Lansdowne 2.0 cleared its final hurdle at Ottawa city hall Friday, as council approved the $419-million redevelopment project.
Councillors voted 15-10 in favour of the plan after passing several amendments, including promises to improve transit service to the site and work on a solution to keep the Ottawa Charge women’s hockey team in the city.
The plan sharply divided councillors. Supporters saw a chance to fund the replacement of aging facilities and put the city’s partnership with Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) on a sound financial footing.
They say the project will make money from retail earnings, ticket surcharges, football profits and property taxes to offset the costs, so taxpayers will end up footing a much smaller share of the total bill.
But opponents see those revenues as far from guaranteed, since most are forecast to start rolling in decades in the future. Those councillors repeated their arguments on Friday.
“This is a significant expense for the taxpayer during a cost of living crisis when many in our community are barely getting by,” said Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster.
Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster participates in a rally outside city hall opposing the project before council’s vote on Friday. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
“I fundamentally believe public lands should be used for public good, not to line the pockets of corporations and drive up the cost of tickets to events in a space that taxpayers are paying for,” Troster added.
Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Jessica Bradley said the plan would drive up ticket prices and strip away key amenities like parkland and the stadium roof. She also criticized the risk involved.
“While Lansdowne 2.0 has been sold as a good deal, I assure you it will leave us all holding the bag,” Bradley warned.
How the vote went down
But supporters said risk runs both ways, since the city will have to replace the facilities later at a higher cost and without the financing plan now on the table.
“Lansdowne 2.0 is imperfect in my opinion, but I think expecting perfection in a project of this scale is a tall order,” Orléans South-Navan Coun. Catherine Kitts said during debate on Friday.
“We have seen major city building projects stall or die at this table, only to return years later with a much higher price tag.”
“The risk of voting against this project is much greater than the risk of voting in favour,” said Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.
Sutcliffe voted in favour of the Lansdowne 2.0 plan, as did councillors Brown, Hubley, Skalski, Dudas, Hill, Desroches, Kelly, Plante, Carr, Curry, Gower, Tierney, Kitts and Luloff.
Councillors Johnson, Devine, Leiper, King, Kavanagh, Troster, Bradley, Menard, Brockington and Lo voted against the plan.
One of the biggest flashpoints has been arena capacity, since the new event centre in the Lansdowne 2.0 plan would cut seating by roughly 3,000. The Professional Women’s Hockey League has warned that the reduction won’t be financially viable for the Ottawa Charge.
On Friday, Osgoode Coun. Isabelle Skalski introduced a motion asking the city manager to work with OSEG and the PWHL on lease negotiations that would keep the Charge in Ottawa. It also asks her to pursue other solutions, “including discussions with other facilities in the city.”
Osgoode Coun. Isabelle Skalski was among the 14 city councillors who voted with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in favour of the plan. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
Sutcliffe argued that the team is so successful that they’ll probably outgrow the arena at Lansdowne and would be better off playing some of their games at the Canadian Tire Centre or a new Senators arena at LeBreton Flats.
Skalski’s motion passed, though a PWHL lobbyist in the room told CBC that it did not address the fundamental issue for the league, which is capacity.
“This could be the council that boots out women’s hockey from Lansdowne,” warned Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard, a leading critic of the Lansdowne 2.0 project. His ward contains Lansdowne Park.
This concept art gives an idea of the new towers envisioned behind the site’s north side stands. (City of Ottawa)
Troster proposed an alternative motion that would ask the city and OSEG to share architectural drawings with the PWHL and work on “a long-term agreement to handle the increased growth of the Ottawa Charge fanbase, including the potential of increasing the arena capacity.”
“We need to accept the fact at face value that the women’s hockey league, the Ottawa Charge, have told us that this plan is not good for them and if they proceed they may leave our city. That is a real threat,” said Troster.
Her motion failed. Roger Greenberg, executive chairman of OSEG, committed to working as hard as possible to keep the Charge in Ottawa.
“That includes working with the new ownership of the Ottawa Senators,” he said Friday.
Council did pass motions to find ways to improve transit service to Lansdowne Park, including with shuttles or frequent bus service to nearby LRT stations, and to redirect more money from a tower deal at Lansdowne into affordable housing.
Even some councillors who voted for the project were displeased with the way the process played out, including the clash with the PWHL and the way the plan was communicated to the public.
“This whole discussion, this file of Lansdowne, has become pretty convoluted and a bit of a communications disaster,” said Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr.
The final vote in favour of the project means the city can finalize its contract with the builder EBC Inc., which is scheduled to begin construction on the arena and event centre later this year. That work is supposed to wrap up in 2028, clearing the way for construction on the north stadium stands.
According to the project timeline, Mirabella Development Corporation is set to complete work on the two residential towers by 2034.