The crossfire debate over Ottawa's competing stadium proposals is drawing fire as Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk prepares to announce whether his soccer stadium bid remains viable.
A city report gave a slight edge to the Lansdowne Live proposal, which includes a revamped football stadium at Lansdowne Park, over Melnyk's desire for a facility near Scotiabank Place in Kanata to attract a Major League Soccer franchise.
On April 22, Ottawa city council can give the go-ahead to one stadium, a red light to both projects, or a commission for another study.
"This is the capital of one of the great nations of the world and we can't get our act together," said Andrew Haydon, a former Ottawa-Carleton regional chairman who is giving current politicians a bad review. Not just for stadiums, but for light rail, a downtown concert hall, and a host of other proposals.
"There's no vision and there's no leadership. The system is set up wrong. There has to be an executive committee and they don't have that.
Even the Lansdowne Live proponents are unhappy with the process.
"Does this city want an open-air stadium?" asked developer Roger Greenberg. "Does this city want to redevelop Lansdowne Park? Yes, then let's move forward to the next step."
Greenberg added his group has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and a tremendous amount of time on the project without getting a straight answer.
Councillor Bob Monette is frustrated that the stadium issue could lead to another report - or both developers walking away. He said perhaps some of his colleagues are lacking vision after holding office for so long.
"We have to look at what's best for the City of Ottawa," Monette told CTV Ottawa. "They do it in other cities across Canada. Why can't Ottawa be doing big projects like this?"
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Norman Fetterley
