venues and "clusters" that could be used for multiple events, which might eliminate the need for a new stadium that would be used only for soccer, and they proposed another stadium on the campus of York University, tentatively named York Athletics Stadium, to host the track and field events. That, coupled with a scheduling process that had soccer and rugby sevens events on different days (thus opening the possibility that Toronto's BMO Field, which would house the rugby sevens contests in 2015 might also be able to host the soccer contests), had the potential to put the Hamilton stadium project in jeopardy. Nonetheless, the Hamilton stadium project went forward as planned.[citation needed]
Initial plans for the stadium were for it to be a principal Pan American stadium for soccer and track and field/athletics events. However, disputes between the Tiger-Cats owner, Bob Young, the organizers of the 2015 Pan American Games, and the City of Hamilton arose over the location of the stadium,[11][12] among other things, including whether or not a running track should be built around the proposed stadium in Hamilton.[citation needed] The plan was for the construction of the stadium in the Toronto GTA Steel Town to coincide with the Pan-Am Games, and all of the 32 men's and women's soccer games were played in the venue.[3]
Construction and opening
Stadium in October 2014, prior to the completion of the upper deck
The design was by architects CannonDesign and engineered by the Arup Group, amongst other companies involved in its construction. There are officially 22,500 seats, with the potential of further expanding the stands.[13] Completed between 2013-2014, the stadium can expand to a potential capacity of up to more than 40,000 seats for special events (such as hosting a Grey Cup contest) in the future.[14] The design of the new stadium also increased the width of the field to accommodate soccer games by meeting FIFA's international standards for soccer pitches; reoriented the playing field from east–west to a north–south orientation; increased the seat width and leg room/corridor space to make it one of the most spacious among Canadian sports venues; incorporated extensive wireless communications infrastructure and washroom facilities; as well as adding luxury boxes, and other modern amenities. The field surface is FIFA- and CFL-approved artificial turf.[14] The stadium opened in 2014, two months after its original anticipated completion date of June 30.[15]
The CFL's Toronto Argonauts played two home games at Tim Hortons Field in 2015, due to clashes with the MLB's Toronto Blue Jays playoffs games. The stadium has also occasionally hosted special games for Hamilton's amateur football teams; the Hamilton Hurricanes of the Canadian Junior Football League played a game in the stadium in 2015[16] and the McMaster Marauders football team played its 2016 Labour Day contest at the field in a doubleheader with the Tiger-Cats.[17] The Hurricanes returned to the field twice in 2017, the latter being its own Labour Day contest.[18]
In January 2015, U Sports awarded Tim Hortons Field hosting rights to the 52nd and 53rd Vanier Cup, held in November 2016 and November 2017 respectively.[19]
Following the stadium opening in 2014 there had been numerous issues regarding the quality of the construction. The City of Hamilton subsequently spent upwards of $2.5 million in fixes and safety repairs[23] including replacing rain-damaged television screens and faulty baby-changing tables, installing draft beer lines, improving ventilation, sealing leaky expansion joints and repairing faulty floor drains.[24]
Ownership
As of 2022, the stadium's tenants entered a new ownership. The current master license agreement for Tim Hortons Field is now being held by the Hamilton Sports Group (HSG), a partnership that owns and operates the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL and Forge FC of the CPL. This group is led by businessman Bob Young, who serves as the chairman and is HSG's largest single shareholder, and also includes Hamilton-based steel company Stelco, CEO Scott Mitchell, and Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Forge FC are tenants of Tim Hortons Field and play their home games at the stadium.[25][26]
Stadium uses
A stand in Tim Hortons field for Forge FC
The professional sporting teams who are leased occupants of the football/soccer stadium are the Canadian football team, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the soccer team, Forge FC. Tim Hortons field has also played host to the other sporting events including ice hockey, rugby union and dirt biking (Nitro Circus), as well as music concerts.[27][28][29]
The stadium also has premium seating in the stands, with club and suite level spaces available during an event or for private rentals. The lounges are for both corporate and social events.[30][31]
^ ab"Pan/Parapan News". Pan/Parapan American Games. Government of Ontario. June 7, 2013. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
