Staff are recommending Council not respond to a request from the Toronto Lynx Soccer Club to explore moving to and playing in Hamilton.
The Toronto Lynx Soccer Club asked, in August, if City Council be interested in the semi-professional soccer franchise moving to Hamilton and playing in the new stadium.
The soccer club included many letters of support from the local Hamilton soccer association, the provincial and national associations, the Lynx’s league, and Toronto FC.
City staff which instructed to look at the offer and report back to Council.
The staff report back to Council recommends taking no further action on the letter, saying any discussion with this soccer club is premature as the city continues lease negotiations with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and that giving Bob Young’s organization exclusive rights to the stadium for soccer are part of those ongoing negotiations.
Staff also state that they want the highest possible level of soccer, and the Lynx are not a professional-level franchise of the calibre to play in a full size stadium. The league the Lynx play in, the USL Pro, draws an average of 2,400 people per game.
Hamilton hopes to get a higher level team in either the Major League Soccer or North American Soccer League.
Negotiations with the Tiger-Cats over stadium use remain confidential.