MILLS CANADIAN MUSIC HALL OF FAME

CONTACT US

HAMILTON
905-575-9333
garyz@zebroski.com

OSHAWA
905-579-6911
dmills@on.aibn.com

SUDBURY
705-674-9751
guyd@

CANADIAN MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
by
Golden Horseshoe Enterprises Inc

The Canadian Music Hall of Fame would be a central waterfront destination at Pier 8 on Hamilton’s recreational west harbour, and would be located between the Federal Marine Discovery Centre now under construction, and the HMCS Haida. The proposed development would be an approximately 50,000 square foot facility located over two levels. The building design incorporates gold-tinted steel and a generous amount of glass to promote the flow of natural light, and is a horseshoe-shaped structure representing southern Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe, with Hamilton as the centre-point between Toronto and Niagara Falls. This design allows the structure to wrap a natural outdoor amphitheatre setting which could hold approximately 5,000 people for music, comedy, theatre, and other forms of live entertainment. Cabling running from the top of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame to a stage which would be modular and installed for performances, could fly banners and add colour, and could also form the structure for a non-permanent roof to help extend the season for the amphitheatre. The surround sound system would be located in the horseshoe and projected north towards the bay so as to minimize noise impact on the residential neighbourhoods to the south.

The Music Hall of Fame would be a multi-dimensional, musically-themed entertainment centre featuring interactive displays. The building’s interior would include an intimate indoor performing venue for approximately 1,200 people, virtual-technological attractions, educational, archival, and display components, and of course the chamber honouring the inductees who have been admitted by CARAS into the Hall of Fame. The project’s local Hamilton-based proponent, Golden Horseshoe Enterprises, is also specifically proposing to include an interactive state-of-the-art educational recording studio which will offer all visitors, specifically children and student tours, the opportunity to experience, learn and directly participate in the process of writing, creating, recording and producing music.

The effort to bring the Music Hall of Fame to Hamilton is centred around negotiations with the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), the organization which organizes the annual Juno Awards, promotes Canadian musicians, and selects the inductees into the Music Hall of fame. On June 12, 2003, Golden Horseshoe Enterprises signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CARAS giving them the exclusive negotiating rights to bring the Music Hall of Fame to Hamilton. Their vision for the Hall of Fame sees the new facility as a centrepiece for the emerging new critical mass of destination points already approved for the area, including the Federal Discovery Centre and the Haida, as well as those still to be decided upon. The group supports the "Setting Sail" planning process currently being pursued by the City of Hamilton and the Port Authority, and agree final plans for the recreational development of the entire west harbour area should be done in an incremental fashion. They believe the first of these incremental decisions should be an accommodation of the Music Hall of Fame project, based on the premise that if CARAS is prepared to accept a private-sector driven, unsolicited offer to develop the Hall in Hamilton, then the Municipality should enthusiastically respond by doing all it can to bring this marquee attraction to Hamilton.

It should be noted that in the mid-1990’s, when CARAS had issued a Request for Proposals across the country seeking proponents for the Music Hall of Fame, over a half-dozen municipalities applied. Hamilton responded and was in fact short-listed until the decision to award to Toronto was made. Hamilton’s bid, submitted by the Economic Development Department, promised CARAS access to any municipally-owned land as a potential site. The Municipality stated they would organize the financing of the project’s construction, related soft-costs and land assembly, develop the structure and deliver it to CARAS on a turn-key basis. Notwithstanding CARAS’ decision in 1998 and the subsequent closing of this Municipal file, the bid by the then Region of Hamilton-Wentworth provides an important precedent in establishing the Municipality’s interest in the Music Hall of Fame and their ideas as to what constituted appropriate civic involvement in such a project.

The Music Hall of Fame project team is now working hard to add layers of detail to the plan. The group is meeting regularly with Municipal and Port officials on an ongoing basis. In August, 2003, Hamilton City Council unanimously passed a motion formally reopening the City’s involvement in pursuing the Music Hall of Fame. That same month, the Hamilton Port Authority instructed its Chairman to write a letter to CARAS, expressing their interest in attracting the Music Hall of Fame to this community. Meetings, conversations and presentations have also been made to those who would be most directly affected by the development; the residents and businesses of the north-end and west harbour neighbourhoods. Golden Horseshoe Enterprises believes recreational development of the waterfront must be properly-scaled, balanced, and sensitive to local concerns regarding noise, traffic, parking and transportation issues. The Music Hall of Fame project team looks forward to working with all these groups, many members of the recently formed Recreational Boaters Alliance, as the future of Hamilton’s waterfront is planned and redeveloped.

Our message is clear; even though CARAS made the decision to award the Music Hall of Fame to Toronto in 1998, for a variety of reasons it was never built, and the Academy has agreed to entertain this unsolicited offer to develop the facility in Hamilton. The plan does not seek the taxpayers of Hamilton to be responsible for funding this private-sector driven project. Financing for the estimated $30 million Hall of Fame will come from a multi-level partnership of corporate sponsors, benefactors, philanthropic donations, and other non-traditional lending sources joining a certain percentage of traditional financing. As a not-for-profit with charitable status themed around a unique nationally-mandated museum concept, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame will be perfectly positioned to apply for the kind of funding previously seen in sources like Ontario SuperBuild and the Federal Industry Canada infrastructure programme. The project’s proponents fully intend to access any and all appropriate public-sector funding opportunities, to augment and support the private-sector partners, that would in any event be available to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame regardless of its location. The group does not believe, however, that the City of Hamilton’s proper role in this project is that of financier. The City’s most important contribution is effected by the fact that they own the lands, currently leased to the Port Authority, on which the Hall would be developed.

The Canadian Music Hall of Fame project team is now looking to finalize negotiations with CARAS and secure an Agreement which would commit the project to Hamilton. As long as CARAS is ultimately prepared to accept our unsolicited offer, the Municipality and Port Authority need to express their commitment to CARAS, subject of course to whatever conditions protect the taxpayer and ensure the Municipality is not subjected to any inappropriate financial exposure.

Golden Horseshoe Enterprises and the entire Music Hall of Fame project team in Hamilton are confident building the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in Hamilton will have a similar effect on this community as building the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame had on Cleveland, Ohio in the 1990’s. Within a couple of years of opening their Hall, Cleveland was able to boast that their city was the hottest new tourist destination, on a percentage increase basis, of any community in North America. The same thing can happen here in Hamilton. With a unique geographic location in the heart of the Golden Horseshoe, in the middle of the third largest marketplace on the continent, Hamilton stands poised to finally realize the potential of the "Ambitious City" which has gone untapped for far too long. The Canadian Music Hall of Fame represents one of the most exciting opportunities this city will ever have, and the project team is working hard to deliver the Hall to Hamilton.