The Hamilton Tiger-Cats run onto the field to begin a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, ON, on Saturday, October 27, 2012. TTMatthew Sherwood/The Globe and Mail
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will play CFL home games next season at the University of Guelph while their new stadium is being built, says team president Scott Mitchell.
The university stadium only has 7,500 seats currently and Mitchell couldn't say yet exactly how many might be added next year. But he insisted there should be enough to accommodate all season-ticket holders in some fashion.
"We're working with the university right now to get to that final detail," he said Tuesday.
"I think any facility we were looking at, obviously, for 2013 was going to require some temporary facilities and infrastructure."
A new 24,000-seat field is built on the site of Ivor Wynne Stadium, the team's home for the past 84 years. The new stadium will also be used as a soccer venue for the 2015 Pan American Games.
Ivor Wynne had a capacity of 29,600.
Guelph is about a 45-minute drive from Hamilton but it is also an area where the Ticats have been looking to raise their profile.
"We're really focused on two things, one is to provide a solution to all our season ticket holders, this will clearly do that, as well as enable a lot of new fans in Guelph and around the region to get to some games and . . . this accomplishes both," Mitchell said.
Mitchell wouldn't say exactly how many season-ticket holders they have but added that they expect most will renew for 2013.
"This will provide a solution for all of our season-ticket holders, whether that's for a full season or a partial season," he said.
They will firm up their plans once they know exactly how many are renewing for 2013.
"There's lot of opportunities to look at some standing-room areas, some festival party areas," he said. "There's a beautiful new track around the field that will allow us to look at some different hosting opportunities."