Visitors to Ottawa could be helping to pay for the new event centre and north-side stands at TD Place as part of the Lansdowne 2.0 project. A report for the finance and corporate services committee meeting outlines how the City of Ottawa will pay for the $418.8 million Lansdowne 2.0 project. The price tag includes $176.82 million for the new event centre with capacity for 6,600 for hockey and over 7,000 for concerts, and $119.38 million for the new north-side stands at TD Place. Staff are recommending the City of Ottawa increase the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) by one per cent, with $2 million going towards the Lansdowne 2.0 project. All accommodation providers in the City of Ottawa, including hotels and AirBnb, are required to charge visitors the Municipal Accommodation Tax, with the revenue transferred to Ottawa Tourism to promote and grow the tourism industry in Ottawa. On Jan. 1, 2024, the city increased the Municipal Accommodation Tax to five per cent. The report recommends the city increase the Municipal Accommodation Tax an additional one per cent on Jan. 1, 2026. “A new source of funding introduced as part of the funding strategy for Lansdowne 2.0 is a contribution from the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT),” said the report, submitted by City Manager Wendy Stephanson. “Ottawa Tourism and the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association are very supportive of Lansdowne 2.0 and have accepted a one per cent increase in the MAT and directing the entire one per cent to the City of Ottawa to fund tourism infrastructure.” The report says a one per cent increase in the Municipal Accommodation Tax equates to approximately $5 million a year, with $2 million of that used to fund Lansdowne 2.0 starting in 2028. Staff anticipate the Municipal Accommodation Tax will generate $44 million to help fund Lansdowne 2.0. CTV News Ottawa asked city staff about the additional $3 million in funding from the Municipal Accommodation Tax and how it would be spent by city infrastructure. “The allocation of any additional revenue from a proposed increase to the Municipal Accommodation Tax would be determined through the City’s annual budget process,” staff said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa Tuesday afternoon. “These funds are intended to support tourism-related infrastructure and initiatives intended to increase tourism to Ottawa.” Appearing on TSN Mornings on TSN 1200, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe noted Ottawa is among several major cities, like Toronto and New York City, that charge a special accommodation tax on hotel rooms. “That money is collected by Ottawa Tourism, and they use it to market the city and they use it to invest in tourism infrastructure that we have in the city,” Sutcliffe said Tuesday. “They’ve agreed to put a portion of that tax going forward towards the Lansdowne project because the Lansdowne project is so good for tourism in our city. We bring tonnes of events, like the World Junior Hockey Championships, some of the rugby events we’ve had recently, the World Curling Championships, figure skating events, basketball, volleyball…there are so many events that we bring to Lansdowne that attract tourists to the city that it makes sense for Ottawa Tourism to contribute to the costs and that’s part of the financial plan." Other revenue being used to fund Lansdowne 2.0 includes $700,000 a year from a ticket surcharge on events at Lansdowne for $15 million in total, $7.7 million in rent paid to the city from Lansdowne and $69 million in property tax uplift from the additional revenue from Lansdowne. Sutcliffe said the annual investment for taxpayers on the Lansdowne 2.0 is $4.3 million a year. Several municipalities have a Municipal Accommodation Tax. Toronto’s Municipal Accommodation Tax is 8.5 per cent, while Vancouver is charging a Major Events Municipal and Regional District Tax of 2.5 per cent on overnight stays to pay for the FIFA World Cup costs. Critics say tax increase another hidden fee Shawn Menard, the councillor for the area that includes Lansdowne says, “I think we’ve seen with the plan that’s just released last night that there are some hidden fees that are going to be going up for residents of Ottawa. The hotel taxes is one of them.” He says, “This is a big change from how we normally do this. Normally those municipal accommodation taxes go to Tourism Ottawa to enhance more tourist experiences and go back into the local economy that way. To siphon it off to pay for the debt of Lansdowne 2.0 is definitely a big change.” Menard says residents should also expect to pay more at future events at Lansdowne. “The other hidden fee is around ticket surcharges. It looks like tickets are going to go up quite a bit and the focus, the strategy that staff have communicated is that there’ll be more boxes and high-end tickets sold at Lansdowne rather than the strategy so far where it’s more affordable for families to go see a Charge game as an example.” Business leaders in Ottawa support raising the MAT in order to help boost tourism in Ottawa. “Obviously we publicly supported Lansdowne 2.0 in that we see it as an opportunity, to advance our infrastructure as it relates to both attracting visitors and residents and business, to the city and helping our current ones grow,” says Sueling Ching, President of the Ottawa Board of Trade. Ching says a MAT of six per cent is a competitive rate across our country. “Tourism is one of the top economic industries in Ottawa. But over and above that, it’s the front door to every other form of economic development. We absolutely should be reinvesting in it. And when we have a tool that has been given to the city, which is what which there are not very many to raise funds that come from outside the city and are reinvested in the city, then I do believe it’s a good idea.” With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Leah Larocque
