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- Lansdowne 2.0 looks to save pennies by scaling back
Lansdowne 2.0 looks to save pennies by scaling back
Lansdowne 2.0 development looks “like a Texas high school stand” says Glebe Community Association

What's old is new: Lansdowne Park has been a staple in Ottawa for generations. It’s where the Roughriders football team used to play, where the Central Exhibition fair was held, and some prominent singers like Janet Jackson and Cher performed.
Today, it’s home to the Ottawa RedBlacks, 67s, Athletico Ottawa, and the Ottawa Charge Women’s Hockey team. But it’s not performing well financially, and the city says a lot of money needs to be spent on the park to reap the benefits.
By the numbers: The entire project costs $493 million, around $74 million more than initially anticipated. Last week, new drawings were released that the community association is calling “far less than inspiring” and “cheap.”
Key concerns: The current arena would be torn down to create a new high-rise development of two towers. It would also bring down a strip of retail that has only been open since 2014. The north side stands would be replaced, but the new one has no covering to shelter sports fans from the elements. The city said a roof would add $15-$20 million to the project.
Plans call for removing a portion of the great lawn to make way for the new arena, which will have fewer seats than the current one. The city says about 10 percent of the greenspace would be gone, but the same size of festival could operate there. Both Escapade and CityFolk Music Festivals perform at Lansdowne.
The most significant loss would be the hill, which is a popular place in winter for tobogganing and is used in the summer for music festivals and sporting events. At a virtual public meeting recently, the city said a new one would be rebuilt to be in line with other toboggan hills across the city, but it would not be an exact replica or the same size as what’s there.
Carolyn Mackenzie, chair of the Glebe Community Association's planning committee, didn’t hold back her feelings when the Lookout asked her what she thought of the latest renderings.
“It's boring. It looks like a Texas high school stand. Part of the experience (for sports fans) is going to a venue that’s attractive, but this is not it,” she said.
Blend in with your surroundings: An urban design review panel says the current plans don’t fit the area's history, which includes the century-old Aberdeen Pavillion and the Rideau Canal next door. It said a “unified design dialogue was needed.”
Accessibility: The Glebe Community Association has repeatedly said that the loading dock should be moved to an area away from pedestrians and events. It is currently located near the Aberdeen Pavilion and is supposed to stay there in the new design. Mackenzie said they’d like to see it closer to Bank Street instead.
“You have trucks coming in off of Bank Street, driving through the site up to the first door of the Aberdeen Pavilion and then going into the loading zone area. That was the way the arena was built way back when, and it was a different site,” said Mackenzie. “Now people are calling for greater pedestrianization and fewer cars. We want to make it more of a people place and an urban park, not simply to serve the retail and events center.”
The loading dock would also be located near a communal gathering point for the site, which the review panel said created a “major conflict” because it was so close to a highly pedestrianized area.
The Lookout wanted to speak with Sean Moore, the Lansdowne Park planning lead, about this concern and others, but the city denied our request. In an interview with the CBC, however, Moore said the current location was ideal.
“We can have a truck come down, load to the new north side stands, and then load adjacent to the new event centre," he says. "That has a big cost savings to keep that loading dock in its existing location to serve both new facilities."
Pinching pennies: Mackenzie said that’s just an excuse to try to keep the cost down so the project can still go through at council despite failing community support. It’s also just one of multiple examples of the city looking to find ways to go cheaper.

A look at the wood-like finish that will be on the outside of the arena. Handout photo.
The new arena will have a wood finish, but it will be made of aluminum wood instead of real wood. The city says the reason is that the wood veneer put on the south side stands a decade ago is already fading.
Lack of seating: The current TD Place arena has space for about 9,000 sports fans, but the new arena would have space for only about 5,500 to 6,000. That could play havoc with the PWHL hockey team, which has seen large crowds since setting up shop in Ottawa. At its peak, around 8,300 fans were in attendance, and no game has fallen below 6,000 spectators.
Next steps: The city is in a hurry to build Lansdowne 2.0. Construction tenders are supposed to go out this June, and if all goes well, the project will go to the council for final approval in the fall with a set price.
The events centre would take a few years to build. When it is completed, work will begin on the north side stands, followed by the residential towers, which will not begin until at least 2030. In total, it would mean seven to ten years of construction. Some small improvements might be made to the designs, but the city has said not to expect any significant changes.