July 15, 2008

Ottawa City Council puts plans to develop Lansdowne Park on hold once again

KORKY KOROLUK

correspondent

The on-again-off-again plans to redevelop Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park are off again.

Recent moves to stage an international design competition for the highly desirable property were put on hold several weeks ago while the city reconsidered its position.

Now, councillors have received a memorandum saying the redevelopment will wait until there is a “complete review of the future lifecycle costs and building integrity” of both Frank Clair Stadium and the Civic Centre.

The memorandum, from deputy city manager Nancy Schepers, comes as the city is trying to sort out a proposal from a group of local developers to bring the Canadian Football League back to the city.

Frank Clair Stadium, the centerpiece of Lansdowne Park, was the long-time home of the old Ottawa Rough Riders, and, more recently, two failed CFL franchises.

The process is complicated by the discovery that the concrete in the stands on the south side of the stadium is badly cracked. As a result, the stands have been condemned as structurally unsound and were set to be demolished starting July 20.

Now the city will engage engineers to look at the “structural capacity” of both the stadium and the Civic Centre, which is an enclosed space under the stadium’s north-side stands used as meeting and convention space.

The purpose of the study is to determine whether the two structures will be able to handle any additional loads that might be incurred in any redevelopment project.

The review is likely to be completed sometime this autumn.

Lansdowne Park is about 10 minutes south of Parliament Hill, and is one of the largest pieces of public property in the city core. Its redevelopment has been discussed off and on for almost 20 years.

The group promoting the CFL has been granted a franchise, but with the condition that it have a proper stadium available. The group has proposed that repairing the stadium be part of a broader redevelopment of the 40-acre park. Several city councillors have said public money won’t be spent on repairs made chiefly to benefit private-sector companies.

Mayor Larry O’Brien has said that public opinion isn’t clear about whether the city even needs a professional sports stadium. He said the public doesn’t see the park redevelopment and the need for a sports stadium as “part of the same package.”

The redevelopment group’s business plan, including the possibility of a new CFL franchise, is likely to be received at city hall at mid-July. Sometime this fall city council will consider the proposal.

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