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Group unveils plan for football and Lansdowne Park

bradm

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bradm Newbie

bradm

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http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/10/17/7119936.html

A proposal to bring a professional football team back to Ottawa includes giving Frank Clair Stadium a major facelift — and lots of underground parking.

The game plan will also include keeping the farmers market which is growing in popularity among Ottawa residents and lots of green space.

There are also plans to renovate the Civic Centre — home to the Ottawa 67s hockey club. The proposal for the 18-hectare property situated along the historic Rideau Canal in the upscale Glebe neighbourhood doesn't include any residential development. Other details of the proposal:

- a 25,000-seat state-of-the-art stadium for pro and amateur football, soccer and community events and major concerts.

- refurbished arena and exhibition hall

- an aquarium to be housed in Aberdeen Pavilion

- soccer pitches

- an ultimate disc field,

- formal gardens and ponds,

- a 2,000-seat outdoor amphitheatre,

- a 200,000-square-foot retail and restaurant complex located where the Coliseum now stands.

- new hotel

The developers say they're prepared to secure $120 million in private funding to make it happen.

The Sun has learned that the group of local businessmen, Bill Shenkman, chairman of the Shenkman Group of Companies, Roger Greenberg, chairman and CEO of Minto, John Ruddy, president of Trinity Development Group and Jeff Hunt, owner of the Ottawa 67's, the group behind the plan to revitalize the park, are also looking for a longterm agreement with the city.

The group wants the city to maintain its current level of investment in Lansdowne Park but without any added burden to the city taxpayers.

The businessmen were awarded a Canadian Football League franchise earlier this year on the condition that fans have access to an appropriate stadium by 2010.

When the CFL announced the franchise opportunity last spring, the group said Frank Clair Stadium was the only place to have a professional football team play ball.

They want to restore the stadium to its glory days. They are not considering building a modern sports facility anywhere else in the city.

Aloha,

Brad

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I am everywhere else :)

Seriously though - an aquarium? a hotel? formal gardens? a retail and restaurant complex - (That's what the Glebe and OOS is!) an ultimate disc field?

I like the refurbed arena, exhibition hall, and soccer fields. I don't really give a shit about the stadium unless MLS goes there (which won't happen).

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Freak By Night Newbie

Freak By Night

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Just taking a look at their website now.

I think this is an awesome plan and just what this city needs. An aquarium! A hotel! Formal gardens! A retail and restaurant complex! These are money-making projects - needed to offset the losses that the CFL team will surely incur.

Unfortunately it will never happen, with granola-munching socialists running this city and the frickin' NIMBYs in the Glebe.

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bradm Newbie

bradm

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Unfortunately it will never happen, with granola-munching socialists running this city and the frickin' NIMBYs in the Glebe.

After the press conference, they showed an interview with a city councillor for the Glebe, and he seemed OK with the idea (or as OK as he could be given how early we are in the project).

Aloha,

Brad

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Must not have been the councillor for the Glebe, Brad. Clive Doucet (the councillor for the Glebe) made it very clear yesterday that he was totally against the project.

I couldn't find any written quotes to back that up, but that's what he said on the CBC news last night.

In the Citizen he said this:

For Capital Councillor Clive Doucet, who represents the area that includes Lansdowne, the next step is clear. He said he likes some of the aspects of the developers' proposal and dislikes others, but it shouldn't be given any special status. He said the design competition should be immediately restarted and the proposal should be included as a contestant.

"You don't consign a major public asset like this to one proposal," he said. "It would be stupid to do that. We'll get the best ideas and the best business deals if we open this up to competition, and that's what we should do. Parts of this are interesting, but let's see what others come up with."

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bradm Newbie

bradm

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Unfortunately, I can't remember the guy's name*, but he was talking about the effect on the residences in the area, and how the fact that the project includes building residences in an already residential area (it was on one particular named sidestreet near or behind the complex) wasn't a bad thing. If I catch a repeat of the program (which might be tough, as it wasn't a regularly scheduled thing; I think, though, that it was being broadcast as part of Rogers Ottawa's "Podium" program), I'll try to catch the guy's name.

Aloha,

Brad

* I saw Doucet's comments, and know who he is, so it wasn't him.

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bradm Newbie

bradm

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OK, I rewatched it all. The guy I saw was Robert Brocklebank, President of the Glebe Community Association, and he and Ed Hand (of Rogers) were talking about "residences along Holmwood." They mentioned, however, that there weren't a lot of details, but they did talk about how people in the new residences would have to handle having 30-year leases, as their residences would be part of the overall project.

Aloha,

Brad

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bradm Newbie

bradm

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I sent an e-mail to the contact address on the LL website, asking about the residences (what type, how many, etc.), and got the following response:

Not sure how many, Brad. Those homes were ID'd as a buffer between Lansdowne Live and the rest of the neighborhood. The specifics about them and, for that matter, every aspect of the proposal will be discussed in detail as we move forward. Nothing is set in stone so there's no need to get worried about it. One of the partners commented in the news confrence that if the City doesn't think the homes on Holmwood are a good idea then there won't be any. Does that make sense?

Randy

Aloha,

Brad

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bradm Newbie

bradm

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http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/10/27/7214476-sun.html

seems to add a new wrinkle:

Frank Clair Stadium is A-okay.

The results of an engineering report on the north side of the stadium will show the popular facility is structurally safe.

A source told the Sun the report, expected to be released soon -- possibly this week -- will show the condition of the current 41-year-old structure won't warrant tearing it down, and only minor maintenance is required by the city to fix some concrete work, among other minor repairs. The cost of the work has yet to be determined.

"It's better than expected," the source said. "Which means it's in good shape and won't have to be torn down."

The report goes on to say how the facility has been booked pretty solidly in the past several years.

Aloha,

Brad

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