May 22, 2008

Ottawa suspends design competition for Lansdowne Park

Talks with possible CFL franchise are underway

KORKY KOROLUK

correspondent

OTTAWA

An international design competition to redevelop Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park has been suspended while the city talks with the owners of a possible new Canadian Football League franchise.

The decision was made by city staff, which is trying to determine exactly what the franchise ownership group wants of the city, and what the city should expect of the group.

The park is a prime piece of real estate occupying about 40 acres along the Rideau Canal about 10 minutes south of Parliament Hill. It is presently occupied by a hockey rink, some exhibition space, a large parking lot and Frank Clair Stadium, which has in the past been home to a CFL franchise.

The stadium is presently unusable after engineering studies found severe cracking in part of one section of the stands.

There are, as yet, no plans to repair the stadium, although one of the conditions attached to the new franchise is that the team have an appropriate stadium to call home.

The proposal for a design competition had been proceeding slowly, awaiting the outcome of public consultations. Those consultations showed strong support for a publicly owned project not connected with the stadium. In fact, those consultations showed only a slight majority in favour of keeping the stadium.

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

He said he believes there is a need for a “world-class sports facility,” but whether it is at Lansdowne or elsewhere is a question that should be answered before making redevelopment plans for the park

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