Purpose of this blog and background brief

For many months, I have been following with interest the public discussion about the redevelopment of Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park. As the debate continues I want to expose my thoughts and give others a chance to weigh in with their views. The topic can be approached from many different viewpoints and the documentation about the issue is becoming vast.

As general background, Lansdowne Park has been a subject of public debate in Ottawa for a long time. The talk heated up in 2007 with the rumour that there might be a plan to return football to Frank Clair Stadium, located in the park. In November 2007 City Council voted to initiate a design competition but this was halted in May 2008. In March 2008 a group of business men announced they had secured a conditional franchise from the Canadian Football League. When the consortium were asked if they proposed to participate in the competition, they said they would not do so. Their refusal to compete was the basis for the suspension of the competition.

In October 2008, the consortium promoting the return of football announced a plan for redevelopment of Lansdowne Park which they titled "Lansdowne Live". The focus of that plan was the rehabilitation of the Stadium and of the hockey arena known as the Civic Centre. They also proposed various commercial development on the park site.

Eventually another proposal for an open-air stadium came from owners of the large enclosed hockey arena located in Kanata in the Ottawa western suburbs. That proposal was submitted by the owners of the Ottawa Senators, a National Hockey League team. Their proposal was to secure a franchise for a major league soccer team to play in the proposed stadium.

With the design competition still suspended, Ottawa City Council agreed to have the two proposals for an open-air stadium analysed by city staff. Meanwhile the City had contracted for a study -- a needs analysis -- which would look at what would be required for a stadium. That study indicated that neither of the two proposals (Lansdowne or Kanata) were the best sites for a stadium.

When the analysis of the two proposals was presented to City Council, it was found that the Lansdowne proposal was preferred. City staff had proposed that Council consider whether having a stadium at all was a priority for the city, but Council sidestepped that question and directed city staff to enter into negotiation with the Lansdowne proponents. The consortium had adopted the name Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG).

Those negotiations continued from April 22, 2009 to September 2, 2009. On September 2, considerable documentation on what was called the "Lansdowne Partnership Plan" was released and is the basis for public debate in the Autumn of 2009.