Occupancy permit issued: Hamilton's new stadium nears the finish line

It's a milestone 10 months in the making — at long last, the city has issued an occupancy permit for Tim Horton's Field.

The new stadium has been plagued by delays, including weather and issues with subcontractors. But on Thursday, city inspectors deemed the whole building safe to occupy.

"My staff have conducted a thorough inspection and can confirm that Tim Horton's Field meets all of the safety requirements for occupancy under the Ontario Building Code," said Ed VanderWindt, the city's chief building official.

It's a move that comes during a crunch time for Infrastructure Ontario, which has hired Ontario Sports Solutions to build the $145-million stadium.

The stadium still has to reach the substantial completion stage, which is when the city will take possession. This needs to happen by May 1, when police need to rehearse security plans for the 2015 Pan Am Games July 10 to 27. Hamilton will host the soccer games.

The project's initial target date was June 30, 2014. The delay caused the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to play a nearly their entire season at McMaster University.

It's about time a permit was issued, said Coun. Sam Merulla of Ward 4.

"It's the most delayed reaction to a city development that I can ever recall, so I would say congratulations on that," he said. "I don't know what to say except that it could have been done last year."

Merulla said he looks forward to closing this chapter, and to the city finally taking possession. He wants the stadium story to become a positive one.

"Hopefully now that permit has been issued, we can start afresh and look forward to the future, and look back on this as a learned experience."

The city previously thought that caulking issues would delay the occupancy permit. But that caulking work didn't impact the permit, the city said in a statement.