Apartment613

Courtesy of spotmaticfanatic from the apartment613 Flickr pool

Post by Phil Castro

Being an Urban Planner frequently earns me questions from friends and new people I meet. In Ottawa the most common question is “Why the f**k do I have to drive to Kanata to go to hockey game?” On occasion I will get “Is this a good price for a condo?”, but most recently it has been “What’s the deal with Lansdowne?” The simple answer to that last question is that, next to transit, it is the single most important issue our City has faced in a very long time and you should care, thanks for asking. The long answer is as follows, but I’ll do my best to be brief.

• October 2007 – Over two years ago our City Council voted to demolish the lower south-side stands of Frank Clair Stadium (south side sucks anyway, right?)
• November of 2007 – A month later City Council passed a motion initiating a design competition process for Lansdowne. In the December 2007 budget, they committed funds to what became the “Design Lansdowne” international design competition showing a glimpse of innovation – somehow I think we all knew that couldn’t last.
• March 2008 – Then, with the surprise of a flea flicker play, the CFL awarded a football franchise to Ottawa businessmen Bill Shenkman, Roger Greenberg, and John Ruddy on the condition that they could secure a stadium agreement with City of Ottawa within 4 – 6 months. They must have gotten right down to business because that June City staff advised City Council via a memo that the “Design Lansdowne” initiative was to be put on hold until mid-Fall 2008, in order to review stadium conditions and a proposal from the CFL conditional franchise owners.
• July 2008 – On a lazy Sunday morning the lower south-side stands of Frank Clair Stadium were finally torn down due to structural concerns (remember the south side sucks anyway).
• August 2008 – Near the end of the summer, the City commissioned a Needs Analysis for Multi-Purpose Sports and Entertainment Facilities. This study was officially undertaken “to assist the City in determining whether there was/is a requirement to seek new facilities and/or to expand or renovate existing facilities in the City in order to solidify and strengthen Ottawa’s position in attracting major sporting events, conventions and trade shows, as well as meeting the needs of the community.” I’m sure this seemed like a good idea at the time.
• October 2008 – Then it started getting exciting when, complete with pretty pictures, the City received an unsolicited proposal dubbed “Lansdowne Live” from the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG). OSEG consisted of Bill Shenkman, Roger Greenberg, and John Ruddy… none other than the conditional CFL franchise owners from above.
• November 2008 – A month later City Council set aside a motion to resume the “Design Lansdowne” competition until City staff had reviewed the Lansdowne Live proposal. (I have searched for the results of this vote with little luck, if someone has it please post a link).
• February 2009 – The waters became muddy when the City received and released the ‘Needs Analysis for Multi-Purpose Sports and Entertainment Facilities’ it had commissioned the summer before (see above). The study concluded that the requirement for new major sports facilities in Ottawa would be driven by a major need, either facility replacements and/or the need associated with a specific use such as a professional team locating or relocating to Ottawa. The study also concluded that Ottawa could not realistically support more than one new major facility in the near or even medium term. Lansdowne was ranked as the 6th best site in the city for a stadium with a Bayview location ranking 1st. In my experience, for every study written there can usually be another study that says something else…just saying is all.
• March 2009 – A month later the City received a proposal from the OSEG prompting City Council to decide on a process for assessing and reviewing the unsolicited stadium proposal.
• April 2009 – Lines were drawn in the sand (or should I say around the Greenbelt) when our City Council passed a motion directing staff to negotiate a partnership agreement with the OSEG to revitalize Lansdowne as the City’s stadium priority project that included a requirement for a comprehensive public consultation process prior to a final decision by Council.

Results of April 22, 2009 council vote on entering into sole-sourced negotiations with Lansdowne Live developers. The end result was 14 Yes, 9 No:

What’s going to happen next…

On November 12, the City’s Office of the Auditor General will determine whether of not ‘the process being followed is legitimate and is neither inappropriate nor illegal’. At that time, Council will also be hearing public delegations on the Lansdowne Partnership Plan. Residents who would like to make a verbal presentation can contact Tania Mercure by phone at 613-580-2424, ext. 21801 or by e-mail at tania.mercure@ottawa.ca.

It is also expected that Councillor Doucet will table a motion to re-initiate a public competitive process for Lansdowne and select an appropriate stadium site…The big question: Will he pay for it too? He is also organizing a rally from noon to 1pm on Friday, November 13th at the Lisgar Street entrance to City Hall. Another question: Will there be hot dogs and burgers?

The big day is November 16, 2009 when City Council will vote on continuing or squashing the Lansdowne Live / Lansdowne Partnership Plan.

There is much more to say, but the goal here was to represent the facts. Also, notice that I did not call Lansdowne a ‘Park’ anywhere in this piece…The reason for that is simple….Lansdowne is not a park.