A full-page advertisement in Ottawa's local newspapers on Tuesday features more than 60 community and sports leaders who are urging city council to support Lansdowne Live.
"We believe that the Lansdowne Partnership Plan is an investment that makes economic and civic sense for the citizens and taxpayers of Ottawa -- an investment that will pay dividends for decades to come," reads the ad, which is signed by business and sports leaders, as well as former Ottawa politicians.
Among those offering their support is Jacquelin Holzman, who served as Ottawa mayor from 1991-1997.
"It's time to do something about Lansdowne Park. Finally, we have a mayor and a council that has the best opportunity to do something positive for Lansdowne Park -- to make it the jewel that it should be," she told CTV Ottawa on Tuesday.
Although the advertisement says the city won't be giving up anything if they accept the Lansdowne Live proposal, opponents are quick to point out that the city will be losing public land.
However, Holzman argued the city will still own the land: "We the taxpayers, we the citizens of Ottawa are still going to own it. We're not giving it away. What we're doing is, we're giving the opportunity to partners to partner with us."
She added without a private sector partnership, redevelopment at Lansdowne Park likely "won't happen."
But a union representing municipal workers is countering that argument with a television and radio campaign. The president of CUPE 503 says the city has a bad track record with public-private partnerships.
The union argues that giving up valuable land at Lansdowne Park won't benefit the city.
Residents will have the chance to have their say on the project during public delegations scheduled at Ottawa City Hall on Thursday.
City council will likely begin debating the Lansdowne Live proposal on Friday. Discussions are expected to be lengthy, pushing a scheduled vote on the project to early next week.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kate Eggins
