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- Lansdowne will be worse off after development, says Capital Ward councillor
Lansdowne will be worse off after development, says Capital Ward councillor
A deep dive into issues with the project

Time will tell: If all goes to plan, shovels will be in the ground this November to start tearing down portions of Lansdowne Park for what could be a new, reimagined site. But the current drawings lack anything of value, says local Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard, who notes they will actually be taking away instead of adding.
In case you need a refresher: The north side stands will be torn down and a new version will be built in its place. Missing, though, is a roof because the city says it would cost too much money. The stadium would move to the great lawn, which would mean a reduction in greenspace and fewer seats inside. At the site of the former TD Place arena is where two residential buildings would go. There are concerns over how their shadows would cast onto the site.
You can read our interview with the Glebe Community Association about their concerns here.
The city is broke: One of the points advocates against Lansdowne 2.0 like to remind people is the City of Ottawa is strapped for cash. OC Transpo has a $120 million operating deficit, light rail is being constructed without the ridership to justify it, there are many road renewal projects that are decades behind schedule, and some recreation centres are falling apart. Then there is also the new hopeful Sens Arena at LeBreton Flats, which could compete.
The Lookout sat down with Councillor Menard to gain more of an understanding as to why Lansdowne 2.0 would be such a bad idea. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Lookout: As I talk to community members and groups in the Glebe, it seems like concerns over Lansdowne 2.0 are growing rather than decreasing. What are your biggest concerts?
Menard: The biggest concern is that it's a very expensive and bad plan. It shouldn’t be the priority for the city right now. We are making Lansdowne worse for people by pursuing this because they have better facilities in terms of enjoyment right now. We’ve got a roof over the north side stands and 58,0000 square feet of green space, a berm where people can watch the soccer games. We have lower ticket prices right now. All of that will be lost with this new Lansdowne.
On top of that, we’ve got the buildings that are slated to last for decades to come. What we are doing is tearing them down instead of refurbishing them. We are tearing down small businesses that only went up in 2014. The new arena will be too small for the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Lookout: The city keeps saying Lansdowne 2.0 will fix the area and that it will bring in the money that didn’t flow through Lansdowne 1.0. Do you think that’s not an accurate assumption?
Menard: I would ask the city what’s changing? It’s not like we’ve got more seats to put people in — we will have less seats. It’s not like we are seeing a huge transportation plan getting people in easier. It’s not like we are bringing in the canal. It’s the same.
If we’ve received zero waterfall dollars to date, where is this magic money coming from to offset significant costs? The city might argue that selling off public land and putting up skyscrapers will bring more people to the site, but we’ve got lots of people in the surrounding area and it’s very dead during the week.
Lookout: So, what are the solutions for Lansdowne?
Menard: The problems would be fixed through an improved transportation system, a work hub during the week where people are actually on-site, and having more facilities open during the week. Public events are very popular and very cheap there.

The World Juniors Fan Fest in December 2024. Photo by Charlie Senack.
Lookout: On the transportation side of things, the Glebe and Old Ottawa South communities have constantly raised issues with the lack of transit options. What can be done to help improve this?
Menard: We’ve given them a lot of solutions. None have been taken. We’ve said very clearly you need a regular shuttle service from Carleton University and the new train line to every single game and event. Lower the cost. If you have a ticket, you can ride for free now. That whole corridor we are already subsidizing many trips. We need to run the Route 6 more frequently.
The canal access would be nice too with more shuttle service along the canal and connecting the Queen Elizabeth Driveway with a proper safe pathway. You currently exit Lansdowne from the left side and you can’t even safely cross.
Lookout: There have been two public consultations in the last week or so and anyone I’ve spoken to who was there has said they felt their concerns were not being addressed properly and expressed that perhaps the information wasn’t being shared accurately. One of those soft points is the reduction of green space.
Menard: The green hill has a lot of people who use it for sledding or watching games there. It’s like the city isn’t taking that into account when they explain the reduction of the greenery. It might only be a 10 per cent reduction of the great lawn, but the hill is a huge part of it. Then there are the 110 healthy, new trees that are going to come down as a result of the removal of that soil. The removal of that soil alone will cost us $8 million.
There is a lot of waste. We will also still be paying off the north-side roof loan. We spent $23 million on it and we still have $16 million left to pay. If they tear those buildings down it doesn’t mean we don’t still owe that money. We have the chance to do something really special here, and we have the time to do it. We don’t have a stadium emergency.
Lookout: Many events use the greenspace, including Escapade and City Folk Fest. Do we have any idea what this will mean for them? The city says the useable event space won’t change, though it will change the layout.
Menard: I'll backtrack a bit first. The first negative impact is the construction impact. We are looking at seven to 10 years of construction for all of this. It’s over two years for the event centre, over two years for the north side stands, and then sometime after 2030 they’d start to construct the skyscrapers with new retail after tearing down the retail only built in 2014. This will also bring large trucks through Bank Street.
That’s going to be really disruptive for businesses in the area, and the great lawn will be shut down for at least two of those years, so the festivals that would normally have been there will have to move offsite. There will be at least a season and a half where the Red Blacks can only have half its attendance. Afterwards I hope those events and businesses are still alive. People are not going to want to go there when there is a huge fenced-off area.

City Folk Fest at Lansdowne in September 2024. Photo by Charlie Senack
Lookout: So what can be done at this point? The city seems adamant that it’s going to keep moving forward as is without ambition to change any part of the plan. Do you have any real hope for a last-minute change?
Menard: We've got the February 4th annual report coming that will show how Lansdowne did last fiscal year. After that there is supposed to be a decision point in October over whether we go forward or not. At that time, they will put out bids for proposals, they will have selected the bid for the sell off of the land, they will have the construction price sourced, and then they’d start the next month in November to tear things down.
It’s not like I don‘t want progress at Lansdowne. There are good ideas people have for improving this site, public transit, and events. We get so many people there for the farmers market and skateboarding. We can have a plan that doesn’t take up greenspace and if you really wanted to refurbish the existing buildings, you could do that and invest in accessibility. Or you could use the same footprint without expanding onto the lawn. These are alternatives which haven’t even been considered.