I'm still holding out hope.
Opinion | Carmen’s teams up with L.A. powerhouse in City of Hamilton venues bid
"The Hamilton hospitality company has notified the city that its proposal to operate and potentially redevelop the aging arena, concert hall and convention centre now includes working with the Oak View Group (OVG), a heavyweight Los Angeles-based venue management, event booking and development company.
In a letter to the mayor and city councillors, Carmen's CEO PJ Mercanti flags OVG's participation in an offer from a Carmen's-led consortium to provide greater financial savings to the city and a forthcoming unsolicited offer to create a "Precinct Plan" for the "next generation" of sports, entertainment and convention facilities in the core.
"The fact that OVG is attracted to the vision that the local group is presenting and want to be a part of that speaks to what we're trying to bring to the table," Mercanti said in an interview.
OVG was founded in 2015 by Tim Leiweke, former president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and Irving Azoff, former chair and CEO of Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment.
Its executive team includes Peter Luukko, executive chair of the NHL Flordia Panthers and former CEO of Spectra, the company currently contracted by the city to run FirstOntario Centre (formerly Copps Coliseum) and FirstOntario Concert Hall (formerly Hamilton Place).
OVG was recently selected to build a new home for the NHL New York Islanders and is spearheading the $600-million renovation of the KeyArena in Seattle. This is its first prospective management foray into Canada."
"Doug Higgons, OVG senior vice-president of facilities, says his company is "very bullish and excited" about the future of Hamilton after spending several months studying the market and its potential opportunities.
"We were looking for the right opportunity for the proper entrance into Canada and Hamilton fits that specifically," Higgons said.
Higgons says OVG, if given a chance, is specifically interested in working with the Carmen's consortium on the entertainment venues.
That consortium includes billionaire Ron Joyce, FirstOntario Credit Union, LiUNA and Fengate Capital.
They first came together with Carmen's to fund a consulting report on options for overhauling the 33-year-old arena, a study stickhandled by lawyer and consultant Jasper Kujavsky, who is now advising the group.
Kujavsky is especially keen on Carmen's idea for a comprehensive precinct plan.
For his part, Mercanti says it's premature to go into details but he hopes to bring a proposal shortly to council for exploring a sport-entertainment-commercial precinct in the core which could harmonize with a potential bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games."