As he explained the $280-million vision he has for a reimagined and vastly improved FirstOntario Centre to a Thursday morning crowd, Tim Leiweke basically sounded like an evangelist for the future of Hamilton.
His enthusiasm was obvious. But that’s an extraordinary amount of money. Would the CEO of Oak View Group — the world’s leading arena developer — be here doing this if he hadn’t been exposed to this market while running Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment for four years?
“No,” he says.
Well that’s direct.
Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Oak View Group, speaks during a press conference at FirstOntario Centre about the arena renos on Thursday morning.
Cathie Coward / The Hamilton Spectator“If you go ask anyone, ‘What do you think about this idea?’ 90 per cent of the people think we’re flat-out crazy,” Leiweke explains.
There might be a few folks here who share that view either because of a sense of self-deprecation or because of some general doubt in this city. What does he see that makes him think otherwise?
It really isn’t all that complicated, he insists. It’s about anticipating where things will be several years from now rather than having your vision affected by what you see today. Spending time in this area helped him with that.
The Hamilton-Toronto marketplace is currently one of the largest in North America. Five years from now, it’s expected the population of this area will top 8.5 million people. Maybe more.
And where are those people going to go? Considering there isn’t a ton of space left in Toronto and what is available is wildly expensive, they’ll be heading this way. Which explains all the plans for thousands of new housing units in this city.
Despite all that, this region has just one full-sized, state-of-the-art arena. That’s Scotiabank Arena in Toronto (FirstOntario Centre is too old and well-worn to fall into that category at this moment). All the other markets in the top 10 have multiple buildings. New York has five. Los Angeles has five. Go down the list and there are several options in each.
As a result, you’ve got millions of people seeking entertainment and many artists touring all the time offering tons of opportunities to stage shows. There just aren’t enough proper venues to place them. Meaning a second one in this area makes a ton of sense.
Leiweke says he came here a couple times for shows while he was working in Toronto. He saw the potential of this arena. The bowl was good, he says. The rest?
“There is no premium space. Those aren’t suites,” he says, pointing to the private boxes. “I call those ‘NutriSuites.’ They’re the suite substitute.”
Oak View Group anticipates a million people a year coming into Hamilton for 150 events of all kinds at the rebuilt arena.
Oak View Group / RenderingThat’s going to change.
Some construction will begin right away. When the Rock lacrosse season is finished in the spring, the place will be closed for 12 to 14 months for much more extensive work. When it’s all done there will be new concourses, new concessions, new suites, new clubs, new premium spaces, a full-time restaurant, better acoustics and new behind-the-scenes improvements for artists.
Question is, which artists?
There have always been major singers or groups who couldn’t get into Toronto because of scheduling conflicts. Those spillovers have often headed this way. But generally, if someone played there, they haven’t come here.
That’s left Hamilton as the second choice.
Leiweke doesn’t think that’ll continue.
“I happen to think they’ll play both buildings,” he says.
Live Nation is a partner in this deal. They’re invested in making this arrangement succeed, he explains. So the arena will be busy and won’t be getting just the leftovers.
As for sports, he says he’ll soon be sitting down with Bulldogs’ owner Michael Andlauer to discuss the team’s future in the building. The new boss of the Ottawa Senators has been clear over the years that he hasn’t been happy with the way he’s been treated by those running the place.
Whether his franchise returns or not, Leiweke vowed to find a team for the rink.
“We will be devoted and dedicated to bring a hockey team back to Hamilton, whether that be the Ontario Hockey League, junior hockey or an American Hockey League team,” he says. “And we are prepared to put our money where our mouth is.”
That’s not the only sport he mentioned. The Rock will still be here. Then he mentioned basketball.
Over the years, the Toronto Raptors have been active here with pre-season games and training camps.
“My relationship with (team president) Masai Ujiri is such that I hope they’ll be even more active once we get this building fixed,” he says.
Put it all together and he anticipates a million people a year coming into the core for 150 events of all kinds.
A new concourse and other amenities are part of the upgrade plans, as shown in renderings.
Oak View Group / RenderingAs he talked on the floor of the arena in front of a set that’s been built for a movie being directed by M. Night Shyamalan — the king of twist endings — he appeared to deliver one of his own when he referred to the building as the Hammer Arena.
The Hammer Arena? Is that its new name?
No. But it does sound like FirstOntario Centre might be a thing of the past.
“Naming rights will be the first thing we do,” he says. “We actually have three different companies that already approached us.”
