Upon further review
Long live Lansdowne Live
AFTER MONTHS OF heated debate and passionate discussion, Ottawa City Council voted 15-9 in favour of approving in principle the Lansdowne Partnership Plan on Nov. 16. The business proposal spearheaded by the Ottawa Senators and Entertainment Group (OSEG) is a proposed $250-million project designed to redevelop Lansdowne Park. The goals of the plan are to rebuild Frank Clair Stadium and revamp the Civic Centre, replace the current parking lot with green space, add underground parking, preserve the historic Aberdeen Pavilion, and add retail (in the form of restaurants, a theatre, and office space) into the park.
City Council was bitterly divided over the proposal mainly because of financial and transit concerns. Councillors wanted to ensure that the plan was beneficial for taxpayers and worthwhile for the city by ensuring returns from the investment. Transit, meanwhile, will continue to be an issue, as Lansdowne Park is not located near the Transitway or next to the highway, but off two-lane and often-bustling Bank Street.
These outstanding issues will be looked at in the coming months, as will examining the amount of retail and office space needed, debating the necessity of a theatre, and holding design competitions to map out the green space area as the city and the business group hammer out details to complete the process. The proposal certainly isn’t perfect at the moment, and much must be done in order to convince skeptics that it can work. It will likely never satisfy everyone entirely (particularly those living in the Glebe), but for many Ottawans—myself included—the agreement in principle for the City to work with the OSEG is a major accomplishment and a feat to celebrate.
Just look at Frank Clair Stadium as it is now: a once-mighty sporting venue surrounded by a barely used asphalt desert; a giant, empty, and depressing wall on one side of the field that used to be known as the south-side stands; north-side stands whose top half is sealed off by yellow tape because of hazards and instability; few or no concession stands; and an obsolete scoreboard. The Gee-Gees men’s football team currently calls it home, but probably only because nobody else wants to.
What the Lansdowne Partnership Plan represents is an imperfect attempt to finally end the slow and painful death of the stadium. Decades of decay and neglect have left it a decrepit monument, symbolizing the indifference of a city and its leaders. Here is a new opportunity at last to have it redeveloped and set things right. Once it is rebuilt, by 2013, it will host a Canadian Football League team, possibly a pro-soccer franchise, and numerous high-profile music concerts. Students will be able to visit the park with the ability to shop, eat at restaurants, or go for a jog in the new green space by the Rideau Canal.
Getting to the park easily might still be a problem, as it is now—I don’t doubt that by 2013, Sports Services still won’t be posting shuttle departure times and locations on their website—but that’s a small price to pay for the return: a brand new stadium complete with stable stands, a state-of-the-art scoreboard, large and efficient concession stands, and perhaps a revival of the Panda Bowl should Carleton University resurrect its men’s football program (this is an iniative currently being spearheaded by OSEG member John Ruddy).
The passing of the amended Lansdowne Live proposal has opened the door to these exciting possibilities. From this point on, it will take more time, effort, and debate before the full potential of the plan can be realized. The process of redevelopment is months away and years from completion. But after decades of inaction and indifference towards the stadium, I won’t mind the wait.
sports@thefulcrum.ca 613-562-5931
