The city hopes the Pan Am stadium will be finished in February – or at least by April.

The city is still waiting to take possession of the $145-million stadium that was supposed to be finished last July. Infrastructure Ontario most recently estimated the building would handed over by the end of January.

But public works head Gerry Davis now says that date won't be met. He told councillors Monday the stadium could be finished in February – but just last week said he wouldn't be surprised if work continued until April 1.

"It looks like there are still some challenges," he said, adding there are still dozens of "non-compliant items" in the stadium, with more serious examples including ongoing problems with the elevators, heating and electrical systems.

Project manager Infrastructure Ontario wasn't immediately available to provide its own estimate, but Davis said a planned conference call update with the provincial agency was cancelled last Thursday.

Davis said he is asking the agency and beleaguered contractor Ontario Sports Solutions to attend an upcoming Pan Am city committee meeting.

Pan Am Games organizers are supposed to take over the stadium in June to prepare for tens of thousands of soccer fans.

The contractor initially blamed a harsh winter and a contractor lost to bankruptcy for the delays. The Spectator later learned flaws in the structural design forced repeated additions of new steel reinforcements, a development that spurred the city to commission an independent peer review of the changes.

- Councillors fret about MTO controlling Pan Am shuttles