Hockey History

Two arena proposals at the same time for Hamilton’s east end, both rejected
And one proposal came with a World Hockey Association franchise

In November of 1971 a group met with Hamilton Mayor Vic Copps to propose a 10,000-seat arena and a World Hockey Association franchise. This proposal by Toronto’s Doug Michel and Jim McCreath included a WHA franchise to compliment the other charter memberships in the new league, which included Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Dayton, and St. Paul.

“Some of my Toronto friends are giving me a hard time, wondering why I would prefer Hamilton to Toronto,” Michel said at the time. “I like Hamilton, I think Hamilton fans are more rabid than those in Toronto.”

The franchise was to cost $1.25 million.

Around the same time, The Globe and Mail reported a 14-acre property owned by Basil Griffis of Saint Catharines was being looked at as a possible arena site. This parcel of land, near the Barton Street and Highway 20 in Hamilton’s east end, was going to cost $5 million. He asked the city guarantee him $700,000 a year for 35 years. He said he had been working on the building of this facility for some time before the Toronto group approached the city with its own plans.

According to McCreath, the zoning was in order for the land of their proposal, which was near the Highway 20 Queen Elizabeth Way interchange, but there were other issues.

“We hope we’ll get some tax advantages but we’re going ahead privately,” he said, noting there was not enough time to get the electoral approval of construction. “We haven’t time to wait for any public problems.”

McCreath also mentioned there was a chance of acquiring the services of former Hamilton Red Wing coach Eddie Bush for the new team.

By the end of November, the Hamilton Board of Control approved the development presented by the Coliseum Group, which would develop the 20-acre parcel of land at $300,000. The land in this proposal was at Barton Street and Highway 20 on the former Meadow Brook Gold Driving Range. The city would rent ice at the new facility for $35,000 per year for 30 years, which gave it one night a week, Saturday mornings for minor hockey, four hours on Sundays for industrial league play, and eight hours per week for figure skating.

But the city and the property owner were stalemated, as the Board wanted full details of the proposal for the $6 million arena which was to be ready for the 1972 WHA season.

Griffis countered that it would be very difficult to get proper backing without the blessing of the city.

Before the end of 1971, McCreath and Michel were still optimistic, but stated the project would have to start early in 1972 and may not be ready in time for the upcoming season.

The pair also denied any involvement with the Griffis proposal for an arena in the same area of the city.

The McCreath-Michel proposal was calling for a first-phase seating plan of just over 11,000 seats, with an expansion of over 17,000 seats for early in 1973.

But a deadline loomed in all of this, with McCreath and Michel setting December 30, 1971 as the final date for a commitment from the city to bring in a WHA franchise.

While some city councilors were aware of the importance of this deadline, and felt the franchise would go to another city if not acted upon, like Burlington, which had been listening to the McCreath-Michel proposal. The pair had also visited Mississauga.

By February of 1972 the Griffis proposal for a new arena at the junction of the Barton Street and Highway 20 was rejected by the city Board of Countrol.

“He (Griffis) has a fine site,” noted Mayor Copps in a report of February 20, 1972, “but this offer is not acceptable. Those sorts of funds are simply not within the means of this city.”

Meanwhile the other proposal was starting to dimish, as Michel, who no longer was teamed up with McCreath, was talking with Ottawa officials to build a 9300-seat arena in the country’s capital along with the WHA franchise.

Ultimately, the franchise went elsewhere as the city was just not comfortable with the proposal. There would be another proposal to bring a WHA club to Hamilton, but the 1971-72 proposals became history.

An editorial in the Hamilton Spectator suggested that the city open all doors and explore all options, but a major ice facility was needed:

“City council would be doing Hamilton a grave injustice if it tossed out the proposal without a full and fair hearing. After all, there is the matter of prestige, and whether or not one likes hockey, ice shows, or figure skating competition, the fact is that a proper plan to hold such events is almost a vital necessity for a major Canadian city.”

BACK

HOME