Hamilton group pledges to do ‘better job’ communicating amid Bulldogs displacement from FirstOntario
Global News
The head of the group renovating FirstOntario Centre is committing to 'more frequent communications' after revealing some sports teams will need to find new homes for two seasons.
The head of the group tasked with renovating FirstOntario Centre says the consortium is pledging to do a better job of communicating with tenants after news that some of Hamilton’s major sports teams will need to find a new home for the better part of two seasons.
PJ Mercanti, CEO of Carmen’s Group and president of the Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG), says the “expanded scope” of the renovation, which entails an overall larger-scale development, will make it “impossible” for the tenants to play through it.
Owner of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs, Michael Andlauer, one of those tenants, expressed his surprise in a letter to the team’s fans on the weekend when he was told renovations meant his team would need to find a new home for the 2023-24 season and much of the 2024-25 season.
He insisted he was previously told renovations would occur in a manner that would allow hockey to continue.
“I’m prepared to acknowledge … that we should have done a better job … in communicating this to the teams and maintaining more frequent communications with them in a more formal way,” Mercanti told 900 CHML’s Hamilton Today.
“So moving forward, we’re committed to engaging with those more frequent touch points.”
Andlauer told Global News he got the “bombshell” news during a reach out to Mercanti and the group to address venue scheduling via a Zoom call on Friday.
He said discussions with HUPEG in 2020, which included consultations with architects, suggested schedules would be affected “either at the beginning or at the end of the season” but would not impact the Bulldogs to the tune of being out for two years.
