Fan Central on James Street thrives as 110th Grey Cup nears kickoff

We are a little less than 48 hours away from kick off from the 110th Grey Cup at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. And Fan Central is in full swing on James Street North.

While the conditions may have been a bit soggy throughout most of Friday, it wasn’t putting a damper on the spirits of those taking in the festivities at the Grey Cup Fan Central along James Street.

The free interactive area includes activities for fans of all ages, live music, food trucks, art installations and more and runs through Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

While the conditions outside were less than ideal, the conditions inside the John Weir Foote Armoury were perfect, especially for day two of the flag football classic.

“So we partnered with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats here to run a three day tournament with three different age groups. We have eight teams here today. It’s day two so they’re doing round robin play right now and they’ll move on to a playoff later in the day,” said Director of Operations with Football Ontario, Tyler McNicholl.

The tournament, played on a specially constructed 35-yard turf football field, complete with stands and scoreboard, wraps up Saturday with the winning team getting two tickets each to Sunday’s Grey Cup game.

READ MORE: A full list of Hamilton’s Grey Cup Festival events this week

Meanwhile, a little further down James Street many of the CFL’s all-time greats we’re assembled at the CFL Alumni Association’s Legends Luncheon at Liuna Station.

“This is an amazing atmosphere man, look around you, you see generations of football history here. Just imagine the stories being told at all these tables with the collection of greats they put together. This is awesome man. Any CFL fan would love to be here right now,” said Courtney Stephen.

Dozens of former players from across the league were in attendance and former Hamilton Tiger-Cats greats Leo Ezerins and Rocky Dipietro were named co-winners of the alumnus the year for their contributions on and off the field.

“It’s great talking to guys. And because when you’re done playing you don’t get a chance to do this. And unfortunately sometimes 20 or 30 years have passed but great catching up with some of the guys you played against. I think everyone feels the camaraderie,” said Rocky Dipietro.

Proceeds raised from Friday’s event, which included both a silent and live auction, will go to the CFL Alumni Support Fund to support alumni who are experience financial hardship due to a medical condition or sudden loss of income.

READ MORE: Grey Cup road closures to begin taking effect in downtown Hamilton