Public lines up to have a say on Lansdowne 2.0 as councillors introduce motions to alter plans

The marathon meeting on the Lansdowne 2.0 project will continue to hear from the public on Friday, as delegations weigh in on the $419 million plan for the lot in the Glebe.

Meantime, several councillors have moved motions to make changes to the proposal between the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group and the city, including adding a third residential tower, a green roof for the arena and a new roof on the north side stands.

Eighty-six speakers signed up to have their say before a joint meeting of the finance and corporate services committee and the planning and housing committee at Ottawa City Hall.

"The plan being presented today already incorporates considerable feedback from the community since the previous concept was presented 18 months ago," Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said at the start of the meeting. "We will continue to hear input from the community. It's great to see so many people care about the future of Lansdowne Park.

After nearly 10 hours of meetings and hearing from 40 public delegations, the special meeting wrapped up for the day. It will continue on Friday morning at Ottawa City Hall. 

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The Lansdowne 2.0 project includes building a new north side stands at TD Place Stadium, a new 5,500-seat arena and two residential towers.  The price tag for the new plan increased $87.5 million. If approved, Lansdowne 2.0 would be funded by $312.7 million in debt, with debt servicing estimated at $16.4 million a year.

"It's about the long-term financial sustainability of Lansdowne," Mark Goudie, OSEG president, said. "From an operational perspective, we know that we knock it out of the park. Four million visitors a year. We are Ottawa's gathering place. Number one destination for residents and visitors to visit."

Goudie said the aging facilities are a concern for the project.

"What hasn’t been awesome is the financial…large part of that is maintaining these facilities. What we are concerned with is what happens next when we have events that can’t come to Lansdowne for some of the deficiencies in our building and that’s going to get worse over time. We are going to start losing events."

Coun. Tim Tierney introduced a motion to include the third residential tower at Lansdowne, after the tower was removed from the revised plan. Two motions were tabled to increase the level of affordable housing associated with Lansdowne 2.0.

Coun. Shawn Menard, who represents the riding home to Lansdowne, introduced several new amendments including adding a roof to the proposed north side stands at Lansdowne.

Coun. Theresa Kavanagh introduced a motion to include a green roof on the new event centre located at the east end of TD Place. Coun. Ariel Troster tabled a motion to introduce a low fare or free transit project on OC Transpo Routes 6 and 7, with the cost offset by increasing the ticket surcharge for events at Lansdowne.

If Council approves the Lansdowne 2.0 plan, construction on the new event centre would begin in 2024 and be completed by 2027, while construction on the north side stands will begin in 2026 and wrap up in 2029.

Public delegations

The Ottawa Raging Grannies appeared before the committee, singing a song urging councillors to reject the plan.

"Lansdowne 2.0 will rip the city off. Lansdowne 2.0 will rip the city off. Lansdowne 2.0 will rip the city off, so pause it, take another look," they sang.

The first speaker during public delegations called on the city of Ottawa to look at the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group funding the project.

"The costs are far from certain," Richard Wagner said, adding there may be cost overruns that must be paid for by taxpayers. "The $419 million construction costs is a Class C estimate, which will increase over time because Class C estimates are not final estimates."

Wagner says the city of Ottawa should look at renovating TD Place Arena and the north-side stands at TD Place, instead of replacing them.

The Glebe Community Association says it does not believe the proposed Lansdowne 2.0 will lead to a successful space in the Glebe. June Creelman noted there is no plans for a roof on the football stadium and no improvements to transit access to Lansdowne.

"We know that Lansdowne is dead on weekdays from 9 to 5 Monday to Friday and there's nothing in this plan that is going to address that fundamental weakness and underuse of that land most of the day," Creelman said Thursday afternoon. "The number one reason this is not a good plan is that it's never been a plan to make Lansdowne a better public space for Ottawa. It started as a financial sustainability plan for OSEG and the Lansdowne Park Partnership, so it's been driven by that financial goal rather than by planning a great public space for residents of Ottawa."

The president and CEO of Ottawa Tourism says it supports Lansdowne 2.0.

"A new arena and event space will allow Ottawa to bid on and host more sporting and special events, bringing more visitors, business and visibility to our city," Michael Crockatt said.  "This is an opportunity for Ottawa to position itself as a destination where sport tourism plays a bigger role permanently."

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie told the committee late Thursday afternoon that Ottawa Redblacks deserve a "top-tier" experience at Lansdowne.

"In Ottawa, based on whether you sit on the modern south side or the aging north side, there is a great disparity in your fan experience," Ambrosie said. "The openness and expansive concourse, freedom of movement and modern amenities make game days on the south side enjoyable. In stark contrast, the north has no open areas for gathering; its dark and narrow concourses, outdated amenities causing long lineups at washrooms and concession stands and a ridiculous amount of porta-potties. The reality is the north side of the stadium is not up to modern sports standards."

The commissioner of the Canadian Elite Basketball League told the committee the league has concerns about the Arena at TD Place.

"There are some concerns from us as a lease holder playing in that venue because of the venue itself," Mike Morreale said. "Most notably, there are leaks in the building. Obviously every rainfall….have resulted in some serious incidents of water dripping onto the court."

Morreale says the CEBL cannot commit to bringing the championship weekend back to Ottawa, "until a new arena or an arena is completed or there is a viable option. We just cannot make that commitment to come back. We just can't risk such a high-profile event to have any sort of issues related to venue concerns that are out of our control."

Several delegates questioned the finances and the cost to taxpayers.

"Are you prepared to burden the taxpayer for an extra $20 million dollars a year," delegate Neil Saravanamuttoo said.

"Councillors, a vote in favour of this proposal is a vote to repeat the mistakes of the LRT, but unlike the LRT, you have a choice this time. You can choose to ask the difficult questions, choose to get the missing information and you can make an informed decision or put on blinders, you can vote yes and make the choice to repeat the mistakes of the LRT."

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Natalie van Rooy