TORONTO - The impasse has loosened but a final decision awaits on a new Hamilton stadium to host events for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
The Toronto 2015 organizing team has extended the deadline to August 12 for the city of Hamilton and the Tiger-Cats football team to solve their impasse over the location of the stadium.
City officials and the CFL team have been at odds over where to locate a new stadium. With provincial facilitation, the two sides now need to agree on one of two locations: East Mountain or West Harbour.
In a news conference Thursday, Toronto 2015 CEO Ian Troop said the move is a critical step forward on the stadium issue.
Being focused on two sites will allow the parties to make a clear and informed decision, he said.
"We have not yet cleared the final hurdle though, but we are no longer stuck in the starting blocks," he said.
The new deadline allows time for investigation and discussion, and satisfies the overall planning timeline, he said.
Earlier this week, the owner of the Tiger-Cats pledged a $74-million boost for an East Mountain stadium. However, there has been no official word from Hamilton council on whether the city would concede to that location.
Troop said the Tiger-Cats' financial offer would allow the city to evaluate its stadium's business plan "with much greater clarity and much greater confidence."
"I am optimistic that we will have the decisions we need on the timeline required by the Games," Troop said.
About 40 North and South American countries are expected to participate in the Games to be held in Toronto and surrounding areas.
The 2015 Pan Am Summer Games are scheduled for July 10-26, with a budget of $1.4 billion for the sporting event itself, and another $1 billion for an athletes' village.
