Construction firm 'extremely sorry' for stadium problems wants to be hired again

The city is about to settle its lawsuit with the builder of the beleaguered Tim Hortons Field stadium over construction delays. Now one of the companies involved is pleading with the city to keep hiring it for jobs.

We are extremely sorry.- David Kirkland, Kenaidan Contracting Ltd.

Kenaidan Contracting Ltd., a Mississauga company that missed the stadium completion deadline by months, told city councillors Monday that it would never happen again.

"We are extremely sorry," David Kirkland, chief operating officer, told city council's audit, finance and administration committee.

"It injured our reputation. It's something we regret, and we will regret for a long time."

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Kirkland asked councillors to consider the company for more Hamilton work. Kenaidan was 25 per cent of the Ontario Sports Solutions (ONSS) consortium, which Infrastructure Ontario (IO) hired to build the $145-million stadium in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games. The city assumed ownership after the stadium was substantially complete.

Many of our staff live in Hamilton. For them, it's been doubly difficult.- David Kirkland

The opening was delayed by months. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats played part of the season at McMaster University and nearly missed hosting the Labour Day Classic with the Toronto Argonauts.

Last year brought more problems. A speaker the size of a bar fridge fell and bounced several rows, taking out 30 seats. If people had been sitting in them, the city says, it would have been "catastrophic." The city hired its own engineer to check "everything in the air." 

Kirkland said if the company gets a second chance, that won't happen again. It's been stressful for everyone.

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"Many of our staff live in Hamilton," Kirkland said. "For them, it's been doubly difficult."

Legal documents all around

The plea comes as the city appears ready to wrap up the legal action around the stadium.

They were part of the group that embarrassed us and there needs to be consequences.- Lloyd Ferguson

Last spring, the city filed a notice of legal action against ONSS and IO around the stadium. The notice also named the 2015 Pan Am organizing committee and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, as well as Kenaidan Contracting and the chief ONSS partner, Bouygues Building Canada. IO filed its own notice of legal action, as did the Ticats.

The city's claim asked for $35 million in damages for breach of contract, negligence and misrepresentation when it came to the planning, procurement, design, construction, project management and other aspects of the stadium. Of that, $14 million in damage awards would be passed on to the Ticats.

Kirkland said in his presentation that the settlement documents need to be signed by the city and Kenaidan Contracting, but the issues have been resolved.

Lloyd Ferguson, an Ancaster councillor and construction industry veteran who headed up the city's Pan Am subcommittee, said he'll be able to say more after Wednesday's city council meeting.

'They still embarrassed us'

As for hiring Kenaidan again, Ferguson has to think about it.

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"At the end of the day, they still embarrassed us," he said. "They embarrassed us significantly. They were part of the group that embarrassed us and there needs to be consequences."

Throughout the stadium construction, there were persistent rumours of serious design problems, which Kenaidan and IO largely denied. Those included having to repour cement footings and a steel structure that couldn't accommodate "sway." A lawsuit with a subcontractor also referenced defective steel.

On Monday, Kirkland mentioned design problems.

"We could have focused on the design of the construction earlier in the piece," Kirkland said. "More emphasis on the design would certainly have assisted."

Kenaidan has done other provincial jobs in Hamilton, most notably being the West Harbour GO station. It has also done some big-ticket city jobs.