Freedom Flyer September - December 1984 Cover

Freedom Flyer 4

the official newsletter of the
Freedom Party of Ontario

September - December 1984




Article electronically reproduced from:

The London Free Press

Article date unknown

Speak up, supporters

Council sets up an endowment fund with $800,000 for Pan-Am Games

By Tony Hodgkinson
of The Free Press

Supporters of London's bid for the 1991 Pan-American Games had better make their views known quickly or the ambitious proposal could be defeated by a vocal group of opponents, city council was told Monday.

At the end of a lengthy debate on a recommendation to initiate city contributions to a $10-million endowment fund, Alderman Gary Williams said: "The people who support the Games had better get out in a darned hurry ... or this thing will go down the tubes."

About 30 persons in the gallery of the council chamber looked on as council voted 13-5 to set up the fund with a 1985 contribution of $800,000. Annual contributions through 1992 would finance the operating costs of facilities left behind by the Games.

As the protesters left the gallery carrying signs bearing anti-Games slogans, Robert Metz, president of the provincially registered Freedom Party of Ontario, vowed to continue the pressure against the Games. Metz, also a member of a No Tax for Pan-Am Games committee, said the group has about 500 documented opponents to the sports event being supported by tax revenue.

And, he said, just because there was not a stronger outpouring of opposition it was wrong to presume the majority of people back the Games. He called council's decision was "a totally expected reaction, and that "everyone tried to deny the fact they were supporting the Games."

Metz said London has a variety of schemes in the works, including a massive downtown renewal plan which would make the Pan-Am Games "look like a drop in the bucket. We have to stop this spending." Council endorsement of the $800,000 reserve fund contribution was "one step in the direction for the ultimate goal" of securing the Games, he said.

The contribution is being made on the premise that London will get the nod over Hamilton by the Canadian Olympic Association to become Canada's nominee as host of the international sports event six years later. The association is to make its decision Jan. 27.

Although contributions to the fund would be absorbed elsewhere if the city does not get the Games, many councillors had strong reservations about being perceived as supporting the event.

Among them, Alderman Jane McEwen demanded to know who would be responsible for providing information on which council could decide whether to commit spending. And, she said, some members council "feel we are being sucked in on who is responsible for giving us answers."

She was told by Mayor Al Gleeson that if London wins the Games, the Pan-Am committee would draw up more detailed information than was contained in a document released last week.

That document came in with a revised Games estimate $4.1 million less than the original projection of $98 million, largely the result of scaling down a proposed $20-million stadium to $14 million and a $10-million aquatics centre by $200,000. Offsetting those "savings" would be an increase of $2 million to $22 million for a fieldhouse.

Gleeson and Controller Orlando Zamprogna tried to allay fears among concillors by stressing they were not being asked to commit themselves to spending. And they said more detailed information cannot be compiled until after the city wins the association's nod and negotiations for financing take place with the senior levels of government. The same applied to requests for information on where facilities would be built.

Alderman Joe Fontana said London would be left with egg on its face if the city pulled out of the bidding at such a late stage.

And Alderman Gordon Jorgenson spoke strongly in favor of the Games, saying that council statements "are often premature and parochial. We cannot make a decision with regard to the future of the Games before we have some certainty the Games are going to be available to us."

He added there was "the sound of doom and gloom and pessimism" in the debate. "We never do anything that's right. There are people who live outside London who are far more proud of this city than we are."

He said that while Alderman Alf James had received only two pro-Games telephone calls compared to many against the idea, his experience had been the opposite. "There are thousands of people who have indicated they want to see the Games come to London."

But less convinced about the propriety of being the host city was Alderman Pat O'Brien who said that if London gets the nod next month he would make a motion calling for a professional opinion poll to accurately gauge the mood of Londoners. "Until there is a clear statement of support by London, I will not be supporting spending a penny on the Pan-American Games."

Moments earlier, however, he said "the majority of Londoners are opposed to the Pan-Am Games at this time. We are kidding ourselves to believe otherwise." He added that people were afraid of expenses getting out of control, the effect on their property taxes, and the possibility of being left with "white elephants."

Alderman Frank Flitton charged that by supporting the Games "we are mortgaging the future of our children" and that the operating costs of the facilities "will kill you." He said the committee's report did not itemize the cost of acquiring land or providing parking.

Several council members expressed concerns about the impact the Games would have on planning by the public utilities commission for its recreational needs.

City administrator Maurice Engels said the PUC has endorsed the Pan-Am proposal and "if the Games proceed, accommodation will be made in their capital budget. Clearly, the PUC has been consulted and they are in tune with what we are doing and vice versa."

Controller Art Cartier, who complained about a newspaper advertisement by the London development advisory board supporting the Games, said "they are follow ing a dream" that is in danger of developing "into a nightmare."




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