The city's auditor general is satisfied with the financial aspect of the plan to redevelop Lansdowne Park, concluding that all the numbers add up.
Alain Lalonde's report is considered a crucial factor for councillors who are still wavering on whether to approve the plan to redevelop the historic park. The final vote on the project goes before council on June 28.
"In terms of the structure of the deal, we say the deal represents what council has approved last November," Lalonde told CTV Ottawa.
"It's a robust model. The assumptions are properly reflected in the model."
Coun. Rick Chiarelli, who supports the plan, says the report is an important victory leading up to the vote.
"The opponents to the plan insisted on this audit. They got the audit, and the answer is just fantastic for this plan," Chiarelli told CTV Ottawa.
However, a recent consultation with volunteers suggests a number of residents still have concerns about the project.
Nearly half of the respondents said they believed the plan led by Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group is "too commercial". However, 26 per cent said they thought the design was "great." Several also reported concerns about traffic problems in the area.
Results may be skewed
Two-hundred and twenty-two volunteers participated in the survey, and Nanos Research compiled the results.
However, pollster Nik Nanos warned residents the survey is not an accurate representation of the population, and the results may be skewed.
"It was a consultation where people could volunteer their views on what they liked and disliked about the proposal, so we shouldn't think that this is representative of all Ottawans, but it is representative of the 222 people who decided to share their view," said Nanos.
He added the survey was an indication that people still have questions about the project, specifically the commercial and transportation aspects of the plan.
Concerns about public benefit
Despite the thumbs-up from the auditor, some of Ottawa's councillors remained unconvinced that the plan had any merit. Coun. Diane Holmes called it an "controversial antagonistic arrangement."
"We should be looking after our own infrastructure, whether it's sports or economic development, which is what this is. Like roads and sewers and water," she said.
"We're going into long-term debt on this project. What's the difference if we do it versus joining the consortium? Then we could work with Bank Street businesses to work with them, to see what kind of retail we could add. Work with the community associations to say how much residential do we want on that street."
"The limits of the study were so controlled that the only answer (the auditor) could give was yes," added Coun. Clive Doucet.
"It's a good idea (but) it's like saying, does the car have four wheels? Yes. But will it drive? You don't know the answers from the auditor's report.
"The only way we will know is to examine it in a greater way," Doucet added. "You have to look at the public benefit . . . the public gets five years guaranteed of football and the private sector gets 50 years of private lease. What's the benefit to the public?"
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Joanne Schnurr
